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First Job


doggit

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I'm excited to say that I have accepted my first job in Australia!  Before I landed I decided that I was going to be open to opportunities, however and wherever they presented themselves.  So on Monday I am flying to Hobart, Tasmania.  From doing it a bit of research online it looks like an amazing place, just a bit cold.  New wardrobe here I come...

 

After reading all the stories on the forums of people struggling for many months before job success, I'm really grateful that I've been so fortunate.  Good luck to those still looking.

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Well done Doggit, and do not fear Hobart is a lovely place with very friendly people!

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Thanks @Mara, I look forward to discovering Hobart and its people.

 

@dme It's a software development job for a small company.

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Congratulations doggit, enjoy Hobart

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Wow, that must be just about the furthest that one could move for a job while staying in Australia! But if you got it, you got it! Well done!

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Congrats Doggit. A friend of mine was on holiday in Tasmania recently and she fell in love with it completely. 

 

Good luck and well done.

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I've not been myself but my inlaws went over on holiday and absolutely fell in love.

Take a jacket or two though :P

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Tassie is lovely, but can get really cold.  Buy some thermal underwear and a good jacket, you will need it.

 

If you love varied landscapes, walking in the wild, great food and wine/beer, beautiful wild coastline, sailing, best fish and chips, going off the beaten track, then you will love it.

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I don't want to get too gushy just yet, but after 5 days I'm crushing quite badly :wub:

I think I need to get through a winter though, before I declare undying love...

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Updates, updates. Dying to get to Tassie, heard they do amazing whiskey tours and the scenery is just gorgeous.

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The scenery is magnificent, reminds me a lot of New Zealand... the most beautiful place for me was Strahan, absolutely gorgeous...

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Well I've been here nearly 10 days, and I'm starting to believe that Hobart is one of Australia's best kept secrets. Technically it's a capital city, but it's more like a large country town with city perks. Think Nelspruit, or East London, size-wise. That's about where the comparison ends, though. Every day I discover new things to be excited about, and I haven't even left Hobart yet.

 

One of the first things that struck me is the architecture: lots of old buildings. Big sandstone places, small wooden homes with bay windows and "broekie lace", big old churches. This is in the older parts of town, obviously, with more modern homes in the newer suburbs.

 

The next thing I started to become aware of was the quality and availability of fresh produce, especially fruit. The best fresh cherries I have ever eaten, and an introduction to greengages, delicious! (looks a bit like a green plum, but the taste is closer to heaven). Every second house seems to have an apple tree in the garden. Last weekend I stumbled on the Farm Gate Market (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sH3CSZMMRHA), where producers come to sell their wares direct to the public. Mushrooms, cheese, fruit, veggies, honey, coffee, cakes, seedlings, meat, etc. so good. Tasmanians seem fiercely proud of their local produce.

 

Speaking of markets, this morning I took myself off to the famous Salamanca Market. It's enormous, with over 300 stalls selling everything from Tasmanian truffles ($1/g) to hunting knives, with everything in between. Again, there is a strong emphasis on locally produced. I bought myself a tasty coffee and a wallaby burrito (no, really...). Tasmania also seems known for its quality timber, and I saw quite a number of stalls selling timber products - wood turners, picture framers, carvings. @DXB2OZ I did spot at least 2 local distilleries, so will add whiskey tasting to my todo list.

 

 

And there seems to be music everywhere. Lots of live music, and the markets have various buskers. My kind of scene.

 

Aside from a walk in the Peter Murrell Conservation Area, I haven't got to the bush yet, but everyone I speak to rates the Tasmanian Wilderness as a must do. Hobart itself is already very scenic, with lovely views of Mount Wellington and the Derwent River estuary. I can see I'm going to need to buy a car after all. My $60 bicycle is just not going to cut it for getting to the wild west.

 

I've visited a fair few Australian cities over the last decade (Sydney, Melbourne, Perth, Adelaide, Brisbane, and a few places in between), and Hobart is my favourite so far. As I mentioned in another post, I'm aware that winter is probably going give me some perspective :P. I was lucky to get a job here, as my impression is that work is not that easy to come by, but I certainly recommend it to other forumites, at the very least as a place to visit.

 

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It sounds WOW?! We will visit Hobart def. after that raving review :P

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For those that live (or almost live...) in Melbourne, I believe one can fly return to Hobart for around $100. Flight is just over an hour.

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On 1/30/2016 at 8:10 AM, doggit said:

For those that live (or almost live...) in Melbourne, I believe one can fly return to Hobart for around $100. Flight is just over an hour.

Fantastic! Hobart is now on the list...

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We visited Tasmania and travelled in a campervan. Absolutely fantastic even with 2 children. Will post more detail when I'm not typing with one finger.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Job is going okay thanks, settling in slowly but surely. They had me working over my second weekend, which is never a good sign, but it seems have been a one-off occurrence (I hope!). So far, so good!

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You are correct.  It's not a good sign :unsure:

 

Australians will often say things like,  "I love my job,  so I am happy to put in a bit of overtime". 

 

But I do see a lot of people here working harder but not smarter. 

 

When it comes to software, a lot of overtime usually means the company doesn't know what their secret sauce is (i.e their competitive advantage).  That leads to a lack of focus and eventually overtime. 

 

Just wait till they suggest scrum or some other methodology (I. E.  a planning tool)  as the solution to their woes. Then 6 months in when they haven't actually completed a sprint (the 2 weeks of work they carefully plan out), they will switch to Kaban where there are no two week sprints.  As if that's the new answer to their prayers. 

 

As you can tell,  I have been down this road before.. 

 

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@monsta - yep, I know exactly what you are saying, been there, done that. I'm taking it as it comes at the moment, just grateful to have a job. As I mentioned, so far it's been a once-off occurrence related to  a first release to UAT, so holding thumbs.

 

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  • 1 year later...

Hi Doggit

 

I am thinking of moving to Hobart in the next couple of months... may be the only way for us to get our PR.

 

Would be interesting to hear your thoughts after more than a year in the place.

 

Cheers.

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