IT Work in OZ?

IamtheWalrus

Hi all,

I am currently thinking about travelling to Australia in the next few weeks to look for work. I was wondering if any of you are thinking the same or have done so recently.

I am 28 and have an MSc in Software Development. I also have 5 years development experience in technologies such as J2EE, Powerbuilder, Blaze Advisor, Oracle and so forth.

I am thinking of going over on a Working Holiday visa.

Do any of you know if there is IT work available? Is work only given to Australians? Is there any value is contracting?

If there is work, I would like to send some CVs before I arrive. Are there good agencies over there? Are they any good?

Any help would be welcome.

Thanks,
Walrus

FreeAnd..

see below

IamtheWalrus wrote: »

Hi all,

I am currently thinking about travelling to Australia in the next few weeks to look for work. I was wondering if any of you are thinking the same or have done so recently.

Yes - been doing it almost 3 years now...

I am 28 and have an MSc in Software Development. I also have 5 years development experience in technologies such as J2EE, Powerbuilder, Blaze Advisor, Oracle and so forth.

I am thinking of going over on a Working Holiday visa.

Do any of you know if there is IT work available? Is work only given to Australians? Is there any value is contracting?

Yes, No and Yes - plenty of contracting work and you have the perfect amount of experience...a WHV is ideal too for contracting as you can work for 6 months (then take 6 months off)...The hourly rates here are pretty sweet and if you work it correctly it can be almost tax free...

If there is work, I would like to send some CVs before I arrive. Are there good agencies over there? Are they any good?


Pointless - don't send any CV's until you are here...they will not even be considered...even though there is plenty of work...if you are tied to a location it may take a month or two for a good contract...

Any help would be welcome.

Thanks,
Walrus

IamtheWalrus

Thanks a million for your reply Free..

When you say "if you are tied to a location it may take a month or two for a good contract..." What do you mean?

Do you mean I could be looking for work for a month or 2 before getting IT work? If so, I would need to work in Ireland for a while to gather the cash that I would need whilst out of work in Oz..

FreeAnd..

IamtheWalrus wrote: »

Thanks a million for your reply Free..

When you say "if you are tied to a location it may take a month or two for a good contract..." What do you mean?

Do you mean I could be looking for work for a month or 2 before getting IT work? If so, I would need to work in Ireland for a while to gather the cash that I would need whilst out of work in Oz..

exactly - if you move somewhere and get an apartment or something then you won't be as mobile...you will still need to bring plenty of cash to get set up initially...its not exactly a cheap place if you're not working and it all depends on the city you go to...you may need to get a car for work etc

IamtheWalrus

FreeAnd.. wrote: »

exactly - if you move somewhere and get an apartment or something then you won't be as mobile...you will still need to bring plenty of cash to get set up initially...its not exactly a cheap place if you're not working and it all depends on the city you go to...you may need to get a car for work etc

Yea, expensive alright. I was there a few months back. How would you go about arriving then? Would you stay in a hostel and apply for jobs from there, flying to various interviews? Expensive..

FreeAnd..

IamtheWalrus wrote: »

Yea, expensive alright. I was there a few months back. How would you go about arriving then? Would you stay in a hostel and apply for jobs from there, flying to various interviews? Expensive..

depends on how you want to approach it...personally I would pick somewhere I wanted to live and then suit work around that...can be expensive though but living city centre usually means you can get to any potential work easily enough...I wouldnt be interested in travelling inter-city for interviews etc and would hold on wherever I decided to settle for a while...

I don't know about staying in a hostel - might be fine at first but I would either get an apt or move in with people if you are on your own...it also depends the time of year you come - between Nov and Feb everything shuts down (for summer/christmas holidays) and it can be really quiet then for new contracts...End of Jan/Start of Feb on is usually the best time

IamtheWalrus

FreeAnd.. wrote: »

depends on how you want to approach it...personally I would pick somewhere I wanted to live and then suit work around that...can be expensive though but living city centre usually means you can get to any potential work easily enough...I wouldnt be interested in travelling inter-city for interviews etc and would hold on wherever I decided to settle for a while...

I don't know about staying in a hostel - might be fine at first but I would either get an apt or move in with people if you are on your own...it also depends the time of year you come - between Nov and Feb everything shuts down (for summer/christmas holidays) and it can be really quiet then for new contracts...End of Jan/Start of Feb on is usually the best time

Seems like sounds advice Free. I know this is a difficult question, but do you know which of the major cities is best for work, specifically IT?

FreeAnd..

IamtheWalrus wrote: »

Seems like sounds advice Free. I know this is a difficult question, but do you know which of the major cities is best for work, specifically IT?

To be honest - no...I would imagine Sydney or Melbourne but I started off in Perth for 8 months then spent a few months driving North and settled again in Brisbane for 9 months...found contracts easy enough in both places and these would definitely have less going than the bigger cities...

Personally I would like to spend a few months in Melbourne and Sydney contracting too...(as long as its not Winter) - I'm not sure which would be best to start off in but I'd say it would be much of a much - anyone currently in either place can probably give you a better indication...

and if its this time of year definitely head to Brisbane...there was always plenty going while I was there....

ballooba

Aussies do seem to be preferred at the moment from what I'm seeing. A WHV may be a disadvantage.

FreeAnd..

ballooba wrote: »

Aussies do seem to be preferred at the moment from what I'm seeing. A WHV may be a disadvantage.

For contracts or permanent? Besides Govt. jobs that required citizenship, experience was all that was relevant when I was there, same here in NZ

ballooba

FreeAnd.. wrote: »

For contracts or permanent? Besides Govt. jobs that required citizenship, experience was all that was relevant when I was there, same here in NZ

When were you here? The market has changed a lot since I first arrived in June '08. I was on a WHV then and I used to get callbacks all the time. With unemployment much higher now it seems more difficult to sponsor overseas workers and employers are keen to hire locals who might otherwise be unemployed.

IamtheWalrus

ballooba wrote: »

When were you here? The market has changed a lot since I first arrived in June '08. I was on a WHV then and I used to get callbacks all the time. With unemployment much higher now it seems more difficult to sponsor overseas workers and employers are keen to hire locals who might otherwise be unemployed.

Did you find it difficult to get work?

niborm

ballooba wrote: »

When were you here? The market has changed a lot since I first arrived in June '08. I was on a WHV then and I used to get callbacks all the time. With unemployment much higher now it seems more difficult to sponsor overseas workers and employers are keen to hire locals who might otherwise be unemployed.

Which area of IT do you work in Ballooba? Have you noticed a big difference in attaining work as the unemployment rate is only 1% higher than two years ago?

I ask because I am contemplating moving to Australia myself, provided I could get sponsorship. There seems to be quite a lot of SQL (SSIS, SSRS, BI) related work going by job sites, which is what I would be looking for. Does anyone know if that is the case?

To the OP - when I was in Australia before, I remember reading a statistic that a huge percentage of IT companies were based in Sydney, so presumably this would be the best place to start, although there is probably more competition too. I can't find it but I did read it!!

FreeAnd..

ballooba wrote: »

When were you here? The market has changed a lot since I first arrived in June '08. I was on a WHV then and I used to get callbacks all the time. With unemployment much higher now it seems more difficult to sponsor overseas workers and employers are keen to hire locals who might otherwise be unemployed.

November 07 - October 09...on a WHV too - In NZ now and its a similar story - not sure why sponsoring would really factor into it when contracting...in tougher times contracting actually picks up as people do not want to take on permanents and train them...being on a WHV was of little relevance to any roles when I was there (or here in NZ) - If you plan to only work for 3-6 month contracts then why would it?

ballooba

FreeAnd.. wrote: »

November 07 - October 09...on a WHV too - In NZ now and its a similar story - not sure why sponsoring would really factor into it when contracting...in tougher times contracting actually picks up as people do not want to take on permanents and train them...being on a WHV was of little relevance to any roles when I was there (or here in NZ) - If you plan to only work for 3-6 month contracts then why would it?

Once you WHV has run out you have no choice. If you're within your first twelve months and have no intention of staying with one employer for longer than 6 months or staying past your twelve month visa then you've no worries.

IamtheWalrus wrote: »

Did you find it difficult to get work?

I ended up going back to my job from Dublin, have been in it nearly three years now and hunky dory. I got it easy to be honest.

niborm wrote: »

Which area of IT do you work in Ballooba? Have you noticed a big difference in attaining work as the unemployment rate is only 1% higher than two years ago?

I'm in technical consulting so it's difficult to describe without getting too specific. After the GFC projects were canned left right and centre, the market is recovering but there's still very much a bias to employ Australians.

niborm wrote: »

I ask because I am contemplating moving to Australia myself, provided I could get sponsorship. There seems to be quite a lot of SQL (SSIS, SSRS, BI) related work going by job sites, which is what I would be looking for. Does anyone know if that is the case?

That's an area I'm interested in getting into and not that dissimilar to what I'm at right now. There does seem to be a lot of jobs in that area in Brisbane at the moment.

FreeAnd.. wrote: »

To the OP - when I was in Australia before, I remember reading a statistic that a huge percentage of IT companies were based in Sydney, so presumably this would be the best place to start, although there is probably more competition too. I can't find it but I did read it!!

A lot of the banking IT work is in Melbourne too with ANZ, NAB and others.

FreeAnd..

ballooba wrote: »

Once you WHV has run out you have no choice. If you're within your first twelve months and have no intention of staying with one employer for longer than 6 months or staying past your twelve month visa then you've no worries.

isnt that exactly what a WHV is though? Leave after 12/24 months is the choice...work for any one employer for no more than 6 months... I suppose it might be different if you are trying to use the WHV for sponsorship but sponsorship and contracting don't really go together (although permanent sponsored jobs have been available as follow on from the contracts I have done in Oz and NZ but it would be very hard to go back to permanent work)

G-Money

What's the currently IT skills demand over there at the moment? C++, SQL, C#, something else?

I was on a WHV before and I'm 33 now so I'm not eligible for another one. Not really sure what my options are if I wanted to go back to Oz.

ballooba

FreeAnd.. wrote: »

isnt that exactly what a WHV is though? Leave after 12/24 months is the choice...work for any one employer for no more than 6 months... I suppose it might be different if you are trying to use the WHV for sponsorship but sponsorship and contracting don't really go together (although permanent sponsored jobs have been available as follow on from the contracts I have done in Oz and NZ but it would be very hard to go back to permanent work)

Yes. The only caveat being you cannot legally remain in Australia for over 12 months on a WHV unless you have worked in regional Australia for three months in a designated profession.

FreeAnd..

ballooba wrote: »

Yes. The only caveat being you cannot legally remain in Australia for over 12 months on a WHV unless you have worked in regional Australia for three months in a designated profession.

yeah I hear you - got my second year myself...if someone is potentially looking for longer term work or being available for working up to 1 year then they should definitely do the regional work within the first 6 months...that way - if they start work for someone at month 6 they can continue working for one employer for one year if desired (as the second 6 months falls in the second year and the 6 month restriction only applies per year)

niborm

grandmaster wrote: »

What's the currently IT skills demand over there at the moment? C++, SQL, C#, something else?

I was on a WHV before and I'm 33 now so I'm not eligible for another one. Not really sure what my options are if I wanted to go back to Oz.

You have two options that I am aware of...

General Skilled Migration Program - you are probably on the skills list given the areas you have listed above.

Employer Sponsored Visa - there are jobs advertised which will provide sponsorship but these are few and far between...I would imagine you would need to be a guru to get one of these.

All the info is on http://www.immi.gov.au

DITgal

Hi Lads,

What about IT Support / Tech Support roles? I have degree in IT, A+, N+, MCSA and am currently working here in IT Support. Are they hiring in this area of IT (contract roles). I'd like to go to Oz on a WHV but am worried out giving up this job and not finding work in IT support in Oz & coming back an no job again you know! Its hard enough to find IT support roles here at the moment.. so was just wondering. I have 1 year to make up my mind on this and really I do want to go....the age o' clock is ticking for me i'm afraid!

P.S Just wondering does anyone know the situation in Canada for IT support roles? But I'd prefer to go to Oz.

All advice welcomed. Tanx

clarelad

DITgal wrote: »

Hi Lads,

What about IT Support / Tech Support roles? I have degree in IT, A+, N+, MCSA and am currently working here in IT Support. Are they hiring in this area of IT (contract roles). I'd like to go to Oz on a WHV but am worried out giving up this job and not finding work in IT support in Oz & coming back an no job again you know! Its hard enough to find IT support roles here at the moment.. so was just wondering. I have 1 year to make up my mind on this and really I do want to go....the age o' clock is ticking for me i'm afraid!

P.S Just wondering does anyone know the situation in Canada for IT support roles? But I'd prefer to go to Oz.

All advice welcomed. Tanx

would also be interested to hear this

IamtheWalrus

Any moreinput on this? A friend of mine is in Melbourne looking for website work and is still unemployed for a 2 months now.. It's concerning.

jank

Is he on a WHV?

ArseBurger

It can take months to get professional work in Australia. It's not what you know, it's who you know.
And with the elections coming up there is a massive focus on immigration - in a negative way. If Abbott gets in we're all ****ed.

mandrake04

ArseBurger wrote: »

If Abbott gets in we're all ****ed.

I'm not.

Not sure if the Liberals will get in... but Julia Gillard is not a big fan of immigration either.

The mad Monk says he will cut immigration by 100,000 but I wouldn't be surprised if Gillard pulled a bigger number out of the bag at the last minute... so you could be ****ed either way.

myhorse

mandrake04 wrote: »

I'm not.

Not sure if the Liberals will get in... but Julia Gillard is not a big fan of immigration either.

The mad Monk says he will cut immigration by 100,000 but I wouldn't be surprised if Gillard pulled a bigger number out of the bag at the last minute... so you could be ****ed either way.

I honestly believe Rudd kept Australia out of the merde during the gfc I think she has guaranteed herself a few months as PM and thats all.

I prefer Abbot over Gillard anyday of the week. There is something not right about her. (And I like the fact Abbot looks like he could hit you as quick as talk to you. A bit of Putin about him )

mandrake04

myhorse wrote: »

I honestly believe Rudd kept Australia out of the merde during the gfc I think she has guaranteed herself a few months as PM and thats all.

I prefer Abbot over Gillard anyday of the week. There is something not right about her. (And I like the fact Abbot looks like he could hit you as quick as talk to you. A bit of Putin about him )

Same here... I think Malcom Turnbull would have been a better option except for that ETS bullsh!t that he was pushing, I think he was close to being committed to the loony bin after that fiasco.

Still in all I been to a fundraiser breakfast speech with Turnbull & Joe Hockey speaking and both would have been more convincing than old Big ears. Gillard is just the new face of Kevin Rudderless... voted the worst PM of all time he even beat Gough Whitlem to that honor.

jank

mandrake04 wrote: »

I'm not.

Not sure if the Liberals will get in... but Julia Gillard is not a big fan of immigration either.

The mad Monk says he will cut immigration by 100,000 but I wouldn't be surprised if Gillard pulled a bigger number out of the bag at the last minute... so you could be ****ed either way.

It's probably all talk anyway. Immigration is always good for an economy going forward. Its just an issue used by some to excuse some of the crap planning that went where there is now a massive sprawl in western sydney with no transport links. Thats bad planning, not bad immigration policy.

Anyway I hope for my sake that they dont start interfering with the 457 -> PR -> citizenship route. I expect that any change to policy will effect those wanting to come here and work rather than those who are already here working.

mandrake04

Abbot said last night that he would be pushing Employer Nominated rather than just General Skilled Migration... If you are already sponsored you would top of the list for PR.

I read somewhere that else that he is trying push 457 first as a stepping stone to getting PR as a standard.... a bit Like probationary Permanent Residence.

IamtheWalrus

jank wrote: »

Is he on a WHV?

Yes.