Is anyone familiar with the Perth job market and the general career opportunities for software engineers? I know which job sites I can use to find specific advertised jobs, but I'm curious about the general health of the job market there.

My wife has received a job offer in Perth, so rather than wait for our 175 PR in Blighty we're thinking to accept the offer and leave as soon as possible. We were originally heading for Sydney though, so I've never looked into the job market in Perth. I vaguely remember reading/hearing that the Australian IT industry is more focused in eastern Australia, is that the case?

My specialisation is Java/J2EE.

Thanks for any input!

The Perth market is hard to crack if you are not 'known'. That first job can be difficult. You may have to contract to start with. There is some Java/J2EE work in Perth although it's not as much as a year ago. I'll ask the guys I'm working for. One point - if you come early will it be on a temporary visa ?

Thanks, sounds like it'll be challenging.. I don't mind contracting initially though. I've been working for a startup for a while and am happy with that too.

My visa situation will be one of two possibilities:

A) They promote our 175 application to the top of the queue and grant us PR right away. The migration expert at my wife's would-be employer reckons this is what they'll do.

B) They give us an employer-sponsored temporary visa based on my wife's job offer. Our 175 PR application should still be processed probably by mid-year, as my wife is on the CSL list.