Thinking of moving to oz for cad work

Passionpitt

Ok so i need some help on this and im not sure what to do. im currently working in retail and living in ireland, my wage is minimum wage and i just feel im stuck in a rut. I studied Interior architecture for a year, but dropped out, as i was quite young at the time, the course was very full on and i suppose i wasnt expecting it, was immature and wanted to go out all the time, I didnt commit fully to the course. i still had an interest in design and cad,so i went off worked for a while in few retail jobs, then i went on and completed a city and guilds level 3 course in 2d and 3d cad in 2008, at the end of this course we were meant to undertake work experience for few weeks but the recession had pretty much just hit and i tried for 6 months to get something, with no luck. To get myself off the dole i took a job in retail and have ended up being there for over 3 years now, and it really isnt for me. I cannot afford to go back to college. I would love to go to australia for a year or more and i would love to gain experience in cad over there while im at it. am i wasting my time looking for something with a city and guilds cert? maybe i should look for a junior autocad position over there, or on a working holiday visa, which would only allow me to work with the one employer for 6months would anyone take me on as a junior cad technicain? sure i could go to oz and work in a restaurant etc but i want to gain skills while im at it. i am aiming at going in either jan 13' , or April/May 13' at the latest. I would also like to have a job in the bag before i leave. id like to get planning and have everything in place before i go, i just dont know where to start. would greatly appreaciate some advice, thanks.

Mellor

Passionpitt wrote: »

id like to get planning and have everything in place before i go, i just dont know where to start.

There's very little chance of that really.
Even if you were over here you'd need a bit of luck to get the right job.

universe777

Any CAD jobs I've seen here in Melbourne have been very specific in their requirements, few years experience, driving licence, very specific software experience required. I would say unless you can show real talent at it and try impress them it would be tough.

Mellor

universe777 wrote: »

Any CAD jobs I've seen here in Melbourne have been very specific in their requirements, few years experience, driving licence, very specific software experience required. I would say unless you can show real talent at it and try impress them it would be tough.

Driving licence for a CAD job. Never seen that before

universe777

Mellor wrote: »

Driving licence for a CAD job. Never seen that before

Yes, I have seen it a few times, I'd imagine the job would entail some lackey duties such as delivering site drawings etc.

bfocusd

Unless you have experience in a working office I can't see it getting you far abroad, I dont mean this in an offensive way towards you but I see this time and time again, work experience students who spend 10 weeks on a course thats so out of touch to begin with, coming into an office thinking they know what they are doing, only last week we had two interns finish, they were in for a month, the effort/costs it takes for me to mentor them alone is enough to not have them in, the management are under the impression that cad is easy and two interns would benefit the office and the lads, after they finished I spent two days cleaning the work they were assigned. Yet management are wondering why projects are behind.

Im not saying every student is incapable of doing the work, it's how I got my start and several others I know, but in my experience I've had 5% of interns be decent, at one point I had 7 contractors and 3 interns to train and sometimes the contractors are just as bad, agencies don't scrutinise their work experience.

If I was you I would apply to as many companies as possible, try and get any experience in Ireland, so you have something, going to Australia with a level 3 cert and no experience is not something I would suggest, but you may be lucky.

People who don't understand it, don't see it as a trade either, would you let a 10 week trained bricky build your house? I know it's not the exact same, but the hourly rates involved are not far off. if management is as lax as some I've worked for their is hope.

NoelAPM

I know some1 in Perth with no experience but who had done some sort of course in Ireland. He landed a job doing 2d. He doesn't even know how to do 3d works.

I don't know a whole lot but they offered him sponsorship in the interview for the job. And I'm fairly sure he's getting over 30p/h TFN.

Might have been hays. When I see him again I'll ask him the name of the company!

Doc

NoelAPM wrote: »

I don't know a whole lot but they offered him sponsorship in the interview for the job. And I'm fairly sure he's getting over 30p/h TFN.

Might have been hays. When I see him again I'll ask him the name of the company!

Hays is a recruitment firm not a company that would employ a CAD technician. If any of this is true your friend is very, very lucky.

OP you might get something if you are very lucky too. People are generally looking for technicians who are experienced because they are much faster and accurate on CAD then people who are not. If you get an interview which is difficult enough even with experience (believe me I know when I first came here I took a job drafting that I was very much overqualified for because I just wasn't getting any interviews for ages) then you would be expected to show a portfolio of work done or even do a CAD test. Most will also look for people who have experience in whatever field they will be working in Architecture, Engineering, Mechanical & Electrical etc.

By all means try and get a job doing it but know that it will be difficult.

NoelAPM

Doc wrote: »

NoelAPM wrote: »

I don't know a whole lot but they offered him sponsorship in the interview for the job. And I'm fairly sure he's getting over 30p/h TFN.

Might have been hays. When I see him again I'll ask him the name of the company!

Hays is a recruitment firm not a company that would employ a CAD technician. If any of this is true your friend is very, very lucky.

OP you might get something if you are very lucky too. People are generally looking for technicians who are experienced because they are much faster and accurate on CAD then people who are not. If you get an interview which is difficult enough even with experience (believe me I know when I first came here I took a job drafting that I was very much overqualified for because I just wasn't getting any interviews for ages) then you would be expected to show a portfolio of work done or even do a CAD test. Most will also look for people who have experience in whatever field they will be working in Architecture, Engineering, Mechanical & Electrical etc.

By all means try and get a job doing it but know that it will be difficult.

I'm aware of what hays are! He was working for them, if they didn't give him the contact then Some1 he was working with at the time would have pointed him in the direction of the company! Who were 2 months ago so desperate they hired an inexperienced drafts man!

Either way the likes of Hayes, or a similar agency if they don't deal with draftsmen is not a bad way to go. You get to prove yourself first person and if your good they'll ditch the agency and hire you direct!

Not supposed to I know but it happens daily in the blue collar scene!