Difficult Situation - need advice please.
nel
Member Posts: 2,859 ■□□□□□□□□□
Hey,
As always in these times of need many of us turn to the boards to for the folk around us to provide the excellent advice as we all try to do...and here i am again asking for that advice
. I would really appreciate it if you could give me your thoughts.
Well i recently moved to Australia as a part of a dream i had always inspired to. I figured i mayswell try it. And in reality, everything is great...except my working conditions. I like the country, i like the lifestyle and opportunities and i like the people. Its somewhere i can say hand on heart that i would be proud to look back and know i brought my family up here. I am currently a contractor due to visa restrictions and was brought on as a Network consultant providing architectural design as well as many other things. I have recently been offered a 4 year visa through a recruitment company so me and the gf can stay longer and work towards our PR. We only need another 6 months to be eligible for PR and we can apply. However, as part of that agreement, i would be farmed out to my current company on a contract basis. If i take the 4 year visa it would also allow my gf to stay in her excellent job - its the first of her career and she is unbelievably lucky to be getting the exposure she is receiving. She actually works for a company who invest in there employees and care about them aswell as providing opportunities and so forth for development. As a result of my visa change, if i lose my job i get 28 days to find another or get kicked out. I raised the concern of this and i was assured there was tons of work in the pipeline. If we do not take the 4 year visa then my gf can only work in her role until Febuary and then she would probably have to go back to office tempting or working in a shop to get by.
To summarise, i have the following issues/concerns:
1. Due to the size of the company and their clients, there should be room for alot of exposure to different techs, lots of opportunity to get into new projects and so forth. I was repeatedly informed there was lots of work in the pipeline. I have recently found out that this is not the case all along. As a result, we started the 4 year visa process and were close to lodging the application until we found this information out. There is very limited opportunities, no work in the pipeline and its very much the "job for the boys" feel to it. The work is starting to dry up and i have been told i should do tasks outside an architects role that involves packing boxes and becoming a FIFO network engineer. A FIFO is a mineworker up in the desert! They usually work several days/weeks on and then a small amount off. I would still get my same rate but this is not what is important to me. I want to be given opportunities and advancing my career. At the moment i feel like i am going backwards!
2. My long term visa and new contract was offered to me on the basis my current project would need architecture resource for another 4-6 months. However, it turns out magically, that this is not the case again! We are only needed to the end of January.
3. If points 1 & 2 are true and i lose my job - i have 28 days to find another otherwise we get deported from the country. Considering how much i feel the truth has been broken i feel the position could be quite fragile and the 28 day period is quite a short time to find a job. This could cause alot of pressure.
4. For the last 5-6 months we have been doing alot of HLD and LLD documents for the network implementation. The engineers seem to think these are a novelty and have little value. On several occasions the design document has not even been followed. This causes great frustration with me due to the effort we have put into them. Most of the time it feels like a waste of time and they mayswell do what they want. its a very strange environment and not one i have experienced before.
5. I have very little interaction in my role and are just expected to constantly write HLD documentation. I literally just sit at my desk and churn out HLDs. Due to the lack of opportunities in my role it can become very "samey" and boring. I have had to re-write several HLD's many times because someone in the organisation could not make a decision. Or they make the decision then change there mind. Its very frustrating at times. This often leading to weeks and weeks of rework.
6. Due to my age (mid-late 20's) everyone thinks i am the young guy who knows jack. As a result, i am always left out of meetings, never approached with tasks and so forth. This amounts with the lack of interaction in my role. My last role was the opposite, i was leading projects, designing, interaction with directors and external parties, implementing my designs etc. It was a great opportunity to get into some great technologies.
7. Our work environment is pretty poor. I.e. not even a xmas party! As a result, there is always a high turn over of staff reflecting this nature. Its not a great place to work lol.
8. I have tried looking for other similar jobs but many have turned me down because the architect positions are senior and i am only 26. The always use the experience card, but i have a decent amount considering my age. One recruiter let slip it was due to my age. I am starting
9. As a result of the above, i am becoming increasingly frustrated and unhappy in my role. When i am unhappy, it shows both physically and verbally. People do not like the fact i am honest and upfront and the truth that comes out reflects bad on my current environment. My friends and gf have also noticed the change in behavior and are quite worried because it is not like me. Anyone who knows me outside of work will tell you i am a good guy. I am starting to feel like the grinch! lol. i have even started to give up on the cert trail and actually wanting to advance my career!
On the other hand i think i should just man up, stick with my job for another 6 months and then put the PR in. Then i would have the freedom to do as i please and remove the restrictions i have on me. This would also allow my gf to stay in her job which is very important to me. If we do not accept the 4 year visa then we have another 6 months left on our current visa but would have up until Feb to find another 4 year sponsor to allow my gf to stay in her job.
I know this is a long post but i would really appreciate your advice!
As always in these times of need many of us turn to the boards to for the folk around us to provide the excellent advice as we all try to do...and here i am again asking for that advice
. I would really appreciate it if you could give me your thoughts.Well i recently moved to Australia as a part of a dream i had always inspired to. I figured i mayswell try it. And in reality, everything is great...except my working conditions. I like the country, i like the lifestyle and opportunities and i like the people. Its somewhere i can say hand on heart that i would be proud to look back and know i brought my family up here. I am currently a contractor due to visa restrictions and was brought on as a Network consultant providing architectural design as well as many other things. I have recently been offered a 4 year visa through a recruitment company so me and the gf can stay longer and work towards our PR. We only need another 6 months to be eligible for PR and we can apply. However, as part of that agreement, i would be farmed out to my current company on a contract basis. If i take the 4 year visa it would also allow my gf to stay in her excellent job - its the first of her career and she is unbelievably lucky to be getting the exposure she is receiving. She actually works for a company who invest in there employees and care about them aswell as providing opportunities and so forth for development. As a result of my visa change, if i lose my job i get 28 days to find another or get kicked out. I raised the concern of this and i was assured there was tons of work in the pipeline. If we do not take the 4 year visa then my gf can only work in her role until Febuary and then she would probably have to go back to office tempting or working in a shop to get by.
To summarise, i have the following issues/concerns:
1. Due to the size of the company and their clients, there should be room for alot of exposure to different techs, lots of opportunity to get into new projects and so forth. I was repeatedly informed there was lots of work in the pipeline. I have recently found out that this is not the case all along. As a result, we started the 4 year visa process and were close to lodging the application until we found this information out. There is very limited opportunities, no work in the pipeline and its very much the "job for the boys" feel to it. The work is starting to dry up and i have been told i should do tasks outside an architects role that involves packing boxes and becoming a FIFO network engineer. A FIFO is a mineworker up in the desert! They usually work several days/weeks on and then a small amount off. I would still get my same rate but this is not what is important to me. I want to be given opportunities and advancing my career. At the moment i feel like i am going backwards!
2. My long term visa and new contract was offered to me on the basis my current project would need architecture resource for another 4-6 months. However, it turns out magically, that this is not the case again! We are only needed to the end of January.
3. If points 1 & 2 are true and i lose my job - i have 28 days to find another otherwise we get deported from the country. Considering how much i feel the truth has been broken i feel the position could be quite fragile and the 28 day period is quite a short time to find a job. This could cause alot of pressure.
4. For the last 5-6 months we have been doing alot of HLD and LLD documents for the network implementation. The engineers seem to think these are a novelty and have little value. On several occasions the design document has not even been followed. This causes great frustration with me due to the effort we have put into them. Most of the time it feels like a waste of time and they mayswell do what they want. its a very strange environment and not one i have experienced before.
5. I have very little interaction in my role and are just expected to constantly write HLD documentation. I literally just sit at my desk and churn out HLDs. Due to the lack of opportunities in my role it can become very "samey" and boring. I have had to re-write several HLD's many times because someone in the organisation could not make a decision. Or they make the decision then change there mind. Its very frustrating at times. This often leading to weeks and weeks of rework.
6. Due to my age (mid-late 20's) everyone thinks i am the young guy who knows jack. As a result, i am always left out of meetings, never approached with tasks and so forth. This amounts with the lack of interaction in my role. My last role was the opposite, i was leading projects, designing, interaction with directors and external parties, implementing my designs etc. It was a great opportunity to get into some great technologies.
7. Our work environment is pretty poor. I.e. not even a xmas party! As a result, there is always a high turn over of staff reflecting this nature. Its not a great place to work lol.
8. I have tried looking for other similar jobs but many have turned me down because the architect positions are senior and i am only 26. The always use the experience card, but i have a decent amount considering my age. One recruiter let slip it was due to my age. I am starting
9. As a result of the above, i am becoming increasingly frustrated and unhappy in my role. When i am unhappy, it shows both physically and verbally. People do not like the fact i am honest and upfront and the truth that comes out reflects bad on my current environment. My friends and gf have also noticed the change in behavior and are quite worried because it is not like me. Anyone who knows me outside of work will tell you i am a good guy. I am starting to feel like the grinch! lol. i have even started to give up on the cert trail and actually wanting to advance my career!
On the other hand i think i should just man up, stick with my job for another 6 months and then put the PR in. Then i would have the freedom to do as i please and remove the restrictions i have on me. This would also allow my gf to stay in her job which is very important to me. If we do not accept the 4 year visa then we have another 6 months left on our current visa but would have up until Feb to find another 4 year sponsor to allow my gf to stay in her job.
I know this is a long post but i would really appreciate your advice!
Xbox Live: Bring It On
Bsc (hons) Network Computing - 1st Class
WIP: Msc advanced networking
Bsc (hons) Network Computing - 1st Class
WIP: Msc advanced networking
Comments
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dave330i
Member Posts: 2,091 ■■■■■■■■■■
On the other hand i think i should just man up, stick with my job for another 6 months and then put the PR in. Then i would have the freedom to do as i please and remove the restrictions i have on me. This would also allow my gf to stay in her job which is very important to me. If we do not accept the 4 year visa then we have another 6 months left on our current visa but would have up until Feb to find another 4 year sponsor to allow my gf to stay in her job.
It sounds like you know the path you should head down.2018 Certification Goals: Maybe VMware Sales Cert
"Simplify, then add lightness" -Colin Chapman -
Essendon
Member Posts: 4,546 ■■■■■■■■■■
I second what Dave said, man up and put your residency in mate. Once you get it, the whole country is yours. No more restrictions, you'll have all the things that come along with it (Medicare is one!). If you need work, apply for roles at my company. The company is Perth based, there are plenty of opportunities in the Networks space at all times. They recently won a huge (really huge!) contract with the NT government. The opportunities may not be advertised on Seek as such, they usually hire people that are referred on or move up current employees. I can put a good word in for you, tell them what a star you are
and hopefully you can get an interview!
EDIT : sent you a pm. May be able to do something for ya.