Guest essexdave Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 hiya, just joined this site and saw that a few people seem to have questions/misconceptions about FIFO work, so thought i might put my two penneth in ;-) FIFO is great, for me it's all about the swing/roster not being a long one. i've been here since '89 and have done them all. 6 and 3 (weeks), 3 and 1 (too long), 2 and 1 (quite good) etc. the best one is of course any 'even time' swing (normally 2 weeks on 2 weeks off) but these are mainly offshore and/or offered to those with rarer skill sets (because they demand it), but failing that, 9 days on 5 off is not bad at all. More and more mining co's are offering this, and, increasingly, 8 and 6 (days). simply because they want to avoid the very high costs of a 'high churn' workforce. with 9 and 5, by the time you've had enough you're flying home! to answer an earlier question about money: if you don't get over 80K something is wrong. as others have said, however, if you're working outdoors up in NW of WA you'll earn every penny, it's so hot from nov to march. having said that, precautions are taken, no one wants anyone to die. re: what tickets to get? i can only offer this tip: start reading the ads on Seek.com, what skills/tickets are they asking for? how many companies are asking for the same skill/ticket? how many ads per day/week? collect these ads as they have valuable contact names/numbers on them. also, i've found it useful to call any agency that you keep seeing (as you look through the seek.com ads) and chat to them. ASK for advice/help, you might be surprised how helpful these people can be. they love to tell you what they know about an industry. and, by calling around a few you will build up a picture of what's what and which of your current skills you can build on to get yourself in with a chance. also, the old 'right time right place 'factor is not one to be sniffed at. who knows what might have just come across their desk? one small tip along those lines: when the person answers the phone they will ALWAYS say their name, listen closely for it and ALWAYS use it. "oh hi Melissa, i was just wondering if you..." it works. the best thing to remember is this: if you have to do a long swing on your first job up there, don't fret, you will very soon find out which other companies are looking for your skills and you move. 'Rome wasn't built in a day' and all that.. ;-) one more thing: look into the tax allowances you get when you stay away from home for work. they can be significant when calculating whether this (fifo) life is for you. all the best to you all. ps: if you have any questions, feel free. though i don't know anything at all about visas or immigration matters. cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Munchkinella Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 Hi Dave, welcome to PIO. :cute: Thanks for sharing your experience with us. It will be helpful to many I'm sure. Jxxxx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest scrumpy Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 (edited) So what do you exactly do on a day to day basis? (I dont mean on your time off, unless its really interesting !!!!!!) Cheers Edited September 17, 2012 by scrumpy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scotty dave Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 Hi Dave, thanks for your post, really helpful to me as I`m hoping to be employed as a Coded welder/boilermaker at the mines, so will be living the fifo life, if my sponsorship is approved.:biggrin: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blackhorse Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 Hi Dave Thanks for that. Good timing and useful to read, as I was just today looking at at a FIFO job advert (telecoms related) and wondered if the FIFO life might suit me. Cheers Lloyd Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest essexdave Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 (edited) So what do you exactly do on a day to day basis? (I dont mean on your time off, unless its really interesting !!!!!!) Cheers i use ultrasound waves to look inside metal for defects. not 007, but it's interesting enough...if you like that kinda thing. currently work a 9 and 5 but we are changing to an 8 and 6 "pretty soon". that reminds me; a benefit that i didn't mention earlier was that with 9 and 5 you get 3 x 19 day holidays a year.. as long as you take 2 days unpaid (25 days annual leave is the norm and you need 27 to have 3x9 days off). this works because you start your leave on the first day of the 5 off (at the end of the previous (normal) 9 day swing), then you have the 9 days annual leave, then you have the 5 off that you would have had if you had worked that 9 days. so, 5+5+9=19... confused? don't be, it's much easier to understand with a calender in your hand. just count the days in between when you arrive back home from your last swing until you're expected to go back after the leave is over. what about yourself scrumpy? Edited September 18, 2012 by essexdave Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest essexdave Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 Hi Dave, thanks for your post, really helpful to me as I`m hoping to be employed as a Coded welder/boilermaker at the mines, so will be living the fifo life, if my sponsorship is approved.:biggrin:\ i'd be surprised if they turn a coded welder down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hogg2007 Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 my husband is a coded welder and we're looking into getting sponsorship so he can go out in advance and earn some of those lovely $$'s before we join him. Does anyone know what the best companies are - we've looked at Monadelphus so far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hogg2007 Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 Also, sorry to be a pain, did you get your trade assessed independently, or did the sponsoring company sort this for you? We're very early in the stage, as you can guess! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 Do you do it on a contract basis? owning a pty company or are you a perm employee? 80K sounds crap to me for FIFO rotations are good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest scrumpy Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 So what do you exactly do on a day to day basis? (I dont mean on your time off, unless its really interesting !!!!!!) Cheers i use ultrasound waves to look inside metal for defects. not 007, but it's interesting enough...if you like that kinda thing. currently work a 9 and 5 but we are changing to an 8 and 6 "pretty soon". that reminds me; a benefit that i didn't mention earlier was that with 9 and 5 you get 3 x 19 day holidays a year.. as long as you take 2 days unpaid (25 days annual leave is the norm and you need 27 to have 3x9 days off). this works because you start your leave on the first day of the 5 off (at the end of the previous (normal) 9 day swing), then you have the 9 days annual leave, then you have the 5 off that you would have had if you had worked that 9 days. so, 5+5+9=19... confused? don't be, it's much easier to understand with a calender in your hand. just count the days in between when you arrive back home from your last swing until you're expected to go back after the leave is over. what about yourself scrumpy? Im just a plumber in the UK, but when we get to Oz (should be well within next 2 years) I am desperate for a change, I really dont want to re-train as plumber as need a change of country/lifestyle/career. Any sugestions welcome! Cheers for the reply Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VERYSTORMY Posted September 18, 2012 Share Posted September 18, 2012 I will put my tuppance in. FIFO, works for some, but it has a enourmous divorce rate so families need to go into it with very open eyes. I was at a conference a while ago and the nature of my job means the vast majority of people are fifo. There was a guy doing a talk on the social effects of fifo. He asked for people to raise their hands if they were still on their first marriage. Not a single hand out of 200 went up Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted September 19, 2012 Share Posted September 19, 2012 Women eh - they want the money and nice house/car but cant stand the hardship it takes to get it :biglaugh: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest essexdave Posted September 27, 2012 Share Posted September 27, 2012 (edited) Also, sorry to be a pain, did you get your trade assessed independently, or did the sponsoring company sort this for you? We're very early in the stage, as you can guess
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.