Know the Market project

Relevant background: "My family were involved with many parts of the primary sector... they were also well-known in the machinery world. I did dairy farming at the weekends when I was in high school... since then I've also done some tractor driving and logging."

Fun: "I thought it would be a fun temporary job, and it turned out that even the bad days were good!"

Earning potential: "The harder you work, the more you earn with machinery. I am contracted to 40 hours (Monday to Friday), but I choose to do 50 so I earn more."

Flexible: "I like the flexibility of it too. They are very family friendly."

Outdoor - not behind the computer: "I didn’t want to be behind the computer anymore."

The variety:  "I enjoy that every day, you have to think about a wide range of things. In some jobs, you just do the same thing the whole time. A farmer has to be a jack of all trades. Variety is key for me."

The lifestyle: "One day, if I met a handsome guy, I think it would be better to raise kids in the country than in the city, from what I've seen of my friends' kids! You know, riding dirt bikes, learning farm skills, I appreciated that growing up and I want that for my kids too."

Pay: "Long term, I want to own my own farm. But it's easier for me to save up doing what I'm doing now."

Bad managers: "The last dairy employers I had were worse than the Kardashians! The farm wasn't properly managed... plus they made inappropriate comments about me [as a woman] which... made me very uncomfortable."

Run-down accommodation: "The house was run down and mouldy and I had to live with the manager."

Long hours: "The hours were very long. It varied by season but sometimes we were milking every 18 hours so we would end up working at midnight one day and midday the next. Your body isn't designed to have your sleep patterns messed with like that."

Isolation: "I was young and the isolation got to me too, not having a supportive team or family."

Good manager: "The right personality. I don't want to work for another angry boss!"

Opportunities to progress and learn: "I want to learn and progress, there has to be the opportunity to work my way up to eventually running my own business."

A reasonable roster: There has to be a good rotation. Unless you own your own business and benefit directly, things like 18-hour milking aren't okay. If you are just an assistant or manager, you should be doing reasonable hours and days."

Pay: "I was attracted to the job because of the pay opportunities, I earn well."

Incentives: "There are really good incentives like a production bonus and medical insurance. They provide transportation too, we can use the vehicle to get to work, to go shopping, things like that. We get paid time and a half Fridays too."

Work-life balance: “It is a good work-life balance, we never work weekends.”

Opportunities and training/progression: "It's pretty cool actually, they encourage everyone to move up... There are opportunities to move towards technical stuff, like, an apprentice engineer, dealing with the machinery, or from a B grade to an A grade job too (the A grade jobs are more physically demanding and pay more)... you can become an MPI too (a Meat Processing Inspector)... maybe I'll become an MPI - but I'm not sure at this stage."

Pay: "I assume it is better pay than what I earn, is it? You are working with big animals so I guess so."

Something different: "Just something different. I've been in my job for 2 years now, sometimes you want a change. I did a stint in a beef plant."

Accommodation: "Would I have to find my own accommodation or could I live on-site? It would be easier to live on-site. The housing is definitely an important one."

Work every day: "Do they work every day? I think they do right? It's a job you have to do every day. Seems like a harder work-life balance than my current job. I'd do it as long as I got a day or two off per week."

Friends: "I guess I would miss the mates I've made (if I left my current job), but you can always make friends everywhere I reckon."

Pay: "It would have to be better pay than what I'm making now, or there would be no point in swapping."

Hours and work-life balance: "The scheduling, the work-life balance is important."

Accommodation: "The housing."

Outdoors: "I wanted something outside."

Work with hands: "I wanted to work with my hands - I liked working with the tractors on my parents dairy farm."

Opportunities and training/progression: "There are definitely opportunities, for example, opportunities to go overseas to work on bigger equipment. You could also go into manager roles, mentor roles, you can probably get your own business."

Outside: "It's also outside."

Good people: "Generally you are working with good people."

Variety: "There is never a dull moment on the farm."

Early starts: "Oh the early mornings, that's the deal breaker. My parents get up at 4.45am."

Managing staff: "My dad owns his farm and he has had some rough patches., mainly around managing staff. He hires a lot of young people and trains them up well but sometimes they just don't listen. I guess being a mechanic, I don't have to manage people, I just have to manage machinery!"

The tools: "I'd miss being on the tools, I really enjoy that side of it."

Pay: "Oh money! I'd probably just be convinced if it was more money."

Being hands-on: "I like doing hands-on stuff, building interests me."

Mathematics/problem solving: "It also uses my brain and stuff. I've always been interested in mathematics."

Already had a connection: "I was looking for a general job in the trades and my mate's dad had a company - he offered me a job."

Enjoy weekends off: "I get to enjoy my weekends as well as I only work Monday to Friday."

Good pay: "It's pretty good, I mean I'm not earning minimum wage."

The people: "The people I work with are good."

The training/progression opportunities: "The apprenticeship is 4 years long, but then I'll be fully qualified. I want to stick with the same company for a bit, but long term, I'd like to have my own business. In terms of training, I haven't had any particular training, but I learn as I do the work. Next year I'll have exams."

Working with animals: "It seems pretty interesting, like working with animals like cows."

Working alone and with a team: "I guess when you are working on a farm, you are pretty much working by yourself right? I like working alone sometimes."

Feeding the world: "It's doing something important too, I mean, without farmers there wouldn't be food."

Early starts: "I do hear it has got early mornings, like 6am, that's my turn-off. In my job now I have to start at 8am and that is early."

Time off: "If I had two days off a week though, I guess there wouldn't be anything else that would put me off but I suppose if you are running your own farm, you have to constantly be there."

Knowing about opportunities: "My uncle is a farmer, and I've been there a couple of times. I haven't done any work there on his farm though. I guess because he owns his own farm, I had always assumed that to be a farmer you had to own your own farm, so I never looked into it too much."

Going to different sites: "I might miss going to different sites, that is quite cool I guess, always being at a different house. I don’t think there is anything [else] too specific about building I’d miss. Farming is probably just as physical."

Pay: "I don't think I would do it right now, I would want to finish my apprenticeship. I'd only do it if it was really good pay, it would have to be pretty high."