youngy73

i have been in oz for 4 1/2 years now and have no idea how much a pom spark would hope to earn. i keep reading posts about how low the wages for sparks and everyone seems very dissappointed.so im wondering how much a spark who is employed by a company would expect to earn in the uk.
when i left the uk 6 years ago i was on 24500 plus 40% shift allowance and overtime. nearly 40000 grand a year. that was as a maintenance team leader in a car plant. obviously the skies the limit when your self employed so im not interested in that. i just would like to make some comparisons. i had mates in the uk who worked on the rigs which i guess could be compared to mine work. big bucks in the middle of nowhere, see your wife and kids a couple of times a month so leave that out aswell.

steve`o

most companies pay jib rates

http://www.jib.org.uk/ops0507.htm

supersonic4

Hi Youngy, John worked for the major pop factory in Uk and got £30k plus free shares every year.
Cheers Lorri

youngy73

just had a look at that stevo. if most companies in the uk pay jib rates then oz wages are comparable give or take a few cents here and there if your getting between $25 and $30 dollars. so why do so many twist about the wages? do people forget that you have to start at the bottom or do people expect to walk into a dream job and if so who fills them with this false hope. is money why we emigrate or is it to spend more time doing things we enjoy with the ones we love.bit of a rant but im just sick of posts about crap wages (not only in the spark forum) when there not actually that crap.

stu:0

Im just about to leave my maintenance job. Basic is £24,000 but i do on call one week in five and odd bits of overtime on top of that. 37 hour week, no shifts. Made £34,00 last year.
As far as oz money goes it wont be much less than my basic so i aint that botherd. Its the guys that have worked for themselves and maybe had a few lads on for them that will hit it hard. Like you say youngy its start at the bottom and work up.

Stu

steve`o

i`m not trying to be clever here but i`m on about a fifth of what i made in the uk but then i did own the company and had six lads working for us!
its one hell of a re ajustment finacilly but i belive it will be worth it in the end

regards steve

youngy73

you must have been minted in the uk then. i never had that problem but no doubt we will be seeing stevos electrics very soon and i reckon if you took on pom sparks you would be very successful. not that where better or worse as sparks but i think we are a hell of a lot more motivated

steve`o

having seen the "standard" of some of the work here
i`d insist on uk sparkies

dekandwends

Hi guys,
how you all doin ? Lapping it up I hope. Anyway, I just got my visa earlier this month so I'm now working on my ARTC. Questions I've got are these :
1. Is the cost of living rising due to the drought situation and if it is, do you struggle on a sparks wage ?
2. Is the cost of living cheaper in Cairns to say the Sunshine Coast,etc.
3. Is there still plenty of sparkie work available in the Cairns area ?

just to let you know I'm the quiet bit of a typical 2parents/3kids/dog family who I would say are pretty low maintenance and like the simple ( free) things in life ! (scottish blood ) Is it a comfortable life in Cairns as a spark?
tara the noo,
Dek.

stu:0

hi guys,

well i'll be in cairns in 5 weeks, im sure youngy will be able to answer your question but i would say cost of living will be slightly higher in cairns due to it been a main tourist spot?? And as far as i understand there is loads of work there at the moment.

Stu