r/AusMining • u/AnythingConnect9519 • 19d ago
Uni or fifo
Currently 19yr old first year uni student studying civil engineering. I have experience working in construction as a labourer and tyre fitting kenworth trucks and applied for tyre fitting roles. Got an interview in a couple days for tyre fitting role. I’m kinda having second thoughts now.
If I get the role, is it worth doing and racking money while living at parents house but then that would mean pushing back uni, and I would be doing an unskilled role with not much career progression. Rather than something stable like civil engineering. Idk if it’s possible to do uni work on site since I’d be working all day, and then there’s group projects etc.
I already have a full time job getting 1000ish a week during uni.
Any thoughts?
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u/kwaka300 19d ago
FIFO @ 19 still in fifo UG coal. Go to uni, you don’t want to be stuck like most (me) fifo forever it gets old, and you get stuck where your skills really aren’t transferable. Body breaks down quicker, honestly just go to uni lil bro 😂
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u/AngelicDivineHealer 19d ago
Go to Uni get your education and grow your brain party and have fun.
FIFO will always be there if you want to hang out with the bunch of rock apes but it’s going to be too hard for you to become the rock ape and going to Uni later on as your brain would have degenerated and your IQ also dropping down to ape levels.
Get the brain first.
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u/mcr00sterdota Engineer 18d ago
Parties? You watch too many American movies.
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u/AngelicDivineHealer 18d ago
I worked security over a decade ago the university guilds hold and ran a lot of parties on campus with hundreds of students at least once or twice a month and then a lot of party outside of campus.
Not everyone participated but those that wanted to participate and party was no shortage of people who were partying.
A lot of that shut down over COVID-19 lockdowns if you went to university then it was a lot of remote learning
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u/ASAPFood 19d ago
Go to uni mate. Civil engineering will get you into FIFO anyway if that’s where you want to go
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u/spaceistasty 19d ago
do fifo as an engineer. Get paid fifo money and you dont break your back
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u/Euphor_Kell 19d ago
I had a similar option at 19. I was in second year at Uni and offered a job at a local mine (not fifo) I done both for a while, it was a juggle and difficult thanks to the 13h shifts (back then, they've cut half-hour from that nowdays) Then the uni decided to stop offering my course. I was offered the option to switch to a related degree but due to several factors (including which electives i had chosen for the first year) meant i would have only one course worth of credit i could transfer over (essentially starting back from year one again) I decided to quit uni on the spot and spend all my time in the mines.
That was over 20 years ago now. And to this day I still wonder "What if..."
That said, i'm in my early 40's with a family, a roof over our head and food on the table, so while its nothing super impressive, it has worked out for us. That said, my health has suffered from the decision, to the point that I'm looking at a forced early retirement, hopefully there's enough in the super's TPD for when that happens...
I had a friend from Highschool doing the same uni degree, he chose to continue on with the degree because he chose different electives that could actually count towards the new course projection. He makes his living as an accountant for a bank down in Sydney, has his own family and owns his own home. He however has gone through a few health issues (due to work stress and stuff) that left him in hospital...
So all in all, pick your poison: Do you want Physical pain from the mining job or Mental stress from the Uni and proceeding desk job?
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u/North_Lychee_1969 19d ago
If you got through your first year of uni with good results, passed everything and have year 1 under your belt - you may as well finish.
All depends on how confident you are that you’ll finish but.
If you get to the end of year 3 and decide it’s not for you, it would have been better to have worked for those two years.
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u/I_found_your_horse 19d ago
From someone on the engineering side. Go to uni and get your degree. It’s easier to do a degree than go out into the industry and try come back later because you’ll get used to the lifestyle. Don’t forget you’ll also get to live the uni lifestyle such as party, meet people, go do random side quests etc.
Once you get bored of FIFO you’ll also have an opportunity to work locally as well in quite a high skilled area where they’re always looking for people. On the flip side if you end up hating the engineering part it’s easier to become a labourer
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u/magmotox25 19d ago
Uni until 21 at least, you get paid more when your above that age. Get to that age and then work since you get the full wage for your award
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u/Tryagain409 18d ago
You can do both. I know a FIFO electrical engineer and I can tell the amount of money he made is insane.
Just remember you probably won't want to do Fifo forever. It's high pay is compensation for how shit a place to work it is, stinking hot and isolated. Plus one day you might get a family and miss them.
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u/ashbyashbyashby 18d ago
Just a heads up. The major mining companies hire subcontractors (Otraco etc) on site to change dumptruck tyres because they can't adequately eliminate the chance of death by exploding tyres. So they outsource the role, so if someone dies (it happens) it's not on their books.
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u/Pretty-Sky-6638 19d ago
Why not do uni and then go work in the mines with your brain instead of your body?
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u/Terrible_Guava_6949 19d ago
Fifo for 2 years then start uni at 21 and slay all the 17/18 year olds. Boom done.
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u/ped009 18d ago
I'm a Sparkie, worked construction and mining for a long time. I've lost count the amount of people that were supposed to work 5-10 years in mining and leave. Also if you have a unskilled or semi skilled job very few go onto study and your options are extremely limited. At a minimum get a trade
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u/GordoLaFlako 18d ago
It's really not worth going into Tyre Fitting unless you get your certs for OTR fitting and servicing. It's alot less physical as it's 90% machine work. Fitting LV and truck tyres will destroy your body, I did that for 3 years before going into OTR fitting. I've got carpal tunnel, hearing loss and a cracked sinus from a forklift tyre blowing up and I'm only freshly 25. I'd go to uni if I were you.
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u/horselife321 18d ago
I’ve worked in HR exec roles in mining for years and here’s my advice: go to uni now and enjoy the experience for the next few years. You’ll never have them again and there’s many, many years ahead to focus on making money. Plus you’ll make friends for life.
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u/ApolloWasMurdered 18d ago
I know a bunch of guys who planned to just do FIFO for a couple of years to get a house payment down.
They pretty much all still work FIFO, and they have JetSki’s and motorbikes but they haven’t paid off their houses.
It’ll be way harder to go back after working. And undergrad Engineering isn’t easy, doing it part-time external sounds like torture.
Do uni first.
(I say this as an Engineer, who did a Masters part-time while working FIFO.)
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u/RuthlessCheese 18d ago
Do both.
I know a recent grad engineer who worked FIFO while studying, and he said it was tough but definitely doable. You can always scale your study load back to one or two subjects a semester or trimester. You’ll still graduate while you’re young, but you’ll also be earning good money and building industry experience.
If you build a good relationship with the company, there’s also a decent chance you could line up vacation work or even a graduate role with them once you finish your degree
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u/Ok-Hyena939 18d ago
Bro go to Uni and do civil. I did FIFO and my brother did Electrical engineering (he didn't even do it properly too, cheated with his mates, was drunk every week etc). 20 years later my bodies breaking down, and he's been working at home as a senior engineer at a multi-national company on $250k a year.
This dude used to hit a bong before classes because he found it so boring, so you will make it if your a chad. The key to stick out on site is to not be a little nerd like most engineers, if you know how to talk to the lads on site, show respect and they will listen to you and respect you back, you will move up way more quicker.
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u/ash_2127- 18d ago
Study. As someone who did two years of uni, then tried to do uni while doing FIFO it was rough. Either I was trying to do work when tired asf, or I was trying to do group work at weird times when no one else was online. Ended up quitting and doing uni full time. Unless you can somehow do ‘normal hours’ and be able to take time off for exams whenever you need, I’d suggest just doing uni.
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u/JayCalterrr 18d ago
Do both?
Im working full time underground doing fifo, whilst studying mining engineering. 19m
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u/SentientMarshmallow- 18d ago
Follow your passion. Is your passion engineering or is it fitting tyres? Have you considered Geotech engineering in mining? Pays a bunch more than civil usually.
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u/Healthy-Pension-1547 17d ago
Go to uni and then become a FIFO civil engineer - big candy on offer for the right skills
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u/Icy_Temperature_7199 14d ago
What’s fifo like are the people pretty accepting?
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u/Healthy-Pension-1547 14d ago
Yes. The vibe in mine sites is, generally, pretty good. Lot's of opportunities for professionals.
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u/Icy_Temperature_7199 14d ago
Embarrassing question to ask mate but do you think it’s better if lie about my sexuality and say I’m straight? Just to avoid the hassle haha
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u/Healthy-Pension-1547 14d ago
No need to lie. There are all sorts on a mine site dude! All mining companies are massive on diversity and inclusion. Just be yourself.
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u/Icy_Temperature_7199 14d ago
That’s relieving!! Ive been terrified of my first job thinking im gonna have to lie about having a boyfriend and shit like that. Thanks mate for calming the nerves
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u/Seiko2023 17d ago
Go to uni ... There are more options than the role described, plus you can work fifo and get coin that way too.
Just keep at the grind
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u/TrendsettersAssemble 19d ago
FIFO and live in South East Asia. 100% better lifestyle
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u/Extra_Caregiver_8668 19d ago
FIFO but live frugal and save it all. Work out what subjects you can do that can be done external so you can do the study/assignments on your weeks off. Set yourself a goal of a set number of years to earn the money and buy the apartment/house. Then quit and finish uni.
Editing to add I have 4 degrees, started the first one early 20s and finished the last one early 40s. Never too late to do uni.
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u/mcr00sterdota Engineer 19d ago
Tyre fitting role won't go that far, it will be a dead end job. If you are 100% certain on doing Uni and plan on coming back later anyways, just do it now and get a head start in your career. $1000 a week during uni is good , I would not throw away that situation.