Post: #1

Guys,

Today an interesting job opportunity might have stumbled my way.

Basically it's managing a new branch of our company that is going to sell heavy duty machinery to the Australian mining industry in the Perth region.

Are there any guys around here who have any idea how the mining industry is doing down under?

And is Australia a nice country to live? How is the mentality over there? I really don't know anybody or anything about that country.

Post: #2

The Australian mining industry is big, but it has plateaued and will likely consolidate over the next few years unless there is an unexpected spike in Iron Ore prices.

The industry here is nepotised like crazy, from jobs to who gets contracts and maybe even who supplies the machinery.

There is a good chance your company may not make much headway unless it is significantly cheaper than existing options and reputably reliable. Australian companies are very risk adverse and overspend for ease of business. If your machinery is not tested and true it doesn't matter if it is half the price, Australian companies will go with the competitor because they always have.

With that being said, even though the industry has plateaued, OHS and other standards dictate that equipment is updated on the regular, so if you can make headway in the market you won't have any problems making money even if the market takes a dive.

Perth as a city is beautiful but lacks imagination and is super expensive. The pissa of it is that you are a 5 hour $200 return trip from Bali.

Post: #3

(11-26-2014 06:50 AM)CodyB Wrote:  Perth as a city is beautiful but lacks imagination and is super expensive. The pissa of it is that you are a 5 hour $200 return trip from Bali.

Do FIFOs not burn out? 5 hours is a long trip to be taking on the regular, say, every week or two.

Owning a house in Bali, working with miners in the Perth area - it all sounds good on paper but in my experience, people who engage in this every week for years at a time tend to turn to drugs, and become unhealthy. In the long run, they fuck up their lives a bit because they lack the clarity of mind to do anything else besides stick to their routine.

Don't get me wrong, I would do FIFO myself if the opportunity had come up earlier in my life, but having some experiences already, I'd say that FIFO should be seen as something in which to partake for a very limited timeframe, a few years or so. Maybe five but not much longer. Otherwise your body will punish you and your mind will become corrupted, and the effects will be permanent. It's not just the work but also the people you work with - assholes. Men unfit for mankind, as Liam Neeson described them in The Grey (2011). Men with little appreciation for the vast array of human experience to which we must strive - in Perth, cashed-up bogans from the bush who have no idea of how to spend their money.

Don't stay too long.

Post: #4

It sounds like Party Pooper would be based in Perth full-time selling machinery to mining companies, not doing FIFO work. The health of the mining industry is a real headache for the Australian public at the moment not to mention federal budget revenue, the boom is over... Iron prices have fallen from US$103 to US$70 a tonne so far this year and will probably bottom out around US$65. Really worrying stuff.

Here is a recent Perth datasheet.

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Post: #5

(11-26-2014 07:20 AM)Yeti Wrote:  

(11-26-2014 06:50 AM)CodyB Wrote:  Perth as a city is beautiful but lacks imagination and is super expensive. The pissa of it is that you are a 5 hour $200 return trip from Bali.

Do FIFOs not burn out? 5 hours is a long trip to be taking on the regular, say, every week or two.

It may seem like that, but commuting in Australia is on some next level tediousness. If I'm doing 12 hours a day for 14 days straight, a 5 hour flight isn't going to mean shit if I can go and chill in Bali for the next 7 days.

http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2012/10/whi...-commutes/

Post: #6

^ I just checked on Gumtree, you can buy a solid 150cc scooter for $1500. Transportation problem solved. Unless of course liscensing is an issue
.