Gold miner Melanie Wood quit her office job to work at a gold mine

Melanie Wood, from Perth, quit her office job to work at a gold mine A 'city girl' has revealed how she went from 'living paycheck to paycheck' to earning a six-figure salary after she quit the rat race to work at a gold mine. When she was offered a mining role at the Western Australian goldfields, a 10-hour drive from her home, she decided to turn her back on her nine-to-five job for a gruelling 10-hour shift working in scorching temperatures of up to 49C While it's physically hard work, Melanie said it's 'rewarding' when she finds gold The 'city girl' was working an administration assistant for a strata management company when she made the career switch at the age of 45 On her first day of work, Melanie said she was told she 'wouldn't last a day out here' because she was working in a predominately male industry. Melanie said she quit her job to 10 hours away to a remote town called Leonora to find gold On her first day of work, Melanie said she was told she 'wouldn't last a day out here' because she was working in such a predominately male industry For the first few months, she slept in a swag outside under a wooden pergola Melanie said she struggled with the heat at first - but she wanted to prove everyone she could work just as hard as men. Her job involves digging up pieces of gold that have been in the ground for millions of years Melanie said she struggled with the heat at first - but she wanted to prove everyone she could work just as hard as men Fast forward 16 months, Melanie said she's 'loving' her life working as a gold miner with her typical day starting at 6.30am and finishing by 4.30pm Fast forward 16 months, Melanie said she's 'loving' her life with her typical day starting at 6.30am and finishing by 4.30pm. She now runs her own small mine site where she has taken on various roles - including welding, servicing equipment and operating the processing plant to recover gold By sharing her extraordinary story, Melanie said she wanted to 'show off this beautiful part of the world' and see more women move into the mining industry Melanie now runs her own small mine site where she has taken on various 'male dominated' roles including welding, driving a loader, operating an excavator, servicing equipment and operating the processing plant to recover gold.