Guest Hornster Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 Hi all, I am a Chartered Occupational Health and Safety Professional looking to emigrate to WA. I have had quite a bit of interest in my skills and experience from Australian employers based in WA but 90% of the jobs are on a FIFO roster which is not exactly what i was looking for in mine and my wife's new life Down Under. Is this typical for those working in the construction / resources sector in WA? Does anyone have any experience in this type of work who could shed a bit of light on what the lifestyle is really like from both a social and family situation other than the obvious? Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourcorners Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 Hi Hornster, I am a geologist in the mining industry and soon to move back to Kalgoorlie to start work in the mines again. My partner is a geotechnical engineer and we have always had the dilemma of working FIFO or residential. We've spent the last 3 years working in various FIFO jobs from the UK and are getting fed up of it. The question really comes down to whether you want to live in Perth (in which case you will almost definitely only be able to get a FIFO job), or whether you would be willing to live somewhere more regional. So that depends on what you want in terms of your lifestyle, what your wife does for a living or whether you will be starting a family etc. So many factors come into this decision that only you will know what is right for you. In my opinion living somewhere more regional like Kalgoorlie has benefits such as going home every night, a closer community feel, lower housing costs etc, but the disadvantages are that you're further from the sea and there isn't as much to do in your time off and some towns won't have the range of shops and amenities. My other half has been working FIFO from Cornwall to Karratha on a 6:3 roster with travel in his own time for the last 10 months. Taking into account jet-lag this means he maybe gets 2 quality weeks at home. I have a full time job and have usually been able to take one week off every time he's been back, but the other week I have to work so that has meant I have built up resentment about being at work when he's at home. When he was away I became quite insular and didn't really want to spend time with other friends etc (especially as most of them are couples and it just draws attention to the fact that you're alone). Things that have made the 6 weeks easier are the fact that we have been renovating our house, so I have never lacked things to do, always busy and that is key to not getting down about it. But our example is a little extreme, if you were living in WA then your roster would be easier and you wouldn't have to factor in jet lag etc! But bear in mind that in construction you could face a similar roster (6:3 or 3:1 weeks). Mining rosters tend to be better, eg. 9/5 days or 8/6. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hornster Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 Thanks for the response. Much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hannash Posted August 23, 2011 Share Posted August 23, 2011 Hi Hornster, I am a geologist in the mining industry and soon to move back to Kalgoorlie to start work in the mines again. My partner is a geotechnical engineer and we have always had the dilemma of working FIFO or residential. We've spent the last 3 years working in various FIFO jobs from the UK and are getting fed up of it. The question really comes down to whether you want to live in Perth (in which case you will almost definitely only be able to get a FIFO job), or whether you would be willing to live somewhere more regional. So that depends on what you want in terms of your lifestyle, what your wife does for a living or whether you will be starting a family etc. So many factors come into this decision that only you will know what is right for you. In my opinion living somewhere more regional like Kalgoorlie has benefits such as going home every night, a closer community feel, lower housing costs etc, but the disadvantages are that you're further from the sea and there isn't as much to do in your time off and some towns won't have the range of shops and amenities. My other half has been working FIFO from Cornwall to Karratha on a 6:3 roster with travel in his own time for the last 10 months. Taking into account jet-lag this means he maybe gets 2 quality weeks at home. I have a full time job and have usually been able to take one week off every time he's been back, but the other week I have to work so that has meant I have built up resentment about being at work when he's at home. When he was away I became quite insular and didn't really want to spend time with other friends etc (especially as most of them are couples and it just draws attention to the fact that you're alone). Things that have made the 6 weeks easier are the fact that we have been renovating our house, so I have never lacked things to do, always busy and that is key to not getting down about it. But our example is a little extreme, if you were living in WA then your roster would be easier and you wouldn't have to factor in jet lag etc! But bear in mind that in construction you could face a similar roster (6:3 or 3:1 weeks). Mining rosters tend to be better, eg. 9/5 days or 8/6. hey hornster would you happen to know recruitment agencies who are recrutiing building trades for general labouring work in mining ,,i`m going to ask this as a thread starter in case i dont get work as a bricklayer when we arrive :unsure: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Hornster Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 Sorry mate, but i can only recommend Seek.com.au or other similar job boards. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest hannash Posted August 24, 2011 Share Posted August 24, 2011 dead on ,,thats ok ,,thanks for getting back Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest geo101 Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Hi Fourcourners, I am currently trying to get into the mining industry in Oz as a Field assistant as i had just started a distance online degree in geology and want to pursue a career as a geologist. Do you have any advice for me or contacts etc..? Most appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourcorners Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Hi geo101, Are you in the UK or in Australia at the moment? If you want to work as a fieldy initially then I would suggest going over on a working holiday visa so you can work a 6 month contract with someone. Sign up with Mining People or Workpac and they should be able to point you in the right direction. If you don't have any hands on experience yet then I wouldn't think you'll be able to secure a job from outside Australia. You really need to be there and ready to go as there is more competition for fieldy positions. When I worked there previously we took on completely unskilled people to work as underground samplers. One used to be a hairdresser, one worked in an old peoples home, another was a light vehicle mechanic. I had to teach them all basic geology and how to sample, how to use a database etc. They had all registered with either Workpac or Mining People which is how we got hold of them. After 6 months of sampling they invariably progressed onto truck driving so they could earn more money, then after 2 weeks of driving a truck they'd be bored and want to be a sampler again! Greed always took the better of them... How long will your distance degree take to complete? I'm always intrigued by how distance learning with geology works, as how do you get the practical rock identification skills and how do you learn how to do fieldwork (probably the most important part of a degree). That being said my course was very practical and field orientated but I know some uni courses aren't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest geo101 Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Hi Fourcorners, I am currently in Oz living in Darwin, and have registered with WORKpac, thanks for the examples, it definately has given me confidence as i have experience as a sample preparer here in a local lab. With my online degree i have to travel to Sydney for a few course units in the lab (classroom) for those reasons that you mentioned, i hope.. So did you finish your degree before you started working in the mines.? Is it everything that you thought it would be..? Earth science is definately my passion, I've been sending on average to 5 jobs per day for the last 3 months whilst keep keeping up my faith of getting in.. Thanks for your suggestions, please don't hesitate to suggest more. Looking forward to your reply...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fourcorners Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Yes my degree was full time and I actually did a Masters in Mining Geology afterwards, that was more to do with waiting for my boyfriend to finish his degree though. I've now had 4 different jobs as a geologist in Australia, Canada and the UK and do love it. My current job is far too computer based though and my next job will see me back on a mine site where I can get my hands dirty again, I still need to get some open pit experience. One thing to look out for courses run by consultants and mining software companies - they sometimes heavily discount the rates for students or people out of work. Look up Datamine, Vulcan, Surpak, Micromine, Leapfrog etc as they all regularly run courses. As soon as you start getting a bit of software experience you'll find jobs easier to get. But the most important thing is to finish your degree and try and achieve a good grade. For graduates your grade and course content is what employers will look at. My masters was highly tailored towards getting a job in the industry (MSc Mining Geology at Camborne School of Mines, Cornwall, UK), and you'll find graduates from that course all over the world. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest geo101 Posted August 25, 2011 Share Posted August 25, 2011 Thankyou for the great insight and excellent advice. I will let you know how i go. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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