FIFO worker salary: 24-year-old worker reveals harsh ‘reality’ of lucrative six-figure pay packets

You know the cost of living crisis is tough when a FIFO worker is claiming to be struggling to save on his six-figure salary.

Jared Deacon, a carpenter who has worked on remote mining sites in Australia, earns $100,000 a year after tax — that means his bank account was getting about $1900 per week.

But Mr Deacon, an expat from the UK, said his weekly paycheck didn’t last very long after covering his financial obligations.

In a video posted to TikTok, the 24-year-old said he spent $500 on rent, $400 on child support, and paid $500 to his ex-wife, leaving him with just $500 to spend weekly. He said it was “money in and out”.

The video racked up more than 375,000 views, and thousands of comments — a number of them sympathising with Mr Deacon for showing an “honest FIFO life reality”.

He later told news.com.au that FIFO work was not all it’s cracked up to be: “All that happens is you cram all your hours into one or two weeks, and you get a week or two weeks off.”

Mr Deacon said one of the few benefits was that while working away he did not spend money on food. But his other bills did not stop coming in.

He said despite Australians telling him he’d make heaps of money and wouldn’t need to work FIFO for a long period of time, he found workers were locked in “golden handcuffs” — locking themselves into earning high salaries because of the lifestyle.

Or, he said, he knew FIFO workers who would develop gambling issues or end up “blowing” their money on their weeks off on leisure to recoup some joy missing from their work life.

His video drew mixed reactions. Some said it revealed that FIFO was not worth the effort. But others said being able to save $500 a week was a pretty good deal. One commented it showed “why FIFO work is for single people with no worries”.

Mr Deacon said it was rare for a FIFO’s experience to turn out the way they “wanted” it to, especially when it comes with such a huge personal cost.

“I don’t think people realise how much you sacrifice in FIFO,” he said.

The average salary for a FIFO worker in Australia, according to talent.com, is $114,608 — or $58.77 per hour. Entry-level positions start at $92,802 per year while the most experienced workers make up to $169,431 per year.

According to the job search platform SEEK, the annual salary for a carpenter is between $70,000 to $90,000.

Carpenters working in mining, resources and energy earn a median salary of $103,955. Those in education earn $87,604, while those in construction earn a median salary of $85,094.