Six-figure salary and no prior experience: ‘lucrative’ drilling jobs in hot demand as mining sector booms

Aidan Francis had no experience in mining or drilling, let alone setting foot on a mine site.

But six months ago the 27-year-old took a job as an assistant on an exploration drilling crew and it was an opportunity too good to pass up.

It was a chance for the Perth native to help extract critical minerals from the ground for a sweet six-figure salary.

Conditions are harsh; Mr Francis works 12 hours a day in hot, dusty conditions as he moves in and out of a remote Western Australian mining town like Kalgoorlie.

“It’s actually everywhere. It’s a pretty comprehensive job,” he told NewsWire.

“You start a little before 5.30am… then you’ll go to the rig, set up and start drilling, start the buckets and do (heavy lifting) on ​​the machines.”

Despite the challenges, Mr Francis said he made the right decision.

His experience reflects a job boom in the mining industry, where entry-level jobs in exploration drilling are lucrative and in demand, similar to today’s gold rush.

The driller’s offside role requires no previous mining experience, and workers earn between $110,000 and $125,000 per year.

More than 450 roles are currently being advertised on Seek alone as driller’s offside player, according to the job site’s latest figures.

Itch Recruitment managing director Jodie Perram said workers were being driven to apply for positions not just for attractive salaries but also for the opportunities presented by record high gold prices.

“We can’t get enough people right now,” Ms. Perram said.

“If we had 60 people right now ready to go next week, we could find jobs for every single one of those people.”

Mr Francis said his six-figure salary package made him a no-brainer decision to go into exploration drilling.

“For me it was money, you’re all about taking care of yourself and it’s so easy to do,” he said.

“You come to work every day and you don’t have to worry too much.”

Ms. Perram said most applicants were men in their 20s, but some workers fell outside that demographic.

“We can’t discriminate against age… but (contractors) have a duty of care to ensure people are physically fit,” he said.

“(The ideal age) is not so young that they stress their bodies too early, and they’re not so young that they damage a body that shouldn’t be working in such a physically taxing environment.”

She said very few women applied for the positions, but when they did, “there were waves of excitement in the office.”

“Feminine hygiene plays a role (in women applying), and some people are not interested in being in that environment all the time,” she said.

“It depends on your personal circumstances, not just your gender.”

According to the Australian Drilling Industry Association (ADIA), the sector is worth approximately $4 billion and contributes approximately $500 billion to the country’s economy. Drilling contractors employ more than 12,000 Australians and support regional communities across the country.

Ms Perram said all applicants must meet strict criteria when applying, such as having six months of heavy physical work experience, passing a national police check, passing medical assessments and drug and alcohol tests, and being resident in the capital city where the position is located. They must also have a manual driver’s license if they need to operate a drilling rig.

He said there are opportunities for a significant career path in drilling, with some offshores moving into operations roles within a few years and earning more than $200,000 a year.

“People can actually see a way to make good money as well as have a really good career that wouldn’t normally be possible for them,” he said.

Mr Francis said he had previously planned to move on to another labor-intensive job after being offside in a drill, but decided to stay.

“I quite like the variety of lifestyles that come with moving around the mines,” he said.

“I get itchy and bored when I stay in the same place for too long.

He had simple advice for anyone looking to be offside on a drill.

“Try it, you can just try it,” he said.

“It unlocks a lot of independence.”