Should WE do the mining thing???

[shinebrite]

Well last year DHs bestfriend left to go work at the minds meanwhile DH is not making ends meet in a business adventure with his dad. Dh whatched 60mins last night about the mining and was like awe i need more money, we have a huge tax debt, unfinished renovations (due to lack of $$) land rates, no clothes and A HUGE business tax So obviously going and gettin a contract and being able to earn a reasonable ammount is very very tempting but Im in canberra and hes looking at W.A jobs as a desil mechanic with MR lisence.... His dad spoke to him this morning (because he watched it too) and his dad said "lets do it" but was kinda joking but Im sure DH will b able to convince him seeing as his wife has landed a contract in Darwin with the aborigonal stuff going on wih the goverment....

So what do I need to do? what should i consider? he is looking at 2 on 1 off atm and I think it would be ok I suppose as long as I occupy myself I mean I could sacrifice alot to get on top IYKWIM but how would it affect DD who is almost one I wonder? ANY advice? anything I would really appreciate!!

[Laksa]

we have been doing the "mining thing" for years now and it certainly suits us. yes, i sometimes find it hard when DH is away (our son is 4 months old) BUT i love love love his week home! we go for walks and picnics and he gets up in the morning with Harper so i can stay in bed :D if he worked in perth, he would only see Harper for a little while in the evening, he would be tired and grouchy from working all day and of course, we would have less money!

it doesnt suit everyone tho. i like spending time alone, always have. and also i have lots of family and friends around for support and help with bub.

[M O P]

a read through the 'Parents with Partners Working Away' might give you some clues

[Crazy Monkey]

My DH watched 60 minutes too and has already sent off an email (I think)... But he wants us to relocate to Perth and I dont like the idea of moving - especially with another on the way... I love the family support I have here and couldn't see myself moving instate... Cried most of the night cause he really wants to move and I'm the only reason he is staying here... I dont know what to do....

Sorry for the hijack

[Chlo-Bo's Mummy]

I say go for it. As long as you have support around you from family and friends while he is away so that if you are not coping or just need some adult conversation. If it doesn't work out the way you thought it would he can quit just as easily.

DP wants to do the same thing, but we have not been able to find out how to get in without any prior experience. I would be so interested to know how you get into these jobs.

I think the first few weeks would be the hardest, then you would get used to it. I am excited if DP does this because then I would start staying home with DD again instead of working full-time, maybe I could even study part-time aswell!!!

[shinebrite]

Well mayb you could come to a compromise? Me and Dh see it as geetin a contract only for a little while and see how it goes, i would need to stay here because of my friends but I would sacrifice having DH here (well hes actually not around that much anyway working his a$$ off all the time anyway) for a good heads up!

[shinebrite]

Yeah thats waht Im looking forward to aswell, not working and possibly studying! dh said he would take me on a canda holiday too!!! YAY! DH is a desil mechanic and has his MR lisence, CHLO_ Bo what experince does your DH have? HR lisences are easy to get...

[Chlo-Bo's Mummy]

DP is a qualified carpenter but they arn't really needed. He is going to get his HR licence as soon as we have some spare money but otherwise it would be labouring or something like that.

Where did your DP get offered a contract from??

[M O P]

My b-i-l worked near Kalgoorlie and out of Fitzroy Crossing as a diesel mechanic on mine sites for about 3 &1/2 years- he saved enough to buy a rental property and a flat to live in in Adelaide and become a personal trainer- his dream job.

[shinebrite]

he hasnt been offered any yet but he is showing me a few he found tonight which he will apply for!

Kazza~ thats great! Im looking forward to being able to save $$$!!! but hey havent really made up our minds yet...sort of!?

[Chlo-Bo's Mummy]

I would love to know how it all goes!!! DP will probably start as soon as we can get in, I just can't wait to be with DD all day again!!!

Do you know the websites and stuff your DP was finding the jobs on???

I will keep my :fingerscrossed: for you guys... its a big decision!!!

[shinebrite]

thanks Chlo, i will for you guys as well and Dh will be off as soon as he can get a job too... he was looking at seek.com just google mining jobs you should come up with heaps!

[2s'nuff]

We too watched 60 minutes the other day. Be wary that the painted a very pretty picture and didn't include any of the not so-nice-stuff. Having your partner working away, especially if you have kids is not easy on either of you. Food and accomodation can also be fairly cr@ppy. And the good pay comes from working very long days and weeks.

If it's what you are looking for then good luck. Life as a FIFO (fly in fly out) single mum is hard, but can also be very rewarding.

[shinebrite]

thanks we have a good friend over there who does FIFO and DH has talked to him about his conditions and they seem good. DH is more than a hard worker he is a work a holic so I think not seeing him will not be that bad because I dont actually see him I just dont see the money because he owns his own business, him getting more pay for working hard would be better but I will take everything into consideration thanks heaps for your advice.

[Coyote]

Hey Guys thought I would tell you my story.I am originally from Perth! I moved over to Melbourne 6 years ago to be with my DH. We had a little boy June 2006. My parents are living in Perth.My husband decided that he wanted to move to Perth and start working on the mines. We had set up a life in Melbourne but I was really missing having my folks around.So we started applying for jobs, we had heard there were so many out there but they all needed experience, we just didnt know how to crack into this industry!!Then one day it just happened, it is really all about who you know!! My cousin was working for a company in Kalgoorlie, he gave DH a contact there and the next day they called offereing him a job.We had 10 days to be in Kalgoorlie. So we got in the car and drove across the nullabour!!I hated the idea of DH going away at first, well to be honest I still struggle with it, but I know if he doesnt do this job then we will never get a place of our own, we wont be able to ahve the 3 kids we want and many other things.The pay to start off with is ****, I think alot of people talk it up, DH was not really earning much more than he was in Melbourne. But if you are willing to hang around in the industry the pay goes up, you meet people and get different contacts with the ability to move up!!DH has just started working for another company that was heaps better than the first, he is only doing 9 days on 5 days off to start with, where as before he was 2 and 1!!I love the time that he is at home, its so valuable, much more valuable than if he was working a 9am-5pm job!!I would have to admit that if I didnt have my folks around then there is no way that I could do this!! It does get easier but you still miss them heaps!!Hope this helps!!

[M~T~J~M]

Having your partner working away, especially if you have kids is not easy on either of you. Food and accomodation can also be fairly cr@ppy. And the good pay comes from working very long days and weeks.

I agree with this!!
My DH is currently living and working in QLD in a coal mine. He is also a Diesel Mechanic with his MC Truck licence. He is on a 7 day on 7 day off roster. The company he works for doesn't pay to FIFO, so he can only get home for one of his 7 days off a month. He is getting horribly bored on the 7 days he is stuck there. The closest town to where he is is 1.5 hrs away! he is in such a small rural community, if he goes for a drive, he reaches the other side of the town within 5 minutes!!

He lives in a room with a bed, shower, sink, toilet and a kettle. He had to supply his own T.V. The food he gets is really s**t. Nobody is game enough to eat the chicken as it's rarely cooked properly, and all other meat is boiled :barf:
He works disgustingly long hours - 72 hours a week when on night shift, and 74 hrs a week when doing days!! Huge hours!

We are really throwing around what to do atm, as I am still living in Vic with our children, and he misses us ever so much - as we do him! He can't see himself being in this mine for too long, so don't think it's worth us packing everything up here and spending a fortune on moving. In the next month or two though, we will be debt free, so that's a bonus! Then I think he is going to try and look around for similar position closer to home.

Good luck with it!

[Di-78]

I too was wanting to say the things the others have said but not game enough too.

We have worked on and off for years with away work (not only mines) and it has + and -. The closest family is 1 hour away and we only see each other once a month. I do enjoy my own company so that helps but it is lonely and the kids miss their dad. We try to explain to them its so we can get things without having to borrow money from the bank and to pay the bills.

I missed watching the 60 minutes show as we were away camping (on partners r&r week). I did want to see what picture they painted. All the guys at partners site were talking about the show.

Good luck. I agree it is who you know and what roster you get that makes all the difference. We are on a 4 weeks on 1 week off for a short period of time and it is tough.
Partner also has one tv between 40 guys, a bed (not very comfy), a little fridge and a sink, shared toilets/showers (some guys are just grubs). The food isn't too bad (he's on the same roster as the good cook so thats alright) they don't even get a day off in that 4 weeks.
You just have to try to see if it works for you.
some of the places are really expensive to live/rent and not overly family friendly for schools etc.

[Africamum]

The whole rosy concept of FIFO sounds wonderful.

Buyer beware, you pay heavily for earning good money - which by the way for many of us isn't that good - you just work a lot of hours.

We have been doing the FIFO thing for years (until we moved to Africa) and it worked for us, but we are both in the industry and both working. There are the good, the bad and the plain ugly.

the good is obviously the money and the compressed cycle giving a lot of days off in a row.

The bad, missing many family events, christmas, aniversaries etc (although this can be good). Family often struggle to understand why the mine just doesn't shut down at christmas.

The ugly - the divorce rate for FIFO couples is high, people start to develop different intrests and have separate lives. The guys I work with often complain that when they are home they feel like an intruder with their family.

Thankfully the rosters are getting better, and 14/7 has generally been replaced by 9 and 5 or better.

We loved the lifestyle and it was great for us, but it doesn't work for so many people. If you get into mining for the money it is probably the wrong reason. (you learn to spend more money as well)

[2s'nuff]

If you get into mining for the money it is probably the wrong reason. (you learn to spend more money as well)

I'll wholeheartedly agree with this. When there's more money coming in, there's always more money going out.

[shinebrite]

Hi thanks for your replies I did ask for your replies so dont feel you cant say anything to me! I think a change is VERY needed in our situation DH does work endless hours sometime 21 hours a day (illegal I know) BUT he has to because he runs his own labour intensive business, most days Im home alone, and most nights BUT and the big BUT is he isnt getting paid we are actually closing our family business down because of the fact they cant pay bills and are kinda working for love IYKWIM... SO working the same maybe better hours as in 12 hour days would actually b better for DH! LOL! We have NO money at the moment living off savings and owe the tax man a huge debt! we have decided to still apply for jobs in the mines and hopefully we will hear of something soon as we are desperate and only people with degrees get paid in canberra NOT trades so moving is our only option really.... we are thinking of only moving for a short time to save up and pay for bills and then DH is looking at studying Mecahnical engineering which will hopefully SOMEDAY be able to cover our mortgage repayments and all that... Im not actually doing it JUST for the money! I need a change, my family is smothering us (thats a whole other jummbled story) so maybe moving away from the parents wont be such a bad thing but thank you guys for helping me point out the pros and cons... SO yeah I do know what its like to not have hubby home so I suppose thats kinda not a problem for us Oh and Im quite an independant person so I suppose I will adjust and hey distance makes the heart grow fonder..... THANKS again REALLY I appreciate your stories I DO.. xoxoxo

[Di-78]

I do wish you and your husband all the best sounds like a hard time and hope you keep up the strength to move on and make a life for yourselves. Sorry if we sounded negative. I don't think you should have a problem getting a job......whats your hubbys trade? I suppose the difficult part is finding the right location/pay/conditions. I'm sure there are lots of jobs to just get a start and then you can go from there.
We all have different circumstances and things that work for some don't work for others. My Brother in law lasted 1 month away from home, it doesn't suit them were as we have done it on and off for years.
Keep smiling and things work out for a reason. It is good to have a plan to look forward to and sorry to hear they have to shut down the family business and are working so hard
Di