SCOTTHOLLAND

Hi guys,

Thought I'd put a note up for some general views on salary. I don't have a degree and have 6.5 years experience in the insurance sector. I have been told salary ranges from 40,000 AUD to 70,000 AUD. this is a year.

I think 40,000 is far to low, as I was on more that the UK. 50,000 I am about on par with the UK. My other issue is I am being taxed on everything I earn as a non-resident on a holiday working visa so can't afford really to take a salary I would struggle to live on.

Can I have your views on if you think 55,000 is a good offer. Also note I do not have a degree but some insurance qualifications.

Thank you and happy new year!

Grayling

WHVs are not really designed to live and work on. You are only allowed to work for one employer for up to 6 months.
If you want to work for a 'salary' then you need a proper working visa.

55000 is not really very much....you would struggle in most of the major cities

SCOTTHOLLAND

I understand what the visa is there for but in the 6 months I work I want a quality of life where I can still get out and about and see what I need to see whilst working and traveling. I've had experiences where the salary offers are peanuts and I think it's just because the visa status, they think its cheap labour. I was offered a job last week for 36,000 a year for a 40 hour week!

Bermudashorts

Well "in the insurance sector" is a bit vague, what do you actually do? Are you saying you earned GBP50k in the UK? What did you do there?

But say you were in a call centre selling policies or taking claims in Australia, well then $55k is about normal.

SCOTTHOLLAND

My UK salary was £35k plus bonus. So approx AUD 50,000 is what I based it on.

I used to work in claims handling an American commercial portfolio book. This role is lower value but along the same lines and for a firm a little larger in stuff numbers than my UK firm.

I am hoping salary is discussed in more detail next week but the director when we met said it was around this 50-55 mark. I'm happy it's an income but just trying to get an idea of what's the norm.

Thanks

Bermudashorts

Sounds reasonable, in that it sounds like the going rate.

fish.01

FYI, £35k is equivalent to $75,000+ in Australia if converting on average salaries...using the exchange rate to compare salaries/cost of living isn't correct mathematically and will possibly give you a false sense of things.

Bermudashorts

It certainly isn't equivalent to what OP was on in UK. By reasonable, I was meaning that this is the going rate here for these types of jobs.

SCOTTHOLLAND

That's really helpful. So this takes into account the bigger picture rather than just a ROE calculation.

Can you kindly advise what 55k AUD would be in £'s.

I'm having a hard time deciding what to do. My old job have offered me a payrise to return to the UK but I love Melbourne that I want to use my only chance wisely. It's hard knowing what will benefit longer term as in 6 months the UK offer maybe no more.

Thanks

fish.01

Indeed, that's how I read your post, I thought you were pretty clear...your post made me think that maybe it is a job that doesn't pay as well in Australia as the salary seems a fair bit lower...unless the employer is a chancer.

SCOTTHOLLAND

Well an agency I am working with said its 'average' and I am worth more like 65k but with the visa I have it's gonna be a tough battle to I love it here and the quality of live. In the same breath, being a non-resident and paying a lot mode in tax as I don't get an allowance at this stage. I need to go get a house share and am concerned I commit and then underestimate what I'm actually earning when it starts hitting the bank.

I guess it's a job and will just have to budget etc. maybe I'm just being silly at thinking I'd have more disposable income here in Australia that the UK, I guess it's just life!!

Thanks for your help guys

Bermudashorts

Why? This job is in Australia, they are not going to pay you in GBP.

Some jobs pay less over here, as per Fish, this looks like one of them as I do know that this is a normal salary. You need to decide whether the experience is worth forgoing the better money. How old are you by the way, well you must be under 30 or you wouldn't be on a WHV. It is hardly the only job offer you will will ever get again (the one in the UK that is).

It certainly is not a given that being in Australia will mean more disposable income.

Dorothy

In Melbourne, making $55k you won't.

fish.01

The idea is to work a conversion rate that reflects the difference in average salaries between the two countries to get the most accurate guesstimate of cost of living conversion.

It has been estimated on various forum to be between 2.2-2.5. This is a totally rough number but certainly has some maths behind it (dividing the published average/median salaries), unlike using the exchange rate which is totally nonsensical mathematically. For example, when the pound dropped dramatically against the AUD it didn't change the cost of living in Australia at the same time...which if you were using the exchange rate to compare/convert would lead you to believe events in Britain had something to do with the daily cost of living in Australia.

AUD55k would be roughly around £22-25...

Of course, these are all just country wide averages and will be affected by size of city etc.

Buzzy--Bee

This is a fairly accurate guide. 50,000 pounds would equate to a salary of $120,000 or so to be able to afford the same standard of living in Australia.

On a WHV you will definitely be offered lower paid jobs as they are the type of jobs offered to short term contract staff.

I have just employed an Englishman on a WHV for a 6 month contract at my work, it was the right fit for me and him but wasn't a very high salary at all.

BB