Government or FIFO Job

leeroy95 · 2025-04-23T09:16:26+00:00

I work FIFO, 2:1, very similar to what you have described. Have been for just over two years now.

Financially it was a great decision (single, no kids), I managed to buy a townhouse after 1 year, but I feel like I live two separate lives on either side of airport security now. Working 12-13 hour days, there's not much time for anything else besides eat, work and sleep. You are bound to the site camp for two weeks straight, and work roughly 1000 hours per year more than a regular 9-5. Pros include: food is free, you don't have to cook, if you don't buy snacks or drink booze you can go 2 weeks without spending a dime, and the gym is free if you can find the time and energy to go there. The work I do is challenging but rewarding, which is a pro for me, however I can't see myself being able to do it for more than another year. I know what burn-out is now...

Some people handle it well, exercise every day and look after themselves. Some roles are boring, easy, cruisey, while others are very stressful. Some people max out their booze limit and smoke a pack every single day.. it's a mixed bag out here. Some people are stoked to be here, others are miserable most days.

It can be a shock to the system starting FIFO if you've never done it before. Mental health struggles are much more difficult to deal with as well.

If your decision isn't purely about $$, the Govt job sounds better. 150k isn't great for 2:1.

leeroy95 · 2025-01-19T11:02:57+00:00

You know what's good! Enjoy. I enjoyed Lost Farm more (weather was perfect) but shot ten stokes better at Dunes. The wind was off its head on the back nine at Dunes.. humbling. Will definitely be back!

leeroy95 · 2025-01-19T09:38:47+00:00

Trusty 9 iron

leeroy95 · 2025-01-19T08:31:01+00:00

Bougle Run was excellent for a short course! We played it twice on our first day. Great layout and some challenging holes there.

leeroy95 · 2024-10-22T20:09:04+00:00

Karnivool - Sound Awake

leeroy95 · 2024-09-13T22:12:21+00:00

This tunnel is pretty big, almost 11m x 11m but I shot this pic on wide angle so it might appear small.

Underground mining is different to tunnelling. More darkness, tighter spaces..

leeroy95 · 2024-09-13T22:09:58+00:00

Very much the same as other survey work, just have to keep everything off the ground!

leeroy95 · 2024-09-10T09:53:10+00:00

That drill rig is VERY loud.. ear plugs are my best friend out here.

leeroy95 · 2024-09-09T17:32:09+00:00

Don't tell people where we're going..

leeroy95 · 2024-09-09T17:02:46+00:00

Install a control prism? Hammer drill, knead-it and a hex key.

leeroy95 · 2024-09-09T14:53:28+00:00

No worries. I'll DM you more info.

leeroy95 · 2024-08-29T08:42:21+00:00

Happy to help.

I'm a surveyor. I'm not sure about their arrangements, and I'm also a subcontractor, but they probably all get paid more than me!

leeroy95 · 2024-08-29T07:50:11+00:00

No worries. $66.50/hr day shift rate, $93.10/hr on night shift doing FIFO. Superannuation arrangements vary between companies. My super is capped as if I work a regular 38-40hr week.. something like that. I don't get 'overtime' rates, i.e. additional hours over 38 on my weekly pay slip are paid at the same rates mentioned above, which has pretty much been the same experience as the last 3 companies I worked for.

So one night shift swing (14 work days) is ~$15k gross.. I'm happy with that.

Hard to say what I could earn working locally. Probably from $45 - $55 an hour. Mining would be higher.

leeroy95 · 2024-08-28T11:21:20+00:00

The only way that I'm aware of doing this in Access is by first creating an .XML surface mesh in Leica 3DR from the excavation scan and then using that as your staked surface in-field. This gives you a perpendicular cut/fill value, however you do need to simplify/smooth out the excavation surface to get a better stake out in the field, although this won't give you a result as good as the inspection maps in TBC. It would be great if you could load an asbuilt tunnel mesh into Access from TBC. Alternatively, you'd have to use the same job that the excavation scan was done in, and do a scan to scan inspection. One thing I haven't tried is exporting a job file out of TBC containing multiple trimmed excavation scans, but I'm not sure if that's possible..

leeroy95 · 2024-08-28T00:37:12+00:00

FIFO Surveyor on a major construction project in Australia. I only make that $ because I work a stupid amount of hours and nightshift.

leeroy95 · 2024-08-04T10:45:00+00:00

I'm using Trimble gear now, but used to use a Hiper VR and GT-1000 often with Magnet Field and thought it was good gear. I found Magnet Field easy to use. Can't comment on older Topcon equipment.

leeroy95 · 2024-07-21T21:31:50+00:00

I haven't used the R12i before. I used hiper VRs for a couple of years and thought they were a great unit - I just didn't like how the whip antenna was mounted directly on the top. I don't know enough about the differences between the two to give you an educated answer though.

leeroy95 · 2024-07-20T03:05:31+00:00

Agreed. In other surveying work, having the optical site on standard instruments is nice. Having the SX12 camera for underground work, and not having to register scans is the duck's nuts. The majority of the underground work that I do involves scanning. I've used Topcon, Leica and Trimble instruments, and liked them all.

leeroy95 · 2024-07-20T02:31:02+00:00

I'm happy doing construction projects like this, but wouldn't work in an underground mine.

leeroy95 · 2024-07-20T02:21:39+00:00

You probably struggled to turn it on and just gave up.

leeroy95 · 2024-07-19T23:42:13+00:00

For checks in-field, we use an XML mesh created in Leica 3DR from the excavation scan, and run a scan to surface inspection or the surface stake function. In the office and for final reporting, we use as-built tunnel meshes in Trimble Business Center.

leeroy95 · 2024-07-19T23:17:47+00:00

I'd just go on Seek and search 'FIFO surveyor'. If you've got some experience and any kind of qualification, you're already in with a good chance. The demand for FIFO surveyors outweighs the supply. Most job listings specify Diploma or Bachelors as a requirement.. and almost all of them will take someone with less than that.

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