What Is a "Camp Job"? FIFO, DIDO, and Rotational Work Explained

If you've never worked one, "camp job" postings can read like a different language — FIFO, 14&7, ticket required, camp and meals covered. None of it is complicated once it's translated. Here's the plain-language version.

Camp Job: The Short Definition

A camp job is work at a site remote enough that you live there for the length of your shift, instead of commuting from home. The employer provides your accommodation and meals on-site, and in exchange you work a set block of days before going home for a set block of days off. It's common across mining, oil & gas, construction, hydro, forestry, wind, exploration, and camp services roles like cooking and housekeeping — the full breakdown of each is in our complete guide to camp jobs in Canada.

"Camp" isn't informal housing thrown together on-site, either — it's a regulated category of employer-provided accommodation. BC and Alberta both set minimum standards for it directly, through BC's Industrial Camps Regulation and Alberta's Work Camps Regulation.

FIFO vs. DIDO, in One Line Each

• FIFO (fly-in, fly-out): the employer flies you to site and home again at the start and end of your rotation. Standard on remote mining, exploration, and northern oil sands sites.
• DIDO (drive-in, drive-out): you drive yourself, or take a shuttle, to a site close enough to reach by road. More common on construction and hydro projects near a population centre.

Both are covered in full — including which one actually pays better once travel and living costs are factored in — in our FIFO & DIDO deep dive.

What a "Rotation" Means

A rotation is written as a code: 14&7, 2&2, 8&6. Read it as days on site, then days off at home. A 14&7 means fourteen days working, seven days home; a 2&2 splits it evenly. Longer rotations are more common at remote, expensive-to-reach sites; shorter ones are more common closer to a city. We compare the most common schedules directly, including what each does to your actual take-home pay.

What a "Ticket" Means

A ticket is industry shorthand for a safety certification — WHMIS, Standard First Aid, H2S Alive, and dozens of others depending on the industry and site. A job posting listing "H2S Alive required" is telling you what you need in hand before your first shift, not what you'll learn once you're there. Camp services roles — cooking, housekeeping, maintenance — are the one category that typically doesn't require an industry ticket to start, which is why it's the most common way into camp work with no experience.

Why Employers Structure Work This Way

Camp accommodation and rotational scheduling exist because of where the work is, not employer preference — mine sites, oil sands leases, and hydro dams are located where the resource is, not where the workforce lives. Flying or driving a crew in for a defined block, housing them on-site, and rotating them home is cheaper and more sustainable than expecting anyone to commute daily to a site hours from the nearest town.

Getting Started

Now that the vocabulary's covered, browse current camp jobs filtered by industry, rotation, and ticket to see what's actually open — or go deeper on rotations specifically in our FIFO & DIDO guide, and on the full industry and wage picture in the complete guide to camp jobs in Canada.