fajita

Hi,
I've tried a few forums for advice on this one. Basically I'd like to move to Perth from the uk for family reasons but I'm concerned about the opportunities as a Java(J2EE) developer. Having spoken to a few agencies out there I get the impression that although there aren't many jobs, there also aren't many people skilled enough to fill them and that ICT is a (slowly) growing industry in Perth (although some of the replies I've received on other forums contradict this). Are you an Analyst/programmer working on the ground in Perth at the moment?- what's your opinion of the market? Alternatively are you a Project Mgr who can't get the programmer resource you need? Please let me know as otherwise I'll be forced to go to Sydney (not exactly a hardship but you get the idea ) PS Please disregard the money side of things as lifestyle is more important (otherwise I'd be staying in the uk!)
thanks!

steve99

Whenever we've looked to recruit people with Java skills it has always be a case of being lucky to find a couple of options of people with a solid commerical background (3yrs+) who are readily available.
Perth IT market is booming at the moment, if you've got a good resume highlighting your specific skills sets, are a good communicator and present well you shouldnt have any issues in finding work in Perth. When do you get here?
Steve

fajita

hi Steve,
Thanks for your reply, it's good to get a positive response I've got 5 years experience on J2EE (8 years total development exp) so hopefully it's all promising. I've passed my ACS RPL and my wife and I are currently processing our Police checks for a front-loaded 136 application. I'm optimistic of being out there before the end of the year.
Cheers.

natmcg

Hi Steve,

I've emailed you - I know someone who's a Java/J2EE Analyst Programmer/Team Lead with 9 years experience, currently in the US (British/US cit) moving to Perth and we're both wondering what the market is like there. Agencies seem so covert at giving out information. Jobs appear to be available only to those with a visa already - he'll have one but not for at least 12 months unless we can fast track him somehow. I'm over in Melbourne and doing as much research as I can for him on his behalf - moving West myself in September.

Any information you can give would be extremely welcome - and good luck to everyone else in the same boat! Do let us know how you get on & keep in touch.

mccormac

I'm not an analyst/programmer but I am a principal software engineer which I suppose will be very similar. I came here just under two years ago as a C++/VB6/SQL developer with about 10 years experience, almost entirely on the Win32 platform. I had no difficulty at all finding work and started in a C# job at a small Perth-based company about a month to the day after stepping off the 'plane from Dublin.

It seems to be a very common experience for migrants that the employers and recruitment agencies just aren't interesting in you until you're actually on the ground. So I wouldn't stress if your responses up to now have been sluggish.

As another poster has said, the IT market is travelling well here at the moment - too well in fact from the perspective of employers. And I suppose this can only be good news for you. By way of example, our engineering department has had great difficulty finding decent developers over the last 3-6 months. Another problem for me is that the IT skillsets I see in the CVs coming in are very different to the skillsets one might see in Dublin or London. People have done a lot of weird stuff! I'd love to see more applicants with 'normal' software development skills.

My two word tip as regards preparation for intervew would be Martin Fowler. The recruitment agencies seem to just love that guy over here...pepper your responses with references to the man (and perhaps throw in some GoF refs too) and you're laughing.

natmcg

My two word tip as regards preparation for intervew would be Martin Fowler. The recruitment agencies seem to just love that guy over here...pepper your responses with references to the man (and perhaps throw in some GoF refs too) and you're laughing.

...sorry please explain - who is Martin Fowler...and what is GoF?

Thanks

ScottDavis

Martin Fowler is a god in the Object Oriented software development world and currently chief scientist at ThoughtWorks I believe. Do a search on Amazon for the books he has written or check www.martinfowler.com

GoF is the Gang of Four. Particularly famous for their design patterns for OO development. Search for Gang of Four on Google for books or Amazon for books.

steve99

I thought he was Pauline's son on Eastenders....

fajita

Mild mannered fruit and veg seller by day, OO guru by night ...
Seriously though , thanks for the info and tips,Scott it's good to get the view of someone who does the same job as me (albeit on the dark side ) I remember thinking that the ACS seemed very keen on gof as well so I'll be sure to make a point of mentioning them in interviews etc.

natmcg, in my experience over the last few months there is the possibility of cxc.com (contractors Exchange) sponsoring a 457 visa for your friend if he can land a job over there. Some recruiters will accept this as permission to work in the country but he would have to be prepared to move quickly (probably no more than a months notice to be in country). I'd suggest contacting CxC in Perth for a chat. Hopefully I'll be over there by the end of the year so I'll update then about how easy/hard I find it getting work.

natmcg

Curious...will check it all out. Thanks for the link.

fajita

Sorry meant of course mccormac's info and tips , not Scotts. Not that Scott wasn't helpful- ok going to stop digging now

natmcg

Hi - yes please do - that would be very welcome. I think my friend State-side will be fine getting a job - he's good at what he does. Thanks for the 457 visa info anyway - I reckon he may as well stick with his 136 non-modl - hopefully he'll make it across July/August latest next year. Plus he'll be visiting February 2007 so can perhaps approach a few agents to suss things out.


What I'm curious to know is what the salaries are - ballpark figure. He's currently earning around the US$75k a year plus benefits/bonuses etc. and I think would like to command AUD$100k to equate with that. Does anyone know if that seems likely? Again, agents have been reluctant (in fact, down right refused) to give such information out. It's like getting blood from a stone - very frustrating.

fajita

Obviously someone on the ground would have a better idea but my perception is that while it might be possible to get that sort of figure in Sydney it isn't very likely in Perth- my expectation would be around the 70K mark for permy work and $65 an hour for contract. Please anyone feel free to correct me as I'd love to be wrong !

natmcg

Wow - I really hope you ARE wrong. Field Engineers doing break/fix earn at least $70-80k here in Melbourne.

That said, $70k is an ok wage - that's pretty comfortable. ...but depressing having been on USD$75 plus extras...

Hard to compare though perhaps - a straight comparison doesn't always work. I've decided that £1 equates to $2, irrespective of the exchange rate - more or less anyway. As a rough guide with buying everyday stuff. ....so $70k would be around the £35k mark... Hmmmm

Just out of interest, what are decent Java/J2EE Programmer/Analysts getting in the UK these days?

fajita

Depends where you work London would be 40-50k rest of the country 30-40k.
I figure $70k AU would be much the same as I was on in my last permy job and average cost of living shouldn't be that different to the uk. While I certainly won't get rich- it should be enough for a comfortable lifestyle.