Workers can earn a “s***load of money” from one of the least coveted jobs in the world if they are willing to put in the hours, a new hire has said.
Cal McIlwaine, from Ireland, recently started working as a miner – one of the most dangerous jobs on the market – in Western Australia, where he says he makes four-figure sums every week.
He posted about the position on social media platform TikTok, discussing the lucrative sums he receives from taking regular shifts.
Altogether, he said he earns up to £8,000 per month via his “fly-in fly-out” (FIFO) job.
But the impressive sum comes with a gruelling work schedule and a potentially dangerous office.
Posting on TikTok, Mr McIlwaine told his followers the gig was “very lucrative” thanks to a combination of long hours and nearly expense-free living.
He said he is given accommodation and food for working at the unnamed mine, allowing him to “spend zero dollars” while on the job.
Living without rent or insurance has allowed the Irishman to put most of his earnings towards a “travel fund”.
He added he has managed to recuperate significant sums ranging between £1,805 and £2,052 because he was “given an opportunity to work f***loads of hours”.
Earning this kind of money has required him to work more than double the hours of the average office job.
He said he works 12-hour shifts, with overtime pay kicking in after 10 hours.
Over the average working week, the shift structure means he can spend up to 84 hours in the mines.
The average Briton spends 36.4 hours working per week, according to data posted in July 2023.
Mr McIlwaine said that, back home in Ireland, it would take him more than a month to earn the sums he receives from his FIFO gig in just one week.
His hours spent completing the “dirty work” bring him the kind of money only a “doctor, a nurse, or a vet” might see, and he said FIFO work is easy for “anyone” to find.
