mpgrewal

Hello,
Wanted advice from the natives in terms of IT opportunities in Perth Vs Brisbane. My personal thinking is Perth has more IT jobs than Brisbane, wanted to clarify it through your experiences.

Also, I wanted to apply for 176 for both these states so your advice can help me in choosing one?
Thanks.

Deancm

Brisbane has in the past been a bit of an IT hub although from what i've heard not much going on there. Perth is really small and there is not a lot going on there either. Best place for IT at the moment would be Melbourne. Sydney is a no go area for IT at the moment.

Be prepared to take a massive salary cut. IT over in Oz pays nowhere near the UK.

fish.01

Do you have examples? in permanent and contract?

fish.01

Just wondering why you think this?

phat-dave

perth have computers???

mpgrewal

My analysis is based on the jobs advertisement on various leading portals. Perth advts outnumber Brisbane in terms of .Net jobs. I second the fact that Melbourne and Sydney are leaders.. but getting 176 seems easier in Perth and Brisbane??

So wanted to know about IT scene in these two cities.

Deancm

Depends what your specialisation is. As a rule of thumb though, in IT, when moving to Oz you can expect to take about a $10K to $20K salary drop.

Eg1 Oracle Financials Consultant in UK c£65. In oz $100-110K

Eg2. .Net Programmer salary c£45. In Oz about $60 - $70K.

Contract Oracle HRMS c£600 - £800/day. In Oz c$1000/day (if thats even achievable in todays market.

I'm an IT recruiter and I have recruited extensively in both the UK and Oz.

Deancm

Most of the IT work in Perth is from the mines but the mining industry has fallen on hard times.

Don't believe what you read on the job boards. Most of it is duplicated rubbish.

I personally wouldn;t go to either city. Crime too high in Brisbane and unemployment has always been higher than the average in Oz. You get a lot of people moving there for lifestyle reasons so too many people for the industry to sustain.

Perth is just too small and too isolated. Very limited in job opportunites.

It is much harder to get work in Australia than it is in the UK.

mpgrewal

Thanks Dean. That helps.

Deancm

Your best bet for work is definitely Melbourne. It's a major city with far more growth potential than Sydney. SA or Adelaide I wouldn't even think about. Perth has great beaches and lifestyle but that doesn't pay the bills. Same with Brisbane, only Brisbane isn't as isolated as Perth so you get a lot more people going there for lifestyle reasons. Too humid up there as well. Sydney's feeling the major brunt of the financial crisis at the moment so there are loads of people unemployed.

The ACT/Canberra... Nobody wants to go there!

phat-dave

Dean; I'd love to see the evidence you have regarding the high crime rate in Brisbane compared to other Australian cities - In fact, the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicates otherwise (Albeit it's not the least but certainly not the highest). I am even more intrigued by your comment of Brisbane having higher unemployment?

Queensland the past fifteen years has been the driving force for the Australian economy, Western Australia has also played a major part in the past ten years on the back of the strong demand for natural resources. Thus plenty of employment opportunities have been available; mining and services to mining, construction and infrastructure, information technology, banking and finance have all been strong employment segments.

fish.01

Suprised by this. Is this just anecdotal or do you have stats?

Could only find this from ABS. Seems like unemployment has been low in Qld:

Jan-2007 Qld: 4.0 Vic: 4.9
Jan-2008 Qld: 3.6 Vic: 4.5
Jan-2009 Qld: 4.4 Vic: 5.0
Apr-2009 Qld: 4.9 Vic: 5.7

fish.01

c£45 vs $60 - $70K. Assume you're talking about just .NET programmer, not A/P or Senior A/P?

Deancm

Yes talking about a .Net programmer in my example of equivalent experience levels.

Generally speaking, the higher your salary in the UK, the more your salary will drop in Oz.

Salaries in the last few years in Oz have been over inflated, but with the current economic climate this will change.

A senior A/P could expect to get c$85K in Oz comared to being on c£65K in the UK.

I've seen roles advertised paying up to $100K but that would be a recruiter being ambitious in order to attract candidates.

Deancm

I'm talking about the IT industry and not employment in general. Don't have any stats to hand.