Been FIFO for nearly 3 years now, and before that I was DIDO, spending 1 weekend out of 3 at home. It's hard at times, but we're doing it for a reason, so you won't hear me complain as its entirely my choice, my wife would support me any time I wanted to knock it on the head. My particular job is pretty specialized and I get a fair bit of travel elsewhere too. I love my job too, in the 2 months I've been in Malaysia my team and I have achieved the unachievable, so it looks like Vietnam, Thailand and China may be on the cards too. The one thing that concerns me is losing touch with the wife and kids, I do find it hard at times, as do they. Are there any other FIFO guys and gals in here? I'm reaching the stage where I'm itching to spend more than 3 months a year at home, but at the same time I'm a total suckered when it comes to going above and beyond at work.

Thoughts anyone? Toughen up princess ain't an option, Chuck Norris is a girl compared with me

Not FIFO but ROMFT was in the RN until 2012, so most our time together was spent apart as he was either away on board ship, or working either in Bath,Plymouth or Faslane. When he was shore based, he tended to work Mon - Thurs/Fri and come home for weekends. When he was ship based, time away ranged from 10 days to 7 months I think was the longest. It is hard, especially when you have young ones. But I'm not sure that ROMFT found it as hard With the advent of email, Skype etc, working away is much easier IMO as you can have regular contact.

Do you have a time limit for FIFO? IE, have you a plan forwhen you will finish? Perhaps setting a timeframe and then re-evaluating it then might help. So maybe say, carry on FIFO for the next 18 months and then see how you feel. I would imagine the financial rewards help to ease the pain too If you are going to be working in some of the places you mentioned, how about getting the wife/family to join you for a week or so at a time?

No experience of DIDO but I witnessed the effects of FIFO over a few years.

Seen it:
make and break marriages.
make and break dreams.
make men of wimps and crackpots of the sane.
give a family to those without.
drive people to drink and drugs until they're caught.

As I'm sure you already know there aint any fit-all about it.
No way of knowing who or how a person will handle it.

It's a career to some but I found most thought they were using it as a stepping stone. Some to better jobs but most to wealth.

Some actually reached their perceived goal but what did they do then? That was often a dilemma.

If you have reached a satisfactory level of comfort and attained enough of your targets my advice would be to rearrange the work life to better balance the home life. Your family grows at a pace and is soon gone and you said you want a bit more of it.

I aint no expert in anything at all and am just a scribble from the ether, but that's my opinion mate.

Cheers guys, I guess what's triggered this is that I was looking odds on to miss my flight from Penang this arvo and it proper sent me into a panic, almost to the point of tears. I did get there in time but I was in a right mess. I've been offered a job in sydney which I'm thinking about, but then I'd be letting my current boss down, which I won't do. My poxy work ethic causes me much misery at times haha
I'll keep ya posted, not sure whether this is just a down day or more long term. The things we do for the ones we love eh?

Hi Steve - Scouse has spent a good deal of his life working away from home. Through the 80s, when there was no work to be found in Liverpool (UK), he'd travel anywhere and everywhere to work.

Sometimes he'd be lucky and get something that allowed him to drive home for the weekends, but more often than not it'd be months at a time in Germany or similar.

He moved over to Oz in 1990, and almost immediately got taken on FIFO work on offshore oil and gas rigs. I didn't know Scouse's first wife (obviously!), as she died before Scouse and I met. But as I've gradually got to know her friends, they've talked a fair bit about it, and of course Scouse and I have had conversations.

His swing was 2 weeks on, 2 weeks off. He retired last year, but prior to that I had 6 years as the girlfriend, then live in partner, then wife of a FIFO worker. Did we miss each other? Yes, like crazy. But we spoke on the phone every night (several times usually, he'd only hang up when one of the Maori riggers threatened to batter him for hogging the phone). I'd cry when I dropped him off at the airport, every single time.

But! The excitement I felt every time I'd go to the airport to pick him up! I'd get all done up and be waiting for him as he came into Arrivals - oh my, the reunions we had!

From talking to Scouse and friend's of his first wife, the only 'downside', and certainly not an insurmountable one, was that the partner at home gets used to doing things a certain way, at a certain time, particularly when there's kids involved. For example, a couple will usually work out together the house rules for the kids, and the consequences for stepping outside those boundaries.

With one partner away regularly, it falls to the other to be the sole voice of authority, and if their way is very different to the other's, it has the potential to be a bit disruptive. But that's nothing that two sensible people can't sort out.

There's no doubt that you'll miss some of the milestones/achievements of the kids, ie school assemblies, sports days, concerts etc (though some would view this as a blessing!) And of course, you and the trouble and strife will always miss each other.

My take on it is you're both working hard to secure your future, and yes, sometimes some sacrifices have to be made for that. If two people keep communicating honestly and sort any niggling things out before they become huge obstacles, then they have every chance of making this work.

On the other hand, if the absence of one is putting a huge strain on either - then it might be time to rethink priorities.

Well - I've just written a whole load of stuff that's probably crap, but hopefully there's something you can glean from it.

So far from being crap you wouldn't believe, thank you for taking the time. Hopped straight on a train to the Gong, should be home in a couple of hours, at bloody last . I think there's gonna be afew conversations on this subject over Christmas, it's doing 6 week stints that is destroying me, hopefully next year will bring a 21/7 that stays 21/7. They'll always flog a willing horse I suppose, just gotta be a bit firmer and say no. Ta bird, I'll let you know the score

(you and the missus, working it out) xx

Back to work tomorrow, don't want to oh well, can't have everything we want I suppose

Scottish lady I know in OZ, shocked me one day by saying they were up and leaving, sold business, house - a couple who had dedicated everything to running that successful little business.

The reason?. She said they had seen too many friends around their age ( mid 50's ) start to get sick or die while working all hours to get enough money to start enjoying life when they retired!

Are we back to multiple posts and no replies then or is yer net going to be better this time? Don't just fly put and vanish again

haha, no it's ok I'm off to Port Hedland to build a railway for the lovely Gina, should be able to post a stream of bollocks

We wait with baited breath...

that's why it's all about!


By the way if you have had enough of FIFO. Loads of construction work coming up in Sydney Steve, I can put you in touch with the hubby if you want , he knows more about it than me.

Say hello to my mob in Hedland for me.

I'm planning to start FIFO later this year, hopefully for 5 or so years then retire.

That's the plan, we'll see if it happens though...