Traveling abroad to Australia (Sydney)

Hello TE folks,

You may remember my thread from last year my contemplations of moving abroad to Australia.

http://www.techexams.net/forums/jobs-degrees/90140-most-widely-recognized-useful-certification-working-abroad-australia.html

That dream has become reality! I've taken the plunge and going to travel to the land down under and explore/try to attain work for a year.

I'm moving to Sydney specifically and am set to arrive there April 2nd.

An update to my certifications:

Attained my CCNA and ITIL v3 last year. VCP is still on the back burner because I got sidetracked with my addiction for videogames (CS:GO), but I'll be back on track now and have a ton of free time to study once I settle down in Aus.

My plans are to stay at a place I find on airbnb.com for 2-4 weeks and then try to search for a more permanent place around North Ryde/Macquerie area (perhaps once I've found a job?). Anyone have suggestions on other places to stay?

I've read around and it seems like IT is "hot" down there at the moment. I want to get into a networking role if possible. Anyone have any contacts or advice? (Keep in mind my visa only allows me to work at any place for 6 months maximum.)

Suggestions on places that are a must see? places that I must eat at?

Thanks for all the help TE

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f0rgiv3n

Good luck man! That's so freaking exciting! Definitely keep us up to date with your search.

Sounds Good

f0rgiv3n wrote: »

Good luck man! That's so freaking exciting! Definitely keep us up to date with your search.

Thanks man! The nerves haven't hit me yet, but I'm sure they will soon enough

Essendon

Welcome to the lucky country!

Ryde/Macquarie is a great location for jobs for sure, but it's expensive with rents for decent 1 bedroom apartments nudging $450-500 a week but if you look around you may find something cheaper. Look at realestate.com.au too.

There are a fair few jobs in the North Shore area too. I'd say the number of jobs in the CBD (what you yanks call downtown) would roughly be the same as North Ryde. The commute to the CBD is a b!tch, dont buy a car if you can avoid it. Use public transport where possible.

IT in Sydney is doing well, much better than Melbourne. Look at seek.com.au and mycareer.com.au for jobs. THere are other job sites too, but there arent too many jobs on them. Just as a general guideline - someone with your certs and say 3-4 years experience should be able to land a Network Support position on a contract for about $50 an hour (give or take a few). Since you'll be doing contracts only I'd imagine (given the restriction on your visa), you can pull that kind of money. There are more 3 month contract available than longer ones. Since you are fresh to the country, if you like the work take what you can get. Ask for more, it wont hurt! Within reason of course.

The VCP is HOTTT. Get the cert before you come, so you'll can show off a broader skill set and ask for more money.

As for must-see places, there are heaps. The Opera House, the Harbour Bridge, Bondi and Manly beaches are a must for every visitor. Do not go to Kings Cross at night unless you know MMA/BJJ well! I mean it.

If you plan to stay for longer than 1 year, ask another TE member - nel, for more info. He came from the UK and settled here permanently, he's in Perth though. Another two members are from Sydney - A.P.A and pzero are from Sydney. There's a 3rd member, but I cant recall his login name but he posts in the Exchange sub-forum on TE.

Learn to say the following words:

G'day mate!
Fair dinkum mate!
Fair enough!

Thongs = flip-flops

Good luck! You'll have fun here for sure! Give me a holler when you get here, yeah?

EDIT : GAngel has been all over Australia, perhaps ask for his input too.

kj0

Frenches Forest is where all the big companies are. (Like your Silicon Valley). Then you have the offices in the City.

Basically everything Essendon said.

Kparker is also from Sydney and a VCP candidate.

Master Of Puppets

Good luck on the move!

Sounds Good

Essendon wrote: »

Welcome to the lucky country!

Ryde/Macquarie is a great location for jobs for sure, but it's expensive with rents for decent 1 bedroom apartments nudging $450-500 a week but if you look around you may find something cheaper. Look at realestate.com.au too.

There are a fair few jobs in the North Shore area too. I'd say the number of jobs in the CBD (what you yanks call downtown) would roughly be the same as North Ryde. The commute to the CBD is a b!tch, dont buy a car if you can avoid it. Use public transport where possible.

IT in Sydney is doing well, much better than Melbourne. Look at seek.com.au and mycareer.com.au for jobs. THere are other job sites too, but there arent too many jobs on them. Just as a general guideline - someone with your certs and say 3-4 years experience should be able to land a Network Support position on a contract for about $50 an hour (give or take a few). Since you'll be doing contracts only I'd imagine (given the restriction on your visa), you can pull that kind of money. There are more 3 month contract available than longer ones. Since you are fresh to the country, if you like the work take what you can get. Ask for more, it wont hurt! Within reason of course.

The VCP is HOTTT. Get the cert before you come, so you'll can show off a broader skill set and ask for more money.

As for must-see places, there are heaps. The Opera House, the Harbour Bridge, Bondi and Manly beaches are a must for every visitor. Do not go to Kings Cross at night unless you know MMA/BJJ well! I mean it.

If you plan to stay for longer than 1 year, ask another TE member - nel, for more info. He came from the UK and settled here permanently, he's in Perth though. Another two members are from Sydney - A.P.A and pzero are from Sydney. There's a 3rd member, but I cant recall his login name but he posts in the Exchange sub-forum on TE.

Learn to say the following words:

G'day mate!
Fair dinkum mate!
Fair enough!

Thongs = flip-flops

Good luck! You'll have fun here for sure! Give me a holler when you get here, yeah?

EDIT : GAngel has been all over Australia, perhaps ask for his input too.

Thanks for all the tips! $50/hour would be a dream if I could land a contract like that. Is there any other way to find a job apart from looking at the online job boards? I did a search on the online job boards and not a lot of jobs showed up that I could possibly apply for. Do you guys have headhunters/recruiters available and is that a good way to get out there?

I'll definitely try to attain my VCP asap, but I won't get it before I go to Australia.

Are there any other areas I should avoid besides King's Cross? Why is King's Cross dangerous?

Thanks

kj0 wrote: »

Frenches Forest is where all the big companies are. (Like your Silicon Valley). Then you have the offices in the City.

Basically everything Essendon said.

Kparker is also from Sydney and a VCP candidate.

So places of employment would be Frenches Forest>North Ryde>CBD?

Which of these places has the best community (aka culture/people/etc)

Thanks!

Essendon

This should get you started on Kings Cross. For a fresh arrival, it's best to hook up with as many recruiters as possible to maximize your chances for employment. Contact the bigger recruiters such as Hudson, Greythorn, Robert Walters, Command Recruitment, Talent IT (off the top of my head) and connect with them on LinkedIn. There are plenty of smaller players too, Infinite Recruitment is one that springs to mind. My previous employer has large presence in all states except South Australia (Adelaide, for example) and New South Wales (Sydney, for example), otherwise I could've put you in contact with them. My current employer too doesnt have a significant presence in Sydney. But I can assure you that Sydney is the place to be in for IT, more than jobs than the rest of the country combined (or atleast close).

mawbkk

Good luck Sounds Good,

I am planning to move to Australia on a WHV myself next year, I would really appreciate it if you continued to share your experience. I tip my hat to you for going through with your plans, the thought of giving up my job and rolling the dice is quite terrifying.

YFZblu

Very cool - As someone who moved far from home to follow a dream, I wish you good luck. Definitely keep us posted.

sasnimrod

Wow! sounds like an awesome opportunity. good luck and all the best

Sounds Good

Essendon wrote: »

This should get you started on Kings Cross. For a fresh arrival, it's best to hook up with as many recruiters as possible to maximize your chances for employment. Contact the bigger recruiters such as Hudson, Greythorn, Robert Walters, Command Recruitment, Talent IT (off the top of my head) and connect with them on LinkedIn. There are plenty of smaller players too, Infinite Recruitment is one that springs to mind. My previous employer has large presence in all states except South Australia (Adelaide, for example) and New South Wales (Sydney, for example), otherwise I could've put you in contact with them. My current employer too doesnt have a significant presence in Sydney. But I can assure you that Sydney is the place to be in for IT, more than jobs than the rest of the country combined (or atleast close).

Would you say LinkedIn will increase my chances of getting a job immensely?

What is the dress code for IT work in Sydney or Australia in general? Would I need to bring a suit to an interview? Would I need slacks and shirts for daily wear to work? Or is the environments pretty laxed when it comes to workwear?

Thanks!

Essendon

Well it's the only way (apart from emails) to contact someone overseas I guess. A LinkedIn presence is good to have anyways, dont know about "immensely", but it a good profile may help you get an interview or two.

Dress code depends on the company. I was Helpdesk at a company several years ago and we all wore suits and ties to work. I didnt mind it actually. But for an interview, YES, I WOULD wear a suit. Slacks and shirts for everyday work at the norm but there are exceptions. I wouldnt stress too much on this. It all depends on the company I guess.

So you getting the butterflies yet?!

Bryzey

Apart from checking the job sites already posted.

When I was looking for a new job I googled Sydney data centre and sent my resume to any that had a contact us email.

Any providers in Sydney that offer managed it services might be worth a shot as well.

I ended up getting my job through seek in the end but should always have a multi pronged attack imo.

Good luck!

Essendon

Yeah try Brennan IT, they are decent players in Sydney. Kiandra IT, GlobalOne and Ethan Consulting also have a significant presence in Sydney.

Sounds Good

Essendon wrote: »

Well it's the only way (apart from emails) to contact someone overseas I guess. A LinkedIn presence is good to have anyways, dont know about "immensely", but it a good profile may help you get an interview or two.

Dress code depends on the company. I was Helpdesk at a company several years ago and we all wore suits and ties to work. I didnt mind it actually. But for an interview, YES, I WOULD wear a suit. Slacks and shirts for everyday work at the norm but there are exceptions. I wouldnt stress too much on this. It all depends on the company I guess.

So you getting the butterflies yet?!

Got my first living place mapped out. I will be staying in Marrickville for a week while sorting things out and getting a more permanent place of stay.

So I have to bring a suit eh? Hope it doesn't get wrinkled... =/

Reality of the trip still hasn't set in yet heh.

GAngel

Enjoy!

It will be a story you can tell the rest of your life.
I'm guessing you're flying from lax to auckland/brisbane?
It's a very long flight you might want to try something to help you sleep if you're on a day flight. It took me a solid week to get up to speed.

UnixGuy

Welcome and good luck!

tprice5

This is really inspiring. I am living/working out of the country but in a sh*thole of a country. Would love to do 6 months in Australia. Wonder if the wife would let me? I thought Australia was pretty strict about their emmigration policies. What is the possibility of moving my family there for a couple of years? Is it really as exotic as movies/media make it sound? How do IT salaries compare to the states? $50/hr seems high.

Bravo to OP. You should be proud of yourself. How old are you if you don't mind me asking?

GAngel

tprice5 wrote: »

This is really inspiring. I am living/working out of the country but in a sh*thole of a country. Would love to do 6 months in Australia. Wonder if the wife would let me? I thought Australia was pretty strict about their emmigration policies. What is the possibility of moving my family there for a couple of years? Is it really as exotic as movies/media make it sound? How do IT salaries compare to the states? $50/hr seems high.

Bravo to OP. You should be proud of yourself. How old are you if you don't mind me asking?

Yes Aus is very strict. You can get a work holiday visa and do a year in the country if you're under a certain age. If you don't fall on the skills lists updated every year you're not getting in long term. Fortunately most IT jobs are in demand. If you're only looking to move for a few years it won't be worth the time or effort. It takes 3-5 years to get residency assuming you/wife are on the skills list. The work around some use is to live and work in NZ for a few years then apply for auz once you're a resident. I think NZ changed this to 5 years now. Not really exotic just different. I lived on the beach of st kilda and took a 20 min tram to work and i can count the times I actually went to the beach. Life becomes life no matter where you live.

Starting wages are $16.50 or something like that so $50 only sounds high. It's an expensive place to live in general as most costs are prly 2x what you'd pay in the states.

tprice5

GAngel wrote: »

If you're only looking to move for a few years it won't be worth the time or effort. It takes 3-5 years to get residency assuming you/wife are on the skills list.

Why would I care about residency if my intentions were only to stay a year or two?

GAngel wrote: »

Life becomes life no matter where you live.

Thanks for bringing me back down to Earth..

GAngel

You'd care because the only way to stay past a year is to be a resident unless you spend 3 mths picking fruit in the middle of nowhere for minimum wage fighting the mutant spiders they have up north.

Verities

A bit off topic but some fun places to visit while in Aus: Mission Beach (skydiving), Brisbane (Down Under Bar and Grill - Thursday nights!!!! and Birdie Nom Nom), Cairns (snorkeling the GBR and bungee jumping), and Whit Sunday Islands (most beautiful beaches and clearest water I've ever seen).

UnixGuy

How about TE Australia meet up? Who is in Melbourne?

nel

Essendon wrote: »

If you plan to stay for longer than 1 year, ask another TE member - nel, for more info. He came from the UK and settled here permanently

Listen to all the things that Ess has mentioned, he is a wise man lol.

If you have any questions regarding your immigration options then give me a shout. I have been through the whole process and done everything for it myself. So i have a decent idea if you are coming the IT route into Oz.

Sydney is definitely the hot bed for IT jobs. Thats why i will end up East coast soon. Seek.com.au is the best website for job postings imo. As Ess mentioned, connect with many recruiters as possible BEFORE getting here. Try and set up interviews before landing if possible. I managed to do this and got a job within two weeks of arriving. I am not saying the same will happen for you but its a route worth exploring. If you are not sure what recruiters to look for then check job postings. Note who is advertising the job, then hunt them down on linkedin and connect

. Australia is used to people coming from overseas so just explain your situation.

As for contracting $50 would be a reasonable hourly wage in Australia. You may think WOW at first but Australia is a expensive country. A pint in my city costs me $10-12!!! However, if you play it right, you can make/save some good money.

Imo, dont get a lease for a property. Flatshare if you can. When you are on a temporary visa like yourself, alot can change...and fast. So keep the flexibility on your side. Plus its cheaper to live that way. I guess this would be a problem if you were bringing family and kids though.

Another thing - 12 months will go fast mate. Think ahead about if you want to stay in the country longer. Even if you dont want to be here forever, i would recommend staying for more than 12 months. 1 year is just not enough to explore this great place. Make the most of your location. Sydney is in a good position and has plenty of cheap flights. It also has reasonable flights to places like Hawaii, fiji and other pacific islands too not to mention internal flights such as melbourne etc.

Good luck man, really put yourself out there and make the most of the country.

Edit - some recruiters will try to lowball you with their salary offers. So check a salary guide for the role in your area. There are a few for example, the robert walters salary guide. It will give you a rough estimate of IT roles for each city.

Sounds Good

tprice5 wrote: »

This is really inspiring. I am living/working out of the country but in a sh*thole of a country. Would love to do 6 months in Australia. Wonder if the wife would let me? I thought Australia was pretty strict about their emmigration policies. What is the possibility of moving my family there for a couple of years? Is it really as exotic as movies/media make it sound? How do IT salaries compare to the states? $50/hr seems high.

Bravo to OP. You should be proud of yourself. How old are you if you don't mind me asking?

For moving there permanently, I'm not sure. My visa is only for a year with limitations on being able to work at a company for a maximum of 6 months under 1 employer. As a consultant/contractor in America, I was making $40/hr. I'm 25 turning 26 later this year.

Verities wrote: »

A bit off topic but some fun places to visit while in Aus: Mission Beach (skydiving), Brisbane (Down Under Bar and Grill - Thursday nights!!!! and Birdie Nom Nom), Cairns (snorkeling the GBR and bungee jumping), and Whit Sunday Islands (most beautiful beaches and clearest water I've ever seen).

Thanks for the tips!

nel wrote: »

Listen to all the things that Ess has mentioned, he is a wise man lol.

If you have any questions regarding your immigration options then give me a shout. I have been through the whole process and done everything for it myself. So i have a decent idea if you are coming the IT route into Oz.

Sydney is definitely the hot bed for IT jobs. Thats why i will end up East coast soon. Seek.com.au is the best website for job postings imo. As Ess mentioned, connect with many recruiters as possible BEFORE getting here. Try and set up interviews before landing if possible. I managed to do this and got a job within two weeks of arriving. I am not saying the same will happen for you but its a route worth exploring. If you are not sure what recruiters to look for then check job postings. Note who is advertising the job, then hunt them down on linkedin and connect . Australia is used to people coming from overseas so just explain your situation.

Wouldn't you need a tax ID in order to even be considered for a job? This puzzles me slightly as I read it takes about a month to get a tax ID.

As for contracting $50 would be a reasonable hourly wage in Australia. You may think WOW at first but Australia is a expensive country. A pint in my city costs me $10-12!!! However, if you play it right, you can make/save some good money.

I charged $40/hr in US which equates to about $45/hr AUS so that amount of money is not too foreign to me. I don't drink that much when I go out so I'll be fine there in that regard. I come from NYC, which has similar cost of living to Sydney so it won't be as much of a shock to me as it would to others.

Imo, dont get a lease for a property. Flatshare if you can. When you are on a temporary visa like yourself, alot can change...and fast. So keep the flexibility on your side. Plus its cheaper to live that way. I guess this would be a problem if you were bringing family and kids though.

Definitely won't lease property. Flatmates.com.au for the win. No family or kids. Just a single man looking for adventure!

Another thing - 12 months will go fast mate. Think ahead about if you want to stay in the country longer. Even if you dont want to be here forever, i would recommend staying for more than 12 months. 1 year is just not enough to explore this great place. Make the most of your location. Sydney is in a good position and has plenty of cheap flights. It also has reasonable flights to places like Hawaii, fiji and other pacific islands too not to mention internal flights such as melbourne etc.

If I absolutely fall in love with Sydney, I wouldn't mind staying. However, I have other plans of visiting Europe, South America next on my list of places I want to live in.

I definitely plan to visit NZ as I have family out there.

Good luck man, really put yourself out there and make the most of the country.

Edit - some recruiters will try to lowball you with their salary offers. So check a salary guide for the role in your area. There are a few for example, the robert walters salary guide. It will give you a rough estimate of IT roles for each city.

Thanks, will definitely check out robert walters guide.

Tomorrow is my flight. A new beginning for this young chap!

stryder144

Good luck and safe travels!

Essendon

You can apply for the TFN (the Tax File Number) the moment you land, really. These days I hear you get a number instantly, so no problems there.

Like stryder said, Safe travels mate! Let us know when you get here, yeah?

Sounds Good

Looking through the online job boards, I see a term I'm not familiar with.

What is +super? Googling this doesn't yield clear results.

Essendon

Say they list $50/hr + super. That means, they'll pay you $50/hr (tax-deductible) + superannuation (usually 9.5% of the rate you are on). This superannuation thing is something that's for when you get old. But since arent permanent in the country, you can take the superannuation along when you leave the country for good.

Sounds Good

Essendon wrote: »

Say they list $50/hr + super. That means, they'll pay you $50/hr (tax-deductible) + superannuation (usually 9.5% of the rate you are on). This superannuation thing is something that's for when you get old. But since arent permanent in the country, you can take the superannuation along when you leave the country for good.

Ok I see so $50/hr would in reality be closer to $55/hr

Thanks