yiknum

Hello, I am soon to graduate with a geology degree from a good UK university, and all the talk is about mining in Australia. I have read many of the posts on this thread about it, but would still like some more information. So if you have the time could you please answer the following questions:

- Did you have a job lined up before coming, or did you go out to somewhere like Perth and look for a job there?

- What visa did you get?

- What's the cost of living like if you rent a houseshare in one of the cities if you got a FIFO job?

- What are the merits and downsides of the different geology jobs e.g. exploration geology vs mine geologist?

- How reasonable are the costs of aeroplane flights within Australia to different cities? How about flight costs to SE Asia?

- Is a gold project the best to start on?

- Is anywhere else in the world as employable for a mining sector geology job as Australia?

- Are there any regulations/taxes on bringing the money you've earnt back to the UK after some time?

That's all I can think of at the moment, thank you for taking the time to answer any questions you do.

Bermudashorts

I really would not worry about some of these things just yet, like cost of domestic flights and transferring money around. You need to focus on getting a job and visa first, that might not be as easy as you think as a new graduate.

I actually don't see how a new graduate would qualify for a visa, not on my understanding of the rules anyway, however I think somebody did manage it recently, tramps_mate, have a look for posts by him.

Kooky.

You should chat to "verystormy" - IIRC he was a recently graduated geologist when he moved here a few years ago.

yiknum

I have checked out both of the people you two have mentioned but cannot message them yet as I am a new user.

Thank you for your replies.

Kooky.

Post once more and I think you will then be able to

Just be aware that verystormy travels a lot so you may not get an immediate response.

yiknum

Okay, 3rd post, I'll go and message them now to see if they can respond to this.

verystormy

Hope this helps.

yiknum

Thanks for the reply verstormy, it was very helpful, I have a few more questions though.

How long did it take for you to go from 457 to PR? Did you have to contribute to costs of a permanent residence visa?

I have heard of near site exploration, is that a sort of middle ground between exploration and mining geology?

How much more does iron ore pay for a graduate geologist in aus? How much more difficult is it to go from iron ore to something like gold? Which in your opinion is more interesting?

I've read you said somewhere else that you wouldn't hire a graduate geologist for the congo, is this the view of other companies? How much longer are the rosters and does it pay more? How dangerous is it in Africa?

verystormy

We were here about 3 years before we got PR, thouhg we could have got it earlier i believe.

Near mine exploration is a sort of half way house between mine and exploration work. However, the teams tend to be smaller and so there arent as many opportunities as there are for pure exploration.

The big iron ore guys such as BHP and Rio are paying grads around $100k at the moment. Gold tends to be about $80k. It is hard for a iron ore guy to go to gold. Gold is the more interesting.

We would not hire a grad in this part of the DRC. However, that may not be the case in other parts. The south may do and i know a grad working down there. But where i am has a lot more dangers as we have active fighting on our ground. There are also a lot of other dangers and so when we hire non congolese staff we tend to go for people that have been around a bit.

Africa generally is a good and safe place to work. Even most of the Congo and some places that have had a reputation in the past are now good places to work such as Rwanda. The rosters in Africa tend to be a minimum of 6 weeks on and then 2 to 3 weeks off. Not as attractive as Australia which is usually around 8 days in 6 days off. The pay for working in Africa is though pretty good and has the big advantage that if you live in the UK and work in Africa you can get away without paying tax. Where as in Australia i pay a lot in tax.

Probably the only places in Africa i would not work are Somalia and Nigeria. But have massive security issues. The rest are fine and i know several people that started as grads in Africa and love it.

yiknum

So how long is it until you get a firm grasp on Gold exploration? What about uranium and REE (although I suppose that's mainly in China though)?

Are the values you give for graduate salaries before or after tax?

Did you set up an australian bank account before you went out?

Thanks for all the info verrystormy, it's invaluable.

verystormy

You are always learning with any exploration, how long before the deeper understanding takes will vary from person to person. Normally grads will be very rig based in the first year or two while the get to grips with the basics.

REE are being explored in Oz and Africa.

Salaries are before tax.

You can not set up an Oz bank account until you arrive, though it is then straight forward

Jason123

Hi Yiknum, I just came across this thread and wondered how you are getting on? I'm also a geo and been in Perth nearly 2 years now. Verystory gave me and advice before I came out too and I can definitely echo what he has said here. The graduate market is pretty tough now and definitely not as easy as some of the people who might have been talking up Australia back in uni. Saying that, there is still plenty of opportunity out there if you stick at it.

Commodity wise... I'd say it has very little importance at this stage in your career as anything you do will give you experience and understanding of how things actually work in the industry. If you are set on exploration, I would suggest a mid-tier company that does not drill all year round. Campaign style work will give you exposure to a much wider range of exploration activities rather than being stuck on a rig 12 hours a day for 2 years at Rio or BHP.

If you are still intending to come to Australia or here and looking for a job just let me know and maybe I can flick your CV through to a couple folk who are taking on grads.

yiknum

Hi Jason, thanks for replying.

I'm still contemplating what to do, and making sure I look at what options I have in the UK as a geologist (not many) and trying to find more information on Perth/Australian Mining.

As far as exploration work is concerned, I always thought of mid tier/smaller companies, as the mining giants seem very rigid in their organization.

Thanks, if I decide to go I may take you up on the offer. Do these companies have a name (or are you not allowed to share?)?

How did you get on when you first went out there? Did you go out as a grad? Did you get on a relocation package or just go out there and look for work on a working permit visa? What would you say is the best time of year for finding work?

Thanks for any info.

verystormy

Have a look at infomine.com

Oz is seeing a bit of a downturn at the moment and this is impacting as ever exploration and inexperienced grad jobs are becoming harder to find. Still a lot of work in Africa FIFO from UK

Jason123

When I came out all I had under my belt was a 3 month contract I did over in Africa. I had some phone interviews while I was back in the UK but in typical Aussie fashion they all said to get in touch when I get to Perth and organise a face to face interview. Back then there were loads of jobs and within a week I had a job. I didn't get a relocation allowance or anything but I know a couple people who have completed masters programs and then been hired by the big players and offered relocation as a grad.

Saying this... I knew I wanted to live in Oz and my timing was pretty lucky. If you do fancy still being in the UK I would highly recommend following verystormy's advice and check out FIFO jobs in Africa. It definitely offers a very unique experience and it would seem the future is over there.

If you do decide on Oz then I would suggest seek.com.au and just check it every day for a while and once you kind of identify what you might be interestd in then send some emails away to see if you get any nibbles. I know a number of graduates that started off working as contractors through a company called Skilled. You get a lot of training and good money and don't get tied into a grad program. This is could be an option to get your foot in the door.