A man has shared how he earned a six-figure salary for a job that took him one month to be qualified to do in Australia. He said the industry had no shortage of work and encouraged other Aussies to get into the lucrative job.

The Canadian man was stopped in the streets of Brisbane and revealed he was earning $120,000 a year as a heavy machine operator. He shared that he didn’t need any licenses to get into the job in Canada, but did need to get “a bunch of tickets” to work when he moved to Australia.

“When I got to Australia it took me about a month to get all my certifications and then I was good to go,” he told jobs app Getahead.

“I had my own business back home. I sold my business to come live here and now I’m working here.”

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The average salary for an equipment operator in Australia is between $75,000 and $90,000, according to SEEK. For heavy equipment operators, GlassDoor puts the average salary at $125,000 a year.

The man shared he moved from Canada to Australia to escape the bad winters.

“We don’t really work from November to March because everything freezes,” he explained.

“Most people either do snow plowing or some other kind of trade outside or they go on unemployment for the winter.”

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The man said he would encourage other people to get into the job and said he hoped to get permanent residency and eventually open up his own business again in Australia.

“It’s a good industry to get into if you like to work with your hands, if you like to do challenging work,” he said.

“There’s no shortage of work so you’ll always be employed.”

Machine operators and drivers were among the occupations previously identified in the government’s Skills Priority List.

According to SEEK, formal qualifications are not essential to become a machine operator but you may need to hold specific licenses or tickets.

That could include a forklift license, which usually takes four days to get, along with a high-risk work licence from Safe Work Australia to operate heavy equipment.

There are a range of Aussie jobs paying six figures that don’t require you to get a university degree. Instead, many jobs will require a short diploma or TAFE course.

The Australian Taxation Office (ATO) recently revealed the best-paying jobs in Australia that don’t require a degree.

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