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Hello everybody. I hope that you are well. My name is Christian and welcome to my channel Backpacking Bananas. I arrived in Australia on my second working holiday visa in Perth back in August and at that point I said that I wanted to get a FIFO job working in the mines of Western Australia. And if you don't know FIFO means fly in fly out. So you would live in the city and then you fly to work normally in the mines or somewhere really far into the outback of Australia. And your roster might be one week on, one week off, two weeks on, two weeks off, two weeks on, one week off. There are many possibilities of what that could look like exactly. But what is consistent is that you always work
hard for a period of time, but then you get an extended period of time completely off. And this kind of schedule roster I think really works for me because I am actually still a self-employed content creator with my business in the UK and although I want a job in Australia, I still want to continue this part of my life and this income. you some context, this has been my sole full-time job for the past eight years plus and I earn money from the adverts on these YouTube videos, from affiliate links and from sponsorships. And because my income is still tied to things online as well as many other reasons, staying connected and protected online is honestly a non-negotiable for me, especially when moving countries or
working different jobs. Which on the topic is why I'd like to introduce you to this video's sponsor Surfshark. Surfshark is a VPN which I have been using for almost six years now. And to be completely honest with you, right now I am mainly using it so that I can watch my favorite TV shows from back home. I am not exaggerating when I say that Strictly Come Dancing and I'm a Celeb to Get Me Out of Here have genuinely kept me sane while living this side of the world. Because if you don't know, when you're abroad BBC iPlayer and ITVX, they don't work. However, with Surfshark you can switch the virtual location of your device to pretty much anywhere in the world. So when I switch it back to the
UK, I'm able to watch my favorite shows. As I will tell you more about in this video, I have been applying for jobs, uploading documents, using my emails way more often than I usually would and so I have been really enjoying using Surfshark's email scam checker. It basically just checks for you to see if the email you've received is a scam. Which is so useful because not only are scam emails a waste of time, but they are also potentially very dangerous. And another reason why I have stuck with Surfshark as my VPN after all these years because it is one of the only VPNs that allows you access on an unlimited number of your devices with just the one account. you want to check it out, if
you've decided that 2026 is finally the year that you get this VPN, definitely head to surfshark.com/backpacking and don't forget to use my code backpacking cuz that's going to get you an extra four months for free. I will also put the link in the description. So don't you worry, my YouTube career is not ending anytime soon. And I really thought that working FIFO was going to be a perfect complement to my lifestyle in Australia so that I could still hold on to being a YouTuber, but also earn a local income as well. And I just thought that would be really great. Now, as some of you may know, in October we unexpectedly left Perth and decided to drive across the country and come settle
here in Sydney. And whilst FIFO work does still exist in Sydney, it's definitely just not as common as it is in Perth. So I've been here in Sydney for six weeks now and I've been trying to think what local job I could possibly do here which might earn me a fairly decent wage, but also can be super flexible so that I can still work on my social media content creation job. I also wanted to do something a little bit different. For me, that's what working holiday visas are all about, doing something side questy that's a little bit interesting. So I was chatting to my friend Jess a few weeks ago in Melbourne and she said, "Well, why don't you be a lollipop lady?"
A lollipop lady? Pretty sure that's just a voluntary job in the UK where you help kids cross the road. Turns out a lollipop lady in Australia is actually so much more than that. The official term is traffic controller and you are essentially out on the streets guiding traffic where there's been road work or whatever temporary traffic control plan needs to be implemented. And you're probably still thinking, "Okay Christian, why do you want to do this?" The reasons why this interests me is one, it is very popular to do this job on a casual contract which means no locked in hours. And actually because there's no guarantee, the casual roles have a higher starting rate of $42 per
hour. But if you work on weekends, nights, overtimes, it can be as high as $80 per hour. So the pay is very good. I will basically be able to do as many or as little hours as I want allowing as much time as I feel like I need to for my social media job. And to be honest with you, I just love the fact that this job is different. It feels very side questy which I love. I also love that it's the kind of work where you'd be able to go in for the day and then when you go home, you don't have to think about it. It's not like an overhanging stress that you have. So although I'm aware this sounds super random, I think it makes a lot of sense. And I am committing and I am going to take you
along with me on my quest to become Sydney's newest and hottest lollipop lady. The first thing that I'm going to do before I even contact any recruiters is do my white card training because no matter what area of construction that you want to work in Australia, this is something that you absolutely need. So I did ask ChatGPT who said that the most popular providers of the white card training in Sydney are Inscope Training and Edway Training. Now I've looked into both of them and immediately just from the websites, Edway Training is a little bit easier to navigate and so I think I'm going to go with them. And they've also got their schedule available for doing an in-person course and I think I
would rather do an in-person course just because I know I have the world's worst attention span and so if I try to do this online, I think I could, but I just think it would require more brain work from me to focus in on that training rather than if I go to something in person, I know that naturally I'm just going to be more engaged with someone actually talking to me face to face. Does that make sense? And so here's the schedule for Edway Training for December. Now there's one this Saturday and it's saying that this is $115. That's not too bad. I actually just called because I was unsure about the 100 points of evidence of identity, especially because I have been in Australia for over six weeks now. If I
had been here for under six weeks, it actually would be a bit easier which is a bit weird to say, but something to do with that. Anyway, so I've needed these 100 points of identity and I've realized I can do it through my passport, 70 points. I can do it through my bank just showing them a bank card, she said, with my name on it. Uh that's 25 points and then I need another five. Uh but none of them are worth five points. Um but she said I just need to show a tax invoice from my phone network which I obviously have and that's another 25 points. So I'm thrilled. So I'm going to go ahead and I'm going to book the training. I actually think I'm going to do it 9:15 this Saturday. Get it over and done with.
There's six places left. The cost is $115 and it's in Darlinghurst. Okay, so I'll put in my details here and I will be on my way. Once you have booked your place on the course, you have to do the language, literacy numeracy and digital online test which is also known as the common sense test because it is literally the most basic test that you've ever seen in your life. Any 10-year-old would be able to complete it in my opinion. But I guess they just make you complete it to make sure that you do in fact have common sense before doing this job. You also have to put in your USI which is your unique student identification. I didn't have this previously, but it was super easy to apply for, literally just a 10-minute
online form. It's free and you get your number straight away and then you have that number for life. So when you get that number, make sure that you don't forget it, write it down somewhere because you will need it again when you do any other training or course with whatever you do in Australia. The day of the white card training, the thing that really is the most important on this day is making sure that you have those 100 points of evidence of identification with you. As I said, I called ahead to make sure that the documents that I had were going to be correct, but so many people rocked up to the training and the receptionist was telling them off because they had their passports with
them, but they didn't have any of the other documents prepared which counted towards the 100 points. And they will not let you into the classroom if you do not have these documents. Anyway, you spend the day in the classroom, you're sitting at a desk and the teacher talks you through all health and safety aspects that come into play when working in the construction industry. So the things that are covered are the WHS legislation, so understanding your responsibilities and the laws governing construction safety, hazard identification and risk management which is basically just recognizing common site dangers and how to control them, safe work practices like correctly handling tools, equipment and materials,
personal protective equipment PPE, selecting and correctly using gear like hard hats, gloves and safety glasses, communication and reporting, knowing how to report unsafe conditions and incidents to supervisors, emergency procedures, what to do in case of accidents, fires or first aid needs including using basic fire extinguishers. That was actually something that was completely new to me. I didn't know what all the fire extinguishers were for before. And safety signage, so interpreting common construction site signs and symbols which are all I think very obvious for the most part. But yeah, I didn't realize until I got
there that the white card training is essentially all just common sense stuff. I didn't learn many things for the first time in that classroom, but I guess it's just something that you have to do cuz it's like a contractual agreement. If you've done your white card training, you're saying, "Yes, I'm not an idiot." So basically if you're in the workplace and you're misbehaving or you're doing something stupid, you can't say to them, "Oh, well I didn't know I couldn't behave this way." Do you know what I mean? Like, it feels stupid, but it makes total sense. I wasn't too sure what the demographic was going to be for me going into doing my white card training. To be honest, I thought there was going to be like quite a mix of
ages, genders, nationalities, maybe mostly young Australian dudes. However, to my surprise, it was all international backpackers on their working holiday visas like myself. However, the vast majority were French dudes around 22 years old, which feels very specific, but I guess kind of makes sense. Your white card is valid and you can officially work in the construction industry in Australia by the end of the day, which is pretty cool. Our assessor gave us a certificate, which acts as your temporary white card and you can use that, but then in a couple of weeks' time we will receive the actual white card coming into the post. But, I don't want to work in the construction industry specifically. I want to be a
traffic controller, which requires some more specific training. And it looks like Edway, the provider I went with for my white card, only had traffic controller training in Victoria. I am, of course, in Sydney, New South Wales. So, I did some more online research and settled on a company called Traffic Control Licenses. They had a location in Marrickville, which is not too far from where my current house is, and the reviews seemed good. Now, they had the traffic controller course, directing traffic, the implement traffic control plans, or a combo course. And after a very small amount of research, I learned that it was definitely in my best interest to be doing both of these
courses. I'll have the opportunity to be paid more. I will just have more work opportunities available to me. And so, the combo course just felt like a little bit of a no-brainer. With the company I chose, it cost $369 and was two full days. I'm now doing the language, literacy, numeracy, and digital test for my traffic controller training. And I will say it is still a very basic test, but it is more complex than the one for the white card training. The one for the white card training was just literally the most basic common sense test you've ever taken. This is like, how much change do I get from three $10 if I bought three chocolate bars at $1.42 each? I'm going to have to write some notes to work out my answer to this. The first half of the
first day was very boring, I won't lie. Again, it was a lot of common sense stuff similar to the white card training. But, in the afternoon, we were learning more specifically about the role of a traffic controller, how to use a stop slow bat, how we communicate with each other, how to stay safe on the roads. And I also learned that, you know, the temporary traffic lights that go on the road sometimes in Australia, they are manually controlled. I didn't know that. And we are the ones that will be responsible for controlling these traffic lights. And so, we got to practice with a little controller, which, I won't lie, felt like a kind of old school Nintendo device. It was very
cool. On the second day, in the first half, it was focused on the implementation of traffic control plans. We learned how to read a traffic control plan, how to set up signage, and just learn exactly what our responsibility would be there. Again, I found this really interesting because it was a lot of new information for me, and not all of it was just common sense stuff. Then, in the afternoon, we had our assessment out on the road. And that what I didn't realize, maybe they did inform me beforehand, but a lot of us were quite surprised about this, we did actually have to pay an additional $80 for the assessment itself. So, I had to pay that there and then on top of my course price. We were out on the street. Our
assessor had the road permit to close one of the lanes of the road, and we worked in pairs as traffic controllers on either side of the lane closure using the stop slow bats and our two-way radios to efficiently and safely let the traffic flow in both directions. Honestly, the hardest part for me was the communication with the other traffic controller. As you had to be constantly talking with them on the radio to find out if they had traffic coming in their direction, which way their stop slow bat was facing. You have to communicate with them what traffic is coming your way. You have to request if you can open your lane. I definitely had to concentrate a lot harder than I thought I would have
for something that seems very simple. And our assessor was watching us the whole time and ticking off the skills as we were completing them. Then, at the end of the second day, I came away with my certificate for being a traffic controller and my certificate for implementation of traffic control plans. So, with these, I am officially a certified traffic controller. And I am ready to start applying for jobs. And like the white card, I will receive actual physical cards for these in the post in a few weeks' time, but for right now, I can actually use this as evidence to employers that I am certified. The only thing I would change about my experience thus far is I would have done my traffic control combo course first,
because that company actually offered the white card training at a discounted rate of $90 after doing the traffic controller course. And I paid $115 to do my white card training with Edway. So, it would have saved me $25 to do it that other way around. So, it's not a huge difference, but now I know. I had assumed that I needed to do my white card training before my traffic controller training, but that is not true. You just need to have done both before you start work. So, anyway, now it is Christmas. Merry Christmas to those of you who celebrate and happy holidays to all of you. Thank you so much for watching my channel and my journey this year. If you had told me at the beginning of 2025 that I would be
ending this year as a certified lollipop lady in Sydney, I'm not too sure I would have believed you, or I don't know what I would have made of that. Now, the construction industry kind of shuts down this week, so I'm actually not searching for jobs immediately, but that will be the first thing I do as 2026 hits. So, I will keep you updated on how all of that goes. I also need to buy like all of my own clothing and gear, but I will get into that in another video. Thank you guys so much for watching, and I will see you in the next video. Bye-bye.
