You hear about marriages breaking up, all the boozing and promiscuity. I thought I would share my experience and perhaps it will help you in your decision.
My boyfriend had no experience at all and we sent his CV off to all the companies, as you are advised to do so.

But as you all should know, its timing and who you know that matters! He left for Perth on his own, stayed in a backpackers and luckily we discovered a friend, of a friend knew someone in a reasonably high position and they offered to help him find a job. God knows how it would have gone if he didn't meet this person, he had door knocked with no success in Perth and was about to head to Kalgoorlie to try his luck there when he was given the news a FIFO driller's off-siding job was available for him.

For the first 5 months, he was on his own while I tied up loose ends at home and eventually went over. That break was extremely hard but I guess it put us in a good position to be able to deal with him being away so much when I moved over. We were quite lucky, at the time he was working 8 days on, 6 days off. This roster isn't too bad; we basically had every 2nd weekend together which was fine, I was quite happy to have every other weekend to myself.

But as he flew out Monday's it meant he wasn't the happiest person to be around on Sunday's! And once I found a job, I realized I was pretty much only spending time with him 2 days out of every fortnight. Which meant, for me personally with no friends or relatives in Perth…it was a lonely time.

As for the camp atmosphere, he was in a really remote area so there wasn't much worry with girls. Of course there were women who worked at the camp doing all sorts of jobs and there were a few who slept around. I guess it depends on how much you trust your partner whether this is going to cause worry. Marriages were definitely breaking up, who knows the real stories behind those but I can understand why…it's almost like you have separate lives and friends and when they return from the mines it doesn't always end up being the same way it was before…distance doesn't always make the heart grow fonder!

This particular mine had breath-tests and urine tests EVERY morning and if you were anything over zero…you were fired so they had to be careful about drinking. I'm pretty sure they all knew their own limits or cheated the tests because boys will be boys and there was drinking! A lot of guys would take their own carton of beers or spirits up there so it wouldn't cost so much.

As a driller's off-sider they usually predict you will be promoted within 3 - 6 months but as the recession hit hard my boyfriend found himself slaving away as an off-sider for 9 months with no sign of being promoted. Guy's who had previously been promoted, were being demoted and a lot of jobs were also lost. A few of the perks were disappearing and they changed the roster to 2 weeks on, 6 days off.

It was at this point that we decided to get out. This is when we thought "it's great money, but it's really not worth it!" I honestly don't know how the guys who do 6 weeks straight cope, it's almost a test of your sanity…it can be miserable up there with all the insults thrown at you and the heat and hard labour for 12 hours every day! Maybe if you get a good position with dump trucks or drilling, life would be easier? I honestly don't know but kudos to the guys who stick it out for months at a time being an off-sider!

So really, when you work out that your partner is spending more time with their workmates than their family…you have to wonder what effect this is going to have on you and your relationships. And is it worth risking?? I can happily tell you I am still with my partner and the experience probably made us stronger but I now realize what's important in life.

We decided it was time to leave the mines when we discovered an income opportunity which could replace the miner's income and still give us the time to do all the things we enjoy together. If you are having second thoughts about sending your partner off to the mines, consider taking a look at our website to find out more information on our new opportunity. Either way, I wish you all the best.

Article Directory : http://www.articlecube.com