ananth

Hi

1. Have a BSc in Mathematics from India 1987-1990 (Medium of Instruction was English)

2. Enrolled in (Full time) MS-Thesis Option in Industrial and Systems Engg (with specialization in Operations Research) 1991-1995 at Virginia Tech, USA BUT did not graduate (as i did not defend my Thesis) with a MS degree though I completed all the course requirements for MS. During the course of my study at Virginia Tech, I took a lot of Computer Science courses (Assembly language, Data Structures and Files, Operating Systems, Computer Architecture, Parallel and Distributed Computing, PASCAL and C programming, Design of Logic circuits, Discrete Math) apart from MS level Operations Research courses.

3. From Dec1995 - present, i have been working in the internetworking/communications field for some of the largest ISPs in the US as a (Sr) network engineer with expertise in Cisco routers and switches, Juniper routers, Nortel Shasta, Passport, CoSine etc..I can provide evidence through references and work experience letters.

Based on this
1. Do I still need to take the IELTS test (having lived in the US for over 12 years, I would think not, but you never know).

2. What ASCO code would Network Engineer fall under ? Most of my focus have been to test vendor (ciscos/junipers etc) hardware and software/features and to test new product rollouts into the backbone. I also do a lot of programming in Perl, cgi-perl, Expec/tcl, html and UNIX shell scripts. Does "IT" as defined by ACS cover communications and its accompanying protocols as well? I could not find an exact match for Network Engg..Maybe Computer testing ??

3. What group should I apply in (Group B or A)?

Hopefully i can qualify..i really miss watching cricket on a regular basis ! I am very well settled here but I want a fresh start and try something new while i am still young..(or rather "while i can still move my arms and legs )..

Any help is greatly appreciated..is it better to go with a migration agent in my case

thanks
ananth

Mark Webster

Ananth,

It looks like you were not awarded your MS degree in IT. I believe that the ACS will only consider completed qualifications in assessing you under group A or B. Accordingly, unless you have completed enough subjects in your bachelor degree to constitute a minor in IT, or have recognised qualifications such as MCSE, you will probably need to apply for RPL.

Note that you do not elect to apply under group A or group B, you are assessed by the ACS under either or both if applicable.

The ACS often seems to pay no notice of which ASCO code you nominate in your application. I would suggest that you review the ACS guidelines for the most appropriate ASCO code. You might fall within the occupation of Systems Manager.

Given that your bachelor degree would have been taught in English and your long-term residence in the UK, you should be able to argue that IELTS testing is "not necessary".

Something that there is no shortage of in Australia is cricket on the TV. Australia is now playing some tests up in Darwin in the middle of Winter!

ananth

Thanks Mark. Really appreciate your response. I have further questions -

1. Group B qualifications criteria says

"an Australian AQF Diploma or Australian AQF Advanced Diploma with a major in IT, or an Australian Bachelor degree, or Graduate Diploma, or higher qualification with a minor (sub-major) in IT;
or
an overseas qualification assessed as being comparable to an Australian AQF Diploma or an Australian AQF Advanced Diploma with a major in IT, or an Australian Bachelor degree, or Graduate Diploma, or higher qualification with a minor (sub-major) in information technology."

The part after "or" refers to "overseas qualification assessed as = Australian Degree with minor in IT". Now does "overseas qualification" = Overseas degree and that's it? I mean don't they assess the courses that i have taken over the period of my education? The RPL seems to be for people who do not have any formal coursework/education but have excellent work experience. Please enlighten me. The guidelines and terminology are very confusing indeed.


2. I have a question about RPL. ACS says

"Applicants who apply for RPL and do not hold a recognised academic tertiary qualification will have deducted from their total work experience a period of relevant IT professional experience deemed necessary to have reached the level of qualification allocated. For example, if an applicant is allocated a qualification level equivalent to a 2-year diploma, they will have two years deducted from the total of their recognized work experience (effective as of 11 April)."

What does the phrase "recognised academic tertiary qualification" mean ? Even though i have a non-IT "degree" (in my case BSc in Mathematics) I won't have my work experience deducted? Since i have extensive computer science background while doing my Masters (though not completed), i want to show them that when you put all of my education together (Math courses at both BS and MS level + Computer science courses at BS level), it is ATLEAST equal to BS in Math with a minor in computer science. This is without having to "deduct" from any of my work experience.

Really sorry for the lengthy posts. Hope you understand. I'm kind of disappointed that I may not be able to qualify. If i get 60 points for SOL, then I am through since i have worked in the same field for over 7 and 1/2 years.

thanks much
ananth

K S Adityan

It (the interpretation) is quite simple. A qualification not awarded is no qualification at all. Though, ACS may 'adjust' your deeming more favourably. You can still apply under RPL, as Mark Webster suggested, and you only need to complete the CBOK statements and the project reports, which you should be able to do comfortably with your experience.

Mark Webster

Ananth,

You would need a bachelor degree with a minor in IT or a diploma with a major in IT to be able to look at group B assessment. Unless your BSc had a minor in IT, it will be of limited use in applying for skills assessment.

If you have completed MCSE, CNE or a number of other vendor qualifications, these could be considered comparable to a diploma in IT, and avoid the requirement of going through RPL.

With regards the amount of work experience deducted for the RPL process, your situation is somewhat unusual in that you already had completed a bachelor degree plus coursework for a masters prior to working in IT. You may be able to make an argument that all of your work experience was at the required level.

Hope this helps,

ananth

Adityan and Mark

Got it !! thanks..do you know if CCNP and CCIE written exam would qualify as minor in IT instead of going through the RPL process? I am due to take the CCIE lab in late December.

thanks,
ananth

Mark Webster

Ananth,

I am not aware of the ACS accepting either of these qualifications as being comparable to an Australian diploma in IT.

Unless you have done some IT subjects in your BSc, I think that you may need to go through RPL.

Rgds,

George Lombard

Hi Ananth,

Reading your exchanges today I think you're well on track. Unfortunately no
Cisco certifications have ever been accredited by ACS so they just don't
count for Group B. I would certainly try for Group A on the basis of your
uncompleted degree with a fallback position of an RPL. Normally ACS will
give you the courtesy option of converting a normal application to an RPL
application by simply paying the A$50 difference in fee.

Cheers

George Lombard
--
www.austimmigration.com.au




"ananth" wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Adityan and Mark
    > Got it !! thanks..do you know if CCNP and CCIE written exam would
    > qualify as minor in IT instead of going through the RPL process? I am
    > due to take the CCIE lab in late December.
    > thanks,
    > ananth
    > --
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com

Mark Webster

Hi George,

I must admit that we've never tried lodging a non-RPL PASA through ACS based on a qualification which was not completed.

Have you had success doing this in the past?

Best Regards,

George Lombard

Hi Mark,

    > I must admit that we've never tried lodging a non-RPL PASA through ACS
    > based on a qualification which was not completed.

    > Have you had success doing this in the past?

No, it just seemed logical that you could satisfy the requirements on the
basis of subjects completed, but I checked with ACS today and was told that
they would expect the issue of some relevant qualification before they could
consider it under Group A or B. In any event, with so much formal study
completed, the RPL in such a case ought to be easy, but not if the client
only had four years work experience.

On another note, I understand that the long-awaited new date of effect
policy for ACS is about to be issued and will make it clear that even in RPL
cases there will be no deeming date. This time I was promised that it would
be available by the end of the week.

cheers

George Lombard

ananth

Hi George

Could you pls elaborate on the "long awaited ACS policy" ? Are you saying that there won't be deeming dates (even with RPL) in a week from now? If that is the case how do they quantify work experience related to a particular field? Maybe i misunderstood ?

thanks
ananth