Thread: fly in, fly out- negative report, true, or not?

Originally Posted by Sprint

About the only way you can get a start on a mine site as a local is if you're qualified up the wazoo, I chased traineeships, cleanskin jobs, hell, even went as far as getting a few machinery tickets, but got told regularly that if i wanted to get a start without being "skilled" my best option without having someone high up to grease the wheels, was to move to rockhampton, mackay or the southeast corner....

So you expected the mine to pay for you to learn??? Mate I started this FIFO caper shoveling ****... Then I moved on to sucking it... Then blasting it. Took me 3 and a half years to move into a processing job.. I am assuming being good old Queensland (where I am from btw) that it is coal? So does that mean dump truck driving?? Or were you looking at some fixed plant work?

Originally Posted by klappers

So you expected the mine to pay for you to learn??? Mate I started this FIFO caper shoveling ****... Then I moved on to sucking it... Then blasting it. Took me 3 and a half years to move into a processing job.. I am assuming being good old Queensland (where I am from btw) that it is coal? So does that mean dump truck driving?? Or were you looking at some fixed plant work?

Plenty of traineeships where the mining companies and contractors to do exactly that, learn how to do their jobs, but the positions almost exclusively go to people applying from anywhere but locally...... why should my opportunities be any different just because i live in the middle of it all? or is it just a scam to look after the SE corner yet again?

Originally Posted by Sprint

Plenty of traineeships where the mining companies and contractors to do exactly that, learn how to do their jobs, but the positions almost exclusively go to people applying from anywhere but locally...... why should my opportunities be any different just because i live in the middle of it all? or is it just a scam to look after the SE corner yet again?

I think if you focused more energy worrying about what your doing as opposed to others, it may pay off, have you "given up" as in applied a few times, then think, "**** 'em"?

If you work hard enough you'll achieve what you want

I used to work a job as a sparky, 115k p/a, beside fitters who were on 70k doing the same hours, they always hung it on us, "you blokes are paid to much"..............Like I said to them, "your thinking is wrong, we're paid the right amount, your not paid enough"





They never got it and that's why they were on a far lesser wage

Originally Posted by rovercare

I think if you focused more energy worrying about what your doing as opposed to others, it may pay off, have you "given up" as in applied a few times, then think, "**** 'em"?

If you work hard enough you'll achieve what you want

I used to work a job as a sparky, 115k p/a, beside fitters who were on 70k doing the same hours, they always hung it on us, "you blokes are paid to much"..............Like I said to them, "your thinking is wrong, we're paid the right amount, your not paid enough"

They never got it and that's why they were on a far lesser wage

I havent worked for a dealer and had a relatively easy job all my life, I've TA'd for electricians, boilermakers and fitters, my record week was 75 hours (yes, the overtime was nice) I've done 17 hour days, I've turned up on site at 2am mid winter to service trucks because thats when the down time was, I've laid in inches of grease, oil, water, diesel and god alone knows what else under trucks to do servicing, I've swung on picks, shovels and picket drivers mid february at the bottom of a dragline pit untill I was ordered to take a break by the pit boss, and for the privilege I've been paid anywhere from $12.58 to $20/hr

So yes, I think I've put in the effort to earn my stripes and get the cruisier jobs, you cant tell me all those from suburbia who get the nod to become simple haul truck drivers have all done the same? christ, for the majority of them, if it werent for the job and paycheque, they would still be flannel wearing, housing comission bogans smoking winnie blues and driving around in clapped out VN commodores.....

All that time, maybe the best part of 8 years, I applied repeatedly for any and every operators position that came up, wether requiring experienced operators or trainees, and eventually came to the conclusion that busting your arse to make someone else rich wasnt the way to get into the cream jobs.

In the end I stopped picking up tools to make a living and took up a job that allowed me to assist the "recent rich" part with thier cash.....

All of negative and ill informed comments about this FIFO business have really ticked me off. No one, but no one can comment on what it’s like unless you’ve ‘lived the life’. ‘Walk the line’
I agree that things are disproportionately expensive in these boom towns. That has to do with transportation costs because of the locations and other proprietors pushing price up. That can be because they cant get people to work retail etc for normal city wages and/or whole sales pushing prices up as soon as they here the delivery location. I’ve experienced both.
I have been working FIFO since 1986 and still am today. I’ve been married to the same woman for the past 21 years and we have grown three clever and well adjust children up in that time.
I’ve work all round Australia and for the past 10 years I’ve worked overseas. It exactly the same story where ever in the world you are.
I choose to work FIFO so we can be a single income family. Mum is home every afternoon when the kids come home from school, the way things used (should) to be here in Australia. There’s a stable home life, educationally environment and my wife has her family support base. It’s not an ideal situation, but it’s the best I can do.
We get paid proportional well for what we do and get taxed through the teeth for it. Anybody that thinks that it’s an easy graft or the money grows on trees, is a fool. It’s hard yards both physically, emotionally and a strain on the family unit.
Yeah sure your tired after a trip away, but so is the wife and the kids are over the moon just to see their Dad. Man up and take care of business, if you cant handle the responsibility don’t become a father or don’t take on a FIFO job. Don’t get drunk on the way home and see your family in that state. They don’t need nor want to see you like that. If you need too, take an extra day on the way home and get it out of your system. Treat your wife well and never take her or what she does while you’re away for granted! She doing the job of both parents, show her lots of appreciation. Be excited about what the children have to show and tell you, it’s important to them.
I would love things to be different, but the truth of the matter is I can’t afford to work in town with the work I do.

Originally Posted by lardy

my town here is near 5 pristine beaches fifo's dont care drive on turtle rookeries dump beer bottles all over the shop and generally dont seem to have the right attitude.
government housing accounts for us in government jobs, private housing is bull**** you can rent a house for $1300 pw min average house price 800-1mil mark crazy stuff
And what is happening to the geology of Australia no one cares because of the idea of how much cash is being generated I am amazed that when I went down the beach a mechanical had started on a hill and two days later no hill

That is a little unfair. Yes there are irresponsible FIFO workers at every site, but there are also irresponsible residential people as well.
The worst we have in Newman is not the workforce (though some do need to be taken to task), but the so called traditional land owners that are supposed to respect the land. In general they have no respect for anyone or anything. The rubbish they just leave around is astonishing for a portion of the community that is supposed to have an affinity with the land. It is at the point that the kids can not ride on the bike path due to broken glass, Trucks have to come to a screaming halt due to people asleep on the road, burnt out wrecks everywhere and so the list goes on.

I think the FIFO system is a negative.
I think the mining situation is bad for the natio,BUT its no different to merchant navy-air force-or the countless other jobs like shearing,crop harvest that require hugh numbers of TRAVELLERS that dont contribute to stable developement and feed off the system..

I got my current job due to the skills/labour shortages [realy since bob hawkes grand stuff up in the 80's].
Im employed now as a heavy vehicle plant mechanic.the pay has dropped again but better conditions.I have a 9 hour day and 9 day fortnight15 minutes from hom .at $1000 per week.
work is local government fleet and we do all sorts of odd jobs in the comunity so i get to see whats going on within 100K of home.the pay is the same as I got in the end of the 80's and again they want to cut wage to compensate for the mining industry.

My neighbours are leaving in droves for the mines selling upto get that first 12months -all are working on 5 years and retire---most have been working longer than 5 yrs already.one machinist doig shutdown work is payed $3000 per week.for 6 week lobs-14 your day and pays 35% tax.

my next door has gone as an operator from a job as a quarry manerger for double pay it helps him buy a new house but how does that help australia..my other next door this week told me he was waiting for these open cut orkers to get stood down so he can strip out a large mine.as they cant get building aproval as cheep as in other areas.

The big scammers in the industry is the electricians.my brother and brother inlaw have beenat least double payed since they started work out of school.most of the labourers they order around are payed very little,both are 45 and plan on being retired when the current job finishes.my brother is doing a degree to signoff on work-my inlaw pays consultants to do this.

the job i got was from people leaving to become adult aprentice with electricity companies and labourers in an open cut.the only company doing good out of the current situation is the electricity providers-i work oppiste their depo and it is only place to be.

P/S the biggest scamers in australia are IT industry.
well ahead of the social workers and used car sales.

most school children are focused on getting IT jobs [i have 3 under 10,and it takes little real qualification to do this work---how many IT workers have degree in your area that you would want working for you.