Yahoo Finance FIFO tradie breaks taboo to reveal huge savings after 1 year in the mines: 'Everyone is making bank'
The bloke said he had no experience but that didn't stop him from earning six figures.
A FIFO tradie has left people in disbelief after sharing how much he made working in the mines over just 12 months. The Irish expat moved to Australia with less than $400 in his bank account.
He had no experience as a tradesman but wanted to become a fly-in fly-out (FIFO) worker and see how much he could earn. The bloke applied for all the necessary accreditations and, before he knew it, he was on a mine site.
After just one month, he had more than $12,000 sitting in his account.
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The money kept rolling in and at the end of the year, he was sitting on $123,500.
"Working FIFO in Australia, you're going to be making anywhere between $10,000 to $20,000 per month," he said. "I made $123,000, that is in an unqualified role, I'm not a tradesman and you don't need any experience heading over here."
He said mine sites are like "mini cities" and there are hundreds of thousands of people who have different roles and jobs.
The Irish bloke admitted it's not "easy money" for the jobs that earn the big money. The shifts are long, and the shift periods can sometimes be up to two weeks straight.
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Sometimes you're working in the baking heat and other times you're trying to keep your eyes open during a lengthy night shift.
But he added that there are numerous roles going in areas where you don't have to get your hands as dirty as miners.
"They need nurses, PTs, bus drivers, bar staff and everyone is making bank over here," he said. "It's not easy money, but I flew home with over $100k in the bank and that's how you deal with it, folks."
The non-mine jobs like being a housekeeper can pay between $80,000 and $90,000 a year.
'Where do I sign up?'
People couldn't believe the salaries on offer for FIFO workers.
"So basically one year in the mines and I can afford to down payment a house and go back to a 9-5 in my brand new house… ahh yes please," wrote one person.
"Damn might need to move over there," said another.
"I AM a tradesman. Where the hell do I sign up," wrote a third.
But not everyone was convinced and some said their mental health wouldn't survive the remoteness or the demanding work schedule.
"Sounds great but you're in middle of nowhere, 12 hour days, work 3 weeks, week 4 you have off so need somewhere stay," one user commented.
Another said: "I wish I could do FIFO but the time trade-off just isn't worth it for me."
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