erfanonline

(Pardon me for the long post)

Hi all,
Please allow me to give the background of the question. Me and my wife already got the visa(475), already made a short holiday trip to Australia for validation. Now, planning to move permanently few months later (need some time to leave job, settle things in home country)

My brother is a citizen of Australia and we shall be living at his home in a suburb near Melbourne. So, one thing is sure, I won't have to worry about living place, furniture or food immediately after arriving.

My brother is asking me every other day to come to Australia as soon as possible, he says the sooner I come, the sooner I can settle in as things are not so easy there, specially for a migrant.

My plan is to look for job -- at first any kind of job (including dish washing, cleaning....). I do not expect to get a new job of my original profession (My nominated profession for skilled migration was Software Engineer) without struggling (as I do not have Australian education) and I am mentally prepared for it.

Everything was fine. But, few days earlier, I met a friend of mine (who is also a citizen of Australia), who returned to home country to look after some family business. I was discussing my plan with him. He completely disagreed to my plan and said it wont work at all. So, I am very much confused now.

What he said is, I should start looking for job offshore. Because if I go onshore leaving my current job (in South Asia), then employers will treat me as an unemployed person. And, in job application in Australia, an employed candidate will always have preference over an unemployed person! But, as far as I have researched, very few IT companies in Oz hires via phone/Skype interview. They always prefer onshore candidates.

So, can the experienced people out there give me some suggestion? Is my friend correct and am I taking too stupid a move?

hoffage123

There are a lot of platitudes around "It is always better to be in a job than not when looking" "Wear a tie it makes you look professional" "Brush your teeth" etc. Whilst they have a grain of truth, they don't take into account individual situations, luck, ability, time, etc.

You need to make a plan for yourself. Think about what you are prepared to put up with, and what the overall goal is, and how you are intending to reach it. Make a list of pros and cons, and then make a decision from there. If you have enough money to stick out a short period of unemployment and you are happy to move over soon, then do it. If not, then wait and save a bit more. As long as you aren't unemployed for years I don't see that it would do you any harm to move over without a job, as long as you have the financial means and are happy in yourself to do so. Have confidence in yourself!

spouse of scouse

Great advice, nothing I can add to that!

Jacqui

We came over on my husband's I.T. skills and he was after a job at Project Management level. We stayed with my sister, so didn't have the immediate worry of accommodation. But he ended up being unemployed for 7 months and just applied for anything going in the end. He got his first job because he just happened to have this one particular skill that none of the other applicants had, from a field that he had only worked in once some years previously, but it was enough to give him the edge over the others. He had to go back to working as a Software Engineer, so not ideal, but it was just that first foot in the door he needed. He's worked his way up ever since.

So not, it's not a stupid move at all. But make sure you have a big pot of savings to bring with you!

quoll

Will your employer let you take a career break so that you have the security of being able yo return if it doesn't work out? You may well find it hard to pick up a job out of the metropolitan areas in IT and you are going to be regionally constrained for some years.

Beoz

As you are a software engineer in a big growth region you may find it harder and harder to find work in the Australia. There is becoming less of a need to have it done locally by highly paid locals when you can have it done by a large talent pool of cheap labour in Asia.

ajw

As more businesses are discovering, the labour market in Asia might be cheap but they're not always that talented. Plenty of organisations starting to insource after disasterous experiences with going offshore.

Beoz

I don't disagree that often, the quality is poor. It's not just the technical skills but also the ability to think for themselves. On top of that they will leave and go elsewhere for a dollar more a day.

While many companies have initial bad experiences, those who battle through with training and good pay do prevail.

ajw

Agree 100%.

This may depend on how they operating the offshore resources - is it wholly owned or part of an out-sourcing shop etc. And often the original scope of what the foreign resources are supposed to do are reduced or adjusted.

BASHO

If there are plenty of positions available in your field of expertise just arrive you'll be fine.

If there isn't plenty of work in your field of expertise just arrive and have problems.

-- easy.

Solution --Find out if there is plenty of work in your field of expertise before you jump.

The key is plenty of available jobs.

Example--If you were a Chef with a good track record you couldn't be out of work unless you wanted to be.

Best of luck.

Bermudashorts

New migrants usually are unemployed once they get here, so there will be nothing odd about that. It has an advantage, that you are immediately available too. It will be very difficult to try to secure a role from overseas, employers would be more put off by your location than your employment status in Australia.

CVarney

Both my husband and i are Software Developers and had no issue getting job interviews when we went over this year to validate our visa.

KJCherokee

My experience is probably not relevant as I arrived here 30 years ago. I came in on a PR visa issued because my skills (mechanical engineer) were in demand; though actually that was incorrect as Australia was going through a recession at the time. Like you we had guaranteed accommodation with friends when we landed, so that was one less headache.
In our first 6 months here I only managed to pick up 6 weeks work as, of all things, a temporary Tech Studies teacher! Then a couple of months later I got another temporary job with the commonwealth Dept of Transport before finally getting an entry level position in the industry (oil & gas pipelines) that I have spent the last 30 years in.
So yes, it is doable although a lot more difficult now than it was 30 years ago - for one thing I was able to collect unemployment benefit after the first couple of months which I don't think is possible nowadays. You will need to make sure that you can support yourselves for at least 6 months whilst you sort yourselves out.

Fenton Beasley

If you are asking that question then yes, it is stupid to move. If it just doesn't feel right. I would stay where you are.

ainitcskarachi

If you reside in Pakistan then you should definitely immigrate as situation due to pathetic leadership is not good for maintaining a family there. Otherwise if you are in India you should definitely stay there as it has a booming economy and it will one day overtake Australia in terms of economy and quality of life.