Hi all,

First great informtion here.
A question that pertains to my circumstance, i am a network engineer mainly working with Cisco at large ISP/Tier One providers etc. I have the normally Cisco certs (CCNA, CCNA Security, CCNP, CCIP & CCIE written). I should have my CCIE lab soon (this year, fingers crossed)

I have been doing a bit of reading and read that Cisco certifications hold no weight with the ACS? (not sure what that is).

Does anyone here know any network engineers (Cisco pref) that have moved from the UK to OZ and did they have any issues with thei skills/certifications?
Looking over the job boards in OZ, it seems i can almost double my UK income (UK £35k pa, OZ $120 -150k pa) if i can get a visa.

Any help would be great.

BTW, i am 36.

Hello, and welcome to the forum.

I'm a Cisco trained engineer and I work for IBM here in Melbourne, although I'm no longer in a technical role.

You're right in that Cisco qualifications hold no weight with the ACS however if you have network experience which with Cisco would normally include network security (an ACL is a form of security, right?) then that may well qualify you for a visa. I recommend you contact Peter Chiam (his username is ptlabs on this forum). He is an immigration agent specialising in IT workers who do not have formal educational qualifications. He would do an initial asssessment for you which would indicate whether you have enough IT experience to apply now or whether you need to get more. By the way CCIEs are well sought after here not least because organisations such as mine have to employ a certain number of them to keep their certification.

Have you considered where in Australia to move to? For Cisco I reckon that Melbourne is far and away the best place as both Telstra and NBN are headquartered here, quite apart from IBM and other big employers. Sydney would be another option, anywhere outside these two cities and CCIE work would be greatly reduced.

Good luck and ask away if you need any other advice.

BB

*Seems like* you can double your income. It's deceptive - Beware the direct conversion of exchange rates as this is a different economy. Cost of living is higher etc (particularly here in Sydney) IMO. Back when you were getting 2.5 dollars to the pound it didn't seen anywhere near as lucrative ;-)

With regards to the ACS, I used Peter Chiam too. Best money I spent in regards to my visa app. He assisted me with an RPL (recognition of prior learning) to represent my professional experience as equivalent to a degree standard of higher education.

Professionally speaking, I question the value and indeed pertinance of any group or society that holds an MCSE in higher esteem than a CCNP. Yet they are tasked with skills classification for visa applicants and so, dealing with them is a necessary evil.

It's an old boys club, with little relevance in today's modern employment landscape. Linkedin and other forms of social networking are far more effective in creating opportunities etc.

Aparrently ACS accreditation comes with complimentary membership. :-) Yeah like I'd put that on my CV. Think I'd bin any resume that came my way with "member of the ACS" on it.

Anyway, ACS bashing rant over :-)

I'm a Cisco certified, Network Design Specialist by trade. 15 years exp as a Senior Network Engineer for a large carrier in the UK. Yes, your skills are very useful here. The only observation I do have is that this is a significantly smaller pond - carrier grade skills are a *serious* niche, with roles in that area hard to come by. There are fewer players of that size here.

Be prepared to adapt to the Market.

If you can adopt more of an Enterprise focus, it make your skills more saleable on the job Market - particularly contract roles. Things like IP Telephony and Network Security are big payers - areas of specialisation with some legs IMO.

Good luck with your CCIE lab.

People want Cisco Engineers that can talk in English rather than iOS.

Plenty of demand for them here if you can communicate. Sydney has the largest tech market in Australia although the Mexicans try it on. Either way you will get employment in either city.

Telstra and NBN employ techies nationwide.

I would come over and visit both cities and go to suburbs you can afford.

ACS membership is not much use but they are unsuccessfully trying to push themselves as something like the CPA for accountants.

The good news is, theres lots of work here in any of the citys, the bad news is the ACS wont recognise the qualifications.

When I first applied with my microsoft and cisco qualifications as well as years of experience they refused me, they said I was not qualified to work in aus.
I came over on a whv visa and then applied for and eventually got a family sponosored visa. I have worked the last 5 years in aus with no problems so that shows what the ACS knows :P

They only seem to recognise university degrees, but employers still highly value trade ones like cisco and microsoft

good luck

Many thanks Buzzy--Bee, dogscogs, IvanM & dave99.
That has confimed a few queries that were on my mind. I wll checkout Peter Chiam for a RPL.

We have looked at both Melbourne & Sydney. We have opted for Melbourne, given the cost of living looks to be a bit better, more value for money.
Having spent a great deal of time in London we enjoy the buzz of the city, plus the wife loves shoes! (sorry honey but you do). We would look to live around 45 mins to hours drive out of the city.

I have done a bit of security in Cisco with ASA (and R&S security) and some with Juniper/checkpoint, but have little certifications in security. If this helps to get the visa i could always knock out some more certifications in security?

Money wise if i took my current rate (£35k pa) and coverted that to OZ money, XE shows me that would be Live rates at 2011.01.16 08:52:00 UTC
36,000.00 GBP = 57,725.14 AUD. I saw a job with Telstra (who would be great for me to work with) here

http://jobview.careerone.com.au/Seni...-95056046.aspx

Salary:$100,000.00 - $150,000.00 /year

If i can get with an ISP great, but am happy to work in any place that has Cisco networks, like enterprise. Right now i am on a fix term contract for a local UK goverment that is a enterprise campus and mostly my work is L2/L3 switching, VoIP support and wireless. Two other things i have just learnt about on the job and have not real certifications in. It goes with ths job right.

I have just started the CCIE lab final study with the INE track, the exam is hopefully going to be the end of the year (Narbik and Scott Morris are in the UK for the first time ever doing a bootcamp for 12 days in October, if i can get the cash i am going to use that for my final push). The market for CCIE's in the UK has taken a serious beating and the wages have dropped. They seem to average £60k pa, and that is London wages, not good. We lived in a studio in W2 for two years in 2000, and it was hell on earth and cost us £1200 per month. Now with a two year old and chocolate lab, that is not an option!

Right, its 09:15. A full day of QOS study is about to start, i have my books. Some coffee and the red bull is in the fridge!


Thanks guys.