Pampered FIFO workers come back to earth with a bump

[nuthin' fancy]

IMO nobody gives a FIFO worker anything, they earn every $$$ for the sacrifice they make to be away from the things important to them.

My brother works in WA on 14/7 roster but he loses 2 of the 7 to travel and is a zombie when he gets back here from nightshift and has been up for over 24 hours.

If I were him, I would do more with the money earnt, but his money, his choice. He has no spouse or kids (that he admits to), so no real issue.

I had a client who wanted to buy a house in Port Hedland for $1.1m, I said buy four other properties away from your income stream for the same money and psend $100k on a god mobile home. They were not happy with me when the houses went to $1.5m, but I'm their smartest guy in the room now.

They sold the mobile home for $65k back here in Vic and the houses they bought are now yeilding 15% on the original acquisition cost.

[Crazy Dazz]

Pampered?
Get ******.
12 hour days are the norm.
In one role I had 45 minute trip each morning and night, over corrugated unsealed roads, in the back of a Hiace.
Last Australian job I had was 17/4. That's 17 days straight, followed by 4 days off. That's LESS days off than working M-F, plus your first day home is spent mostly sleeping, and on the 4th day you have to be at the airport by 2:00pm.

Frequent Flyer Points? What a crock of ****.
Mostly you fly on ****** little Brasilias. Dash 8's are considered the height of luxury.

Sure, I knew a lot of guys who were getting overpaid during the boom. ANd do you know why? Because MOST people cannot handle it.
I got my son a job. Great you think, but I also had other adult kids I could have got jobs for and none of them wanted it.

The working conditions in your average underground mine would be basically illegal in any workshop. Above ground its just the sun, rain, humidity, flies. But hey, if you have a huge appetite and like really cheap low quality food, then the free food is good. Breakfast was good, the crib was usually ok, but some of the crap served up for dinner. On Australia Day we got "home made mince pies." ie a two foot tray of mince with pastry over the top.

[Sabantien]

I always thought it'd be a great thing to get in to, but I've always had office jobs, so not sure how I'd transfer.

My brother did a bit of it, and while the pay was good, nothing else was and he prefers being back here in Brissie earning less.

I can't imagine doing it for 10+ years, I guess it just becomes habit by that point.

[mcflux]

Originally Posted by GasOLane

Of course if you looked at the other way, it's 40,000 people who gave up those jobs in the first place to work in mining.

A lot of engineers I went to uni with 15yrs ago tailored their education to get in to mining, so they never gave up on any existing jobs; they shaped their lives around the then-boom.

If there was never a boom there would have been a consistent pressure on all the east-coast non-mining jobs over the past 15 years, which would have been absorbed over time, rather than a sudden crunch over the past 2.

My previous non-mining east-coast job got *very* difficult due to greatly increased competition of ex-FIFO workers finding alternative work back over here, coupled with the mining-related projects that formed a significant minority of my previous employer's portfolio all drying up, thus creating internal pressure as well.

[mcnews]

Originally Posted by CAT600

A 26/9 guy on $160k a year is not overpaid. His 1st day off is spent at and airport so he is working 27 days and having 8 off.

Trev you mentioned the Navy, you think Navy guys are paid 4 times less than the average FIFO guy?... no chance

Navy Submariners are on 120k a year after 9 years and can claim some extras that FIFO are no longer able to... tell me again how FIFO gets paid 4 times more and I bet the 26/9 guys are working more hours if you average it out over 24 months.l

Navy submariners are but a tiny part of the overall fleet, the surface fleet much bigger and primarily what I am talking about. I know 21 year olds that went straight to the mines on 120k a year when first out at sea the Navy boys these days don't get all that much over 40.

I know it is not easy, but really, the cry me a river stuff over the conditions when those conditions are five star compared to spending five months away on a ship, with 48 of you crammed into one room stacked three high and side by side, and with two showers and two toilets between the 48 of you etc. and working 14-16 hour days and doing all your own cleaning etc. also then sorry but people on six figures bleating about their conditions does make my eyes glaze over. Of course it is not easy, but it's not as if they do it real tough now is it.

[barrys123]

Originally Posted by Big Damo

No one values work completed with hands, very few trades are respected, which are the ones highly paid.

Think about your licensed trades, plumbers, builders, mains electricians etc, are the only trades where people seem to value their services, they will gladly hand over the money and put up with tardiness on behalf of them.

I'm qualified as an auto electrician but I don't touch tools anymore, I run the paperwork and business end of my business, my business partner does all the spanner swinging.

People come into our workshops with a preconception that we're trying to rip them off all the time, they baulk at invoices, they question everything from labour rate to parts costs, I've had multiple people look at our $95/hour labour rate and complain that we're too highly paid for what we do.

They don't take into account that the going rate that an employee would see on the tools is anywhere from $19.64/hour to maybe $25/hour around Melbourne working in small family owned automotive workshops.

Its the same thing with miners, they see the wages these guys pull and see the toys they own, but they don't take into account the environment they work in exposing them to dangerous situations and environments on a day to day basis, the amount of hours they pull on shifts, when a piece of equipment craps out and the rush to get it working again etc.

They don't know what its like to not see their families and friends for long periods of time, being stuck out in the middle of nowhere with a bunch of other dudes doing the same thing.

Everyone is happy to pay $1000 for a new iPhone that cost Apple China $2 to make, who sells it to Apple Ireland for $3, who then sells it to Apple Australia for $999 who sells it to you for $1000 and pays tax in Australia on the $1 profit they technically made.

But if an automotive business wants to make a small percentage on parts or they see a miner with a boat and a new car its the end of the world.

Its the same thing when you see big business fold, the media gets involved, there is footage of the guys in high visibility clothing with their heads down, in tears, walking out of the factory for the last time, the interview with the old dude with tears in his eyes saying he has worked there for 30 years and he doesn't know anything else.

Then the crap fight ensues with fingers pointed at the guys in high visibility clothing, saying they're lazy, they were greedy how dare they take so much money from their employer when the board and the CEO have been continually making crap business decisions, which sinks the company, but they walk out in their fancy suit, collect their golden handshake for ruining the company and they walk off into the sunset with their payout while the high vis crew line up at Centrelink and get put into Certificate II in hospitality and how to write resume courses hosted by some woman in her mid 20s employed by one of these 'job agencies' who are collecting money from the government for making these guys come into the office, sign paperwork and leaving again to tell them that the government hasn't allocated any resources to them to help them look to a job until they move onto a different 'stream'.

tldr:

Don't believe anything the media floats up in the toilet bowl of life, its just crap, the only person who tells you the truth is the person you walk by in the street, first hand information is king.

I wouldn't kick at paying $95 per hour I think that is a fair rate with all of their other cost besides wages, I know a couple of home mechanics who charge $60 per hour, but they have no out of pocket expenses.
My daughter-in-law had one of those flexi stainless hoses burst under her sink and rang "The Tap Doctor" who when he came said we don't replace hoses we only have the whole unit, tap splitter and both hot and cold hoses, charged her $390, I checked the same brand of tap at Bunnings $47 and $38 for the two hoses, he fitted it in less then half an hour.

[CAT600]

Originally Posted by mcnews

Navy submariners are but a tiny part of the overall fleet, the surface fleet much bigger and primarily what I am talking about. I know 21 year olds that went straight to the mines on 120k a year when first out at sea the Navy boys these days don't get all that much over 40.

I know it is not easy, but really, the cry me a river stuff over the conditions when those conditions are five star compared to spending five months away on a ship, with 48 of you crammed into one room stacked three high and side by side, and with two showers and two toilets between the 48 of you etc. and working 14-16 hour days and doing all your own cleaning etc. also then sorry but people on six figures bleating about their conditions does make my eyes glaze over. Of course it is not easy, but it's not as if they do it real tough now is it.

What do you think an apprentice doing a trade earns?.. even offshore at the best place the most ive seen in in the 50's. You do 4 years of that and then on $110-130 sure, but a sailor (not sub) after 4 years is on around 80k plus other benefits... its not 4 x Trev like you said nowhere near it.

Most platforms offshore are 2-8 in a room with one toilet block shared by many, the conditions of the submariners is not lost on me but as you say thats not typical of the wider Navy employ.

When I started out FIFO in 2000/01 I was doing 2/1 for 58k and my tools were sent around the state in a pallet box every 3 weeks getting smashed up, I said "stuff that" and went back into the workshop on a base of $40k but grabbing all the OT I could was regularly making $85-105k for the next few years (more hours but home every night)

So I dont think 120-150k for a FIFO job is outrageous in todays economy, the average morgage requires $3,000 a month to pay over 30 years so if you are not making 100k as a family with 2 cars (perth based worker) you are going to struggle.

Older guys that have a $150k mortgage because they bought pre-GST era boom are probably a little out of touch with the cost of living right now. I rolled the dice on an investment just over 10 years ago that didnt work out and as a result im seeing the same cost of living base as guys 10 years younger than me. If I still had my place in South Guildford id own it, be paying off another one or two all while still ****ing 50k a year into cars and living within my means.

As I said if guys are squandering thats there issue and I agree they should not sook if they overcommit, but I strongly disagree about "pamper" and "overpaid"

Daniel

[FairmontGS]

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

Oh heaven for-fend!!! The "powerful, city-hopping executives" might have to rub shoulders in the QANTAS lounge with ordinary people who actually work hard for a living...oh the horror for them!!!

Um. I don't know any "executives" who are only on Gold Status so little chance of that happening.

[FairmontGS]

Originally Posted by 2011G6E

No, but I do know people...ordinary workers who save hard and travel a lot...who have built up points and managed to get into the more premium lounge areas and unless you're "dressed for the occasion" you can get looked at by some people in there as working class scum...

I'm fairly sure that you've never been into a lounge before with such a silly statement as that. Everyone who is in the Business or First lounges is there because they worked to get there. It's a very egalitarian place.

[Mercury Bullet]

Hmm average income in Australia is 55-60k
http://www.tradingeconomics.com/australia/wages

I have a relative who is totally unskilled just got a job driving dump trucks for Rio and starts on $137k plus benefits.

Truck driving jobs out in the wheatbelt are getting ~$23/hr, Far more skilled and dangerous than getting around a mine.

Seems a bit out of touch to me.

[Stefan]

Supply and demand pretty much dictate rates of pay, conditions, etc.

I have no issue with fifo guys getting good pay, the work sux, being away from home sux.

Hope it gets better for mining, this country has little else to offer the world, without it were in pretty bad shape.

[mcnews]

Originally Posted by CAT600

Most platforms offshore are 2-8 in a room with one toilet block shared by many, the conditions of the submariners is not lost on me but as you say thats not typical of the wider Navy employ.
l

The conditions I described were surface warship. The submariners didn't even get their own bunks, they shared, as in wake their relief and then get in their bed, as not enough bunks for everyone etc.

I am not having a massive crack or whinge about FIFO workers etc. But as to work conditions, the pics and information given to me by brother and nephews over the years that have all worked FIFO, and some still do, make it look more holiday camp away from home than genuine hardship :-)

[b0son]

Originally Posted by Mercury Bullet

Hmm average income in Australia is 55-60k
http://www.tradingeconomics.com/australia/wages

The median is somewhat lower than that (around 80% of the average), and is a better statistical measure of what most people are getting.

[FoxtrotGolfXray 5.0]

I'm not really sure I understand why the tennis match on who has it better or worse is happening.

At the end of the day, we all have different drivers as to why we do what we do: for some it is the money, for others it is a love of the work they carry out and others it is simply so they can put food on the table for their family. Every job has its pros. And its cons.

At the end of the day, the only people who can make the choice as to whether those pros outweigh the cons is us. No one else.

I look at how much these FIFO guys get paid, and on the surface it appears to be a lot for what they do. But then, they make sacrifices that aren't that obvious to everyone. Would I do it? No way! Money is good but I enjoy my personal time too much.

And the value that someone gets paid by an organisation is only as much as that organisation is prepared to pay. If the organisation thinks it is not worth that much, and they have a pool of resources available at a lower rate, then that is what they will offer. Similarly, if an employee thinks they are being paid too little, then they always have the choice to find something else.

[CAT600]

Originally Posted by Mercury Bullet

Hmm average income in Australia is 55-60k
http://www.tradingeconomics.com/australia/wages

I have a relative who is totally unskilled just got a job driving dump trucks for Rio and starts on $137k plus benefits.

Truck driving jobs out in the wheatbelt are getting ~$23/hr, Far more skilled and dangerous than getting around a mine.

Seems a bit out of touch to me.

You want to know whats out of touch?........ the price of land and the flow on effect... real inflation as a result is out of control and income vs expenditure is now disproportionate from people born in the 70's/80's to people born in the 80's/90's. As a result you really do need 70-80k net as a family to pay off a 400-500k mortgage and have an otherwise comfortable existence.

Dont get me wrong people survive on less (and much less) but if you analyse those scenarios you see that its purely a holding pattern that lasts only until the pension/carers kick in and thats not what the government is touting as the future of sustainability in a greying workforce.

There is only two ways to get ahead and build a future on the "average income":

Two "average income" people earning 55k each are taking home around $90,000 combined and paying $20k income tax (combined) and are going to need assistance with daycare costs if they do not have other people to help/working nightshifts if the kids are small).

The single earner on 130k is also taking home around $90,000 and paying $35k tax. Even though "Mum" is raising them on her own half the time at least "shes" there, while Dad is around all the the time that he's home... more "quality" time with family and more tax paid to the welfare/government revenue system

Have a think about that... the way kids are being raised is out of touch if you ask me so you tell me how this plays out for those kids in the future, we are already seeing social disconnect and the breakdown in the fabric of society... two working parents with less and less time for the kids is a major negative going forward IMO

A Teacher 8-10 years out in WA is on around 90k gross, you think teachers are overpaid too?

Driving a truck in the bush isnt hard, its a way of life and has its own enjoyable aspects... we ran wheat for farmers in Esperence and Mullewa for years its just truck driving and should be paying more than 23 an hour, we paid that on long distance 5 years ago. Also I would not say far more skilled and dangerous, different yes but that's not accurate what you are saying... even with the shift to autonomous OHT we are still seeing 1-2 fatalities a year with tyre explosions alone (exploding through the cab floor or in the process of tyre fitting)

To sum it up,

Ill do what I have to to give my kids a good balance and be comfortable and if that means sacrificing some of my days with them in exchange for better qulity time with them and letting mum stay at home then ill do that, and anyone that wants to do the same only has to commit to it as a family decision, nobody else is stopping you.... if you want a piece get off your *** and get some.

But don't criticize those that do, we are trading one thing for another and paying the entry price to do so.

Daniel

[Stefan]

Originally Posted by CAT600

You want to know whats out of touch?........ the price of land and the flow on effect... real inflation as a result is out of control and income vs expenditure is now disproportionate from people born in the 70's/80's to people born in the 80's/90's. As a result you really do need 70-80k net as a family to pay off a 400-500k mortgage and have an otherwise comfortable existence.

While the price of land is insane I agree, so is discretionary spending, more so than anything else.

When I grew up, it was a frugal existence, no one had a media room, more than one car. We never ate out when I was a kid. Looking back my parents hardly spent any money besides the mortgage. The only toys I got was birthday or Christmas. I got my first Nike shoes when I started working and paid for them myself.

No-one I know lives like that now.

[Pepscobra]

I did FIFO work for a while, back in 2006/7.
I got in, worked hard and long and got out. I had a plan to only do it for a specific timeframe and as a result have set myself up ok.

The obvious problem I see with most FIFO workers is that they have over-spent while the money was good. When the money dries up, that's when the issues begin. They didnt give themselves a timeframe, rather they expected it to last forever. There was no exit strategy.

A regular theme when I was working FIFO was speaking to new people at the camps, especially the older blokes, and hearing that they only started out wanting to do it for a year or two but have been doing it for 20 odd years.

[CAT600]

Originally Posted by Stefan

While the price of land is insane I agree, so is discretionary spending, more so than anything else.

When I grew up, it was a frugal existence, no one had a media room, more than one car. We never ate out when I was a kid. Looking back my parents hardly spent any money besides the mortgage. The only toys I got was birthday or Christmas. I got my first Nike shoes when I started working and paid for them myself.

No-one I know lives like that now.

Copied from an inflation calculator:

The equivalent of 22,000 AUD on 01 July 1978 is 112,012.09 AUD on 08 July 2016

My Dad built a house in Hamersley in 1978 for 22,000... it was about 200m2 on about 700m2 of land. House was $18,000 and the land around $4,000

Cost of an XD 5.8L in 1981 was $10,581 he tells me.

In 1999 I built a 186m2 house in South Guildford for $80,552 on a 518m2 block of land that cost me $53,500... that's $134,000 all said and done

Cost of an AU XR8 was $50,000

Given the progression of luxuries etc so far that seems about right (at least reasonable) being a similar distance from the CBD

In 2009 to do the same thing in an area that far from the CBD would be have been around $500,000 at least.

Cost of an FGX XR8 is $58000

Today there is no land that close in, so you would be about twice the distance out and even then still paying $450,000- $500,000

At practically any distance out you will pay $350,000 (and im talking an hour from the city)

Housing... That's the problem right there, and in turn the root cause of inflationary wage costs.

Daniel

[cs123]

Originally Posted by FairmontGS

I'm fairly sure that you've never been into a lounge before with such a silly statement as that. Everyone who is in the Business or First lounges is there because they worked to get there. It's a very egalitarian place.

I'm sitting in the Qantas lounge now, with a snifter of brandy. We are laughing about how good it is we don't have to share this place with miners.

I laughed so loud my monocle fell out into my caviar ....

[FairmontGS]

Originally Posted by cs123

I'm sitting in the Qantas lounge now, with a snifter of brandy. We are laughing about how good it is we don't have to share this place with miners.



I laughed so loud my monocle fell out into my caviar ....

Well played old man! Nothing against miners in the platinum lounge - someone has to serve the drinks


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[fordomatic]

Originally Posted by CAT600

but a sailor (not sub) after 4 years is on around 80k plus other benefits... its not 4 x Trev like you said nowhere near it.



Daniel

Below is our pay rates for the Defence Force, an Able Seamen (lucky if LS by 4 years) on paygroup 3 is on $52,000 plus service allowance.

http://content.defencejobs.gov.au/pd...t_PayRates.pdf

There is a reason why all my mates from my platoon discharged and went to the mines after we got back from Afghanistan in 2010. You make it sound like we get payed a fortune in the ADF, if i did what i do for the money I would have left years ago.

My mate who went onto the rigs off Perth has been doing it for 5 years now and is on $220k, month on three weeks off, loves it.

I'm not whinging about our pay, i'm just saying these FIFO workers whinging about pay and conditions (not being home etc) have no idea what it's like to be away from loved ones for 9 months at a time every couple of years and yet they say they have it so hard. Not all are the same though, none of my mates ever whinge about it, they say how it's easy money for mundane work.

[CAT600]

Originally Posted by CAT600

Copied from an inflation calculator:

The equivalent of 22,000 AUD on 01 July 1978 is 112,012.09 AUD on 08 July 2016

My Dad built a house in Hamersley in 1978 for 22,000... it was about 200m2 on about 700m2 of land. House was $18,000 and the land around $4,000

Cost of an XD 5.8L in 1981 was $10,581 he tells me.

In 1999 I built a 186m2 house in South Guildford for $80,552 on a 518m2 block of land that cost me $53,500... that's $134,000 all said and done

Cost of an AU XR8 was $50,000

Given the progression of luxuries etc so far that seems about right (at least reasonable) being a similar distance from the CBD

In 2009 to do the same thing in an area that far from the CBD would be have been around $500,000 at least.

Cost of an FGX XR8 is $58000

Today there is no land that close in, so you would be about twice the distance out and even then still paying $450,000- $500,000

At practically any distance out you will pay $350,000 (and im talking an hour from the city)

Housing... That's the problem right there, and in turn the root cause of inflationary wage costs.

Daniel

Oh and I should have mentioned, today the $450,000 property is comprised of a $300,000 block and a $150,000 house

Even the property that is miles out is $200,000 for the block with a $150,000 house on it

Compare that to the $4,000 block and the $22,000 house (just look at that ratio!) in 1978 and ask yourself why

Daniel

[CAT600]

Originally Posted by fordomatic

Below is our pay rates for the Defence Force, an Able Seamen (lucky if LS by 4 years) on paygroup 3 is on $52,000 plus service allowance.

http://content.defencejobs.gov.au/pd...t_PayRates.pdf

There is a reason why all my mates from my platoon discharged and went to the mines after we got back from Afghanistan in 2010. You make it sound like we get payed a fortune in the ADF, if i did what i do for the money I would have left years ago.

My mate who went onto the rigs off Perth has been doing it for 5 years now and is on $220k, month on three weeks off, loves it.

I'm not whinging about our pay, i'm just saying these FIFO workers whinging about pay and conditions (not being home etc) have no idea what it's like to be away from loved ones for 9 months at a time every couple of years and yet they say they have it so hard. Not all are the same though, none of my mates ever whinge about it, they say how it's easy money for mundane work.

Well maybe the Navy need to amend the advertisement to guys looking for jobs because they make it look half-decent here:

http://www.defencejobs.gov.au/navy/s...ayandbenefits/

http://www.defencejobs.gov.au/navy/w...nd-allowances/

Still, 65K per year is not 1/4th of what a "miner" earns (the point I was refuting) and just on this, if you ask me personnel in the defence force are getting stiffed, both during and after the years rendered. My old man is ex-SASR and carry's wounds on the outside and in, you cant be compensated properly for that kind of thing but you can give it a better shot than they do (and have done).

[fordomatic]

Originally Posted by CAT600

If you ask me personnel in the defence force are getting stiffed, both during and after the years rendered. My old man is ex-SASR and carry's wounds on the outside and in, you cant be compensated properly for that kind of thing but you can give it a better shot than they do (and have done).

I wish i could say more on here

[Big_Daz]

Originally Posted by CAT600

To sum it up,

Ill do what I have to to give my kids a good balance and be comfortable and if that means sacrificing some of my days with them in exchange for better qulity time with them and letting mum stay at home then ill do that, and anyone that wants to do the same only has to commit to it as a family decision, nobody else is stopping you.... if you want a piece get off your *** and get some.

But don't criticize those that do, we are trading one thing for another and paying the entry price to do so.

Daniel

Exactly right, you (and I don't doubt there are many others) get into the FIFO game for this reason... I tips my hat to you for doing something selfless to make sure your loved ones are catered for...

My brother in law is the same.. Lives in Perth but does FIFO out of South America... He has done it since he was 20 and he is now 45.. Its all he knows and its meant my sister in law has stayed at home to bring the kids up... The money is obscene he is on, but it means they live in a nice part of Perth near the beach with nice cars, good school's for the kids, etc. The kids don't know any different and deal with Facetime/phone calls when he is away... He was on a 3 month on 1 off cycle...

I don't know how they do it.. But its horse's for courses... I could never not see my wife and little boy every day, but that's just me and my beliefs... I happen to love my job and have worked hard to get to the position I am... Do I earn 200+K? nope... But I don't need that sort of money... I'm quite happy in my office job where I get to rock up in jeans and a polo shirt and sit in a nice comfy office... I still get a nice 6 figure salary and OT when I want it...

[ford man xf]

Seems like a lot of people on here have some sob story about their job, at the end of the day you chose your profession, no ones forcing you to stay, be grateful for what you've got.

[Stefan]

Originally Posted by CAT600

Copied from an inflation calculator:

The equivalent of 22,000 AUD on 01 July 1978 is 112,012.09 AUD on 08 July 2016

My Dad built a house in Hamersley in 1978 for 22,000... it was about 200m2 on about 700m2 of land. House was $18,000 and the land around $4,000

Cost of an XD 5.8L in 1981 was $10,581 he tells me.

In 1999 I built a 186m2 house in South Guildford for $80,552 on a 518m2 block of land that cost me $53,500... that's $134,000 all said and done

Cost of an AU XR8 was $50,000

Given the progression of luxuries etc so far that seems about right (at least reasonable) being a similar distance from the CBD

In 2009 to do the same thing in an area that far from the CBD would be have been around $500,000 at least.

Cost of an FGX XR8 is $58000

Today there is no land that close in, so you would be about twice the distance out and even then still paying $450,000- $500,000

At practically any distance out you will pay $350,000 (and im talking an hour from the city)

Housing... That's the problem right there, and in turn the root cause of inflationary wage costs.

Daniel

Very simplistic view mate, you might want to ask your DAD about 17% interest on a home loan.

I'm sure it wasn't all the roses and daffodils you seem to think it was.

but people made it through and most did it by not buying a 5 bedroom house with media room, a gym and a 5 car garage as their first house, which so many do these days. (or at least think they should be able to do.)

[GTMOND]

I have worked away from home most of my working life, in the mining industry. The FIFO life is not for everyone hence why the ugly black dog is quite common in this type of work.
I have seen people last only a few days before the cracks appear.
So all is not as easy as what people think it is.
I now do 2 up line haul truck driving SYD-PERTH-SYD every week, and get home for 2 days a month as I live in Tassie, but I'm based out of Sydney.
But at the present time no point complaining ,as it's a job with a weekly wage.
I choose to do these types of jobs to set my self up, then one day I will work a local job at home . People who complain about mining getting paid to much, there was nothing stopping anyone having a crack a few years ago.

[CAT600]

Originally Posted by Stefan

Very simplistic view mate, you might want to ask your DAD about 17% interest on a home loan.

I'm sure it wasn't all the roses and daffodils you seem to think it was.

but people made it through and most did it by not buying a 5 bedroom house with media room, a gym and a 5 car garage as their first house, which so many do these days. (or at least think they should be able to do.)

Wrong... because even at 17% the inflation adjusted amount of 112k ($22,000 in 2016's money) is still only $1700 a month where median home loan repayment in Perth is more like $3,000+

Some good reading here to support what ive said:

http://www.macrobusiness.com.au/2013...operty-values/

Its beyond recoverable in a controlled fashion and can only end one of two ways... massive bubble crash or basically un-affordable for our kids

Daniel

[HI PSI]

My curiosity got the better of me and I took the time to read this thread. I was quite bewildered by the claims of the person that was interviewed. Lobster? Really? They must have been interviewing ******* Gina Rinehart, because I have NEVER been served that in any of my time in camps, and I've been in a few. So, I call this out as being a fabricated load of crap. I have however been to a few x campus that have a seafood night once a month...

As for the critics of fifo workers. If you haven't walked a mile in my shoes, then you have No Bloody Idea what we go through.

I work upward of 100 hours a week, in dirty and to be honest, really ****** conditions. Keep in mind that not everyone that works on a mine drives a bloody truck. Some of us actually work for a living. These people are referred to as " grubby subbies" by mine workers.

The camp aren't the resorts that you perceive them to be. The beds are that ******, that the mattress's have the frame of a person moulded into them. The food is absolutely atrocious and is of poor quality. Fruit is normally the cheapest second crap that they could find. Bread is always stale and would be at least 3 days old. Yes!!! What a awesome time this is.

As far as I'm concerned, I deserve every cent that I make....