techie1962

Hi,

I have submitted my medicals and now waiting for my grant letter. In the mean time, I would like to find out what are my chances of getting employment in OZ : I am an IT professional with more than 15 years of IT experience. For the last 6 years, I have been architecting and implementing enterprise solutions based on Java (J2EE) technology in Sillicon Valley and other parts of USA.

TIA

Vimal

pread

Vimal,

You may be aware, that the IT job market isn't so good in Oz at present. Presumably you've looked at the job websites to see what's posted for your specialization (www.seek.com.au, www.jobnet.com.au). But the job market in Oz really goes by word of mouth - I saw a news report that reckoned that only 20% of jobs ever made it to the agencies, as the other 80% were filled by word of mouth. So it's imperative to have contacts here.

Good luck on your search.

Cheers,
Paul.

Lana

I suppose the right answer here is "give it up, there are absolutely no jobs in IT in Australia". But I still believe that if you have up-to-date skills, experience with big companies, a decent level of English (and sorry, "vocational" IELTS score does not mean a decent level of English) and are not offended by salaries around $45K-65K, you can find work in Australia. The "there are no jobs" whiners seem to follow a certain theme, with at least one of the following:

a- horrible English;
b- less than 2 years experience, or at least less than 2 years in the skill they are applying to;
c- expect to earn $100K+, just because back in the dot com boom they made that much;
d- outdated skills, like no certificates or anything since they left college 10+ years ago;
e- vague generalist skills, which makes them no experts at anything.

So don't despair. Once you get there, check sites, newspapers, call recruitment agencies directly, and even mail your resume to Human Resources departments of companies you are interested in. Join as many professional organizations as you can, go to conferences, etc. Anything to get your foot in the door.

onlyme

if your are used to earning big dosh in the USA and expect to earn similar here and have become accustomed to a certain lifestyle, then prepare yourself for a change....wages are lower here and taxes are higher.

onlyme

From "The Australian" website...IT section :

TOUGHER government scrutiny has pushed down the number of ICT-skilled migrants knocking on Australia's door.

However, just as the contentious ICT immigration rate begins to drop, local organisations are desperately searching for staff skilled in newer disciplines such as .NET, J2EE and wireless technology.
Preliminary Department of Immigration figures showed the number of ICT-skilled applicants granted permanent visas in the last six months of 2002 were down sharply.

In 2001-02, 43 per cent of applicants granted permanent visas had ICT skills. For the last six months of 2002, the ICT immigration application percentage dropped to 30 per cent.

A department spokesman said the figure was expected to drop below 30 per cent for 2002-03.

Pruning of the Migration Occupations in Demand List (MODL) and changes last May to ICT priority processing contributed to the fall, he said.

Concerns about the availability of IT jobs in Australia and reduced pay rates also affected the number of applications, the spokesman said.

However, Australian companies were still looking offshore for staff skilled in .NET and emerging wireless technologies, said Deborah Howard, managing director of Accenture-owned recruitment agency Diversiti. "There is not a supply in Australia of .NET-skilled professionals, and companies are having to look overseas."

Ms Howard said Australian companies were also looking overseas for people with wireless skills, but the local supply of Siebel and customer relationship management skills was beginning to pick up.

Australian Computer Society president Richard Hogg said Australia needed to ensure a supply of skilled IT professionals through the migration system, but there was also a need to focus on knowledge transfer.

"We need experts, but we need to ensure their knowledge is transferred," he said. Applications for permanent visas were down, but the real problem within the IT industry was loopholes within the short-term visa scheme, Mr Hogg said. "People on short-term visas come here without a check on available jobs." The number of people coming in under the short-term visa scheme, which entitled holders to a four-year stay, was 30,000-plus, he said.

About 8000 to 9000 of these entered the IT industry, he said.

"Since September 11, 2001, there has been some fall-off in the number of people applying for a visa, mainly due to the downturn."

The Immigration Department spokesman said permanent visa applications had trailed off, as well as temporary migration. "The demand is down. Employers are not interested in bringing people over," he said.

Nevertheless, Mr Hogg said, the short-term visa scheme needed to be "better controlled".

dlendl

Vimal, if you are Indian or from Pakistan, it will be hard 4 you.
Yes, Java is in demand, but if you don't have networking skils, many friends etc., you will be surprised how things are slow here.
There are ghost jobs on Internet, so dont look at it at all, contracts are in demand but you will compete with locals. I would try Swiss or the Netherlands in your place. Much bigger money, faster and interesting. There is a BIG outsoursing of all IT projects to India. In my case a cant find any position with MSc, OCP, 5y in production and thinking to go back in Europe (East).
Good luck!
D.