Adieu South Africa, Job hunting (and a Brisbane Budget)

[ZPrinsloo]

Hi All,

 

This is my first post to the forum.

 

My wife and I have been pondering for a good few years (Since 2011) on whether we should pack up and go or stay and pray that things will get better in SA. Our first child was born in June 2017 and that forced us to have a longer term perspective and to reflect (yet again) on our life strategy and options. I am not going to go into all the reasons as to why we have come to this decision (those have been discussed ad nauseam in many threads), what is  more important is that we have made the decision we are moving to Brisbane in early 2019.

 

My wife is a civil engineer and has been very fortunate to secure a job with a large multi-national consulting company that is assisting us with a visa (482) and relocation. At the moment we are in the process of preparing all the documentation that is required for the visa (Deloitte is assisting with the application). I am an Industrial Engineer and I have been working in the Supply Chain space for Large FMCG companies with experience in Continuous Improvement (as a Six Sigma Black Belt), Inventory optimisation, Supply Chain Network Modelling, Sales & Operational Planning, Factory Logistics, Analytics, Reporting and compiling business cases for strategic projects. I also completed my Mba this year with Wits Business School.

 

I have been actively looking and applying  for Jobs on Seek and LinkedIn but have had no response (not even an email) as yet. I am thus seeking advice from people that have made the move as to what the best approach should be to secure a job. My wife's income should be enough for us to get by but I also want to and need to work. Please let me know if you know any specific agents I can contact in Brisbane are if I should take a different approach. Are my chances better of finding something after we have landed?

 

Secondly, I have put together the following budget and I am looking for any feedback on if I am over/underestimating costs:

 

Expenses Item	Per Week	Description
Rent	$ 500	Looking to live in a 2 bedroom flat close to the CBD
Household	$ 150	Electricity, Gas, Water, Internet, Mobile Phones, Netflix
Daycare	$ 300	I estimate $100 per day but deducted the subsidy if both parents are working.
Healthcare	$ 105	Comprehensive cover with extras for 2 adults and a baby (1.5 years)
Cars+Fuel/Travel	$ 100	We will buy a car cash for leisure and use mainly public transport for work
Groceries	$ 300
Dining	$ 100	Once a week in an average restaurant
Recreation	$ 100	Weekend spending for entertainment
Misc	$ 200	Anything not already specified
Total	$ 1,855

 

Thank you in advance for any information you are willing to share.

 

Kind Regards

 

Z Prinsloo

 

 

[Martinp]

Hi ZPrinsloo,

 

You guys will be okay in Australia once you get here. South Africans do well in Australia as we are highly skilled mostly, and work hard.

 

Regarding how to get a job, I am not in the engineering field so won't be able to help you, except stating that you need to keep on applying for roles, even phone them so they can see you are willing to come over. If you even sit back and wait till you come over with your wife, you can then see them face to face, as somebody in your line should have a lot of jobs I reckon.

 

Regarding your budget, I want to clarify. You are expecting to earn after tax with either both salaries or just your wives initially, around 7420 for an average per month? That are two big salaries, nothing wrong with earning them, but don't think initially you guys will be on salaries like that.

 

Cheers

[ZPrinsloo]

Hi Martin,

 

Thanks for the reply, yeah fortunately my wife got a very generous offer which places us at a weekly shortfall of $ 300 to the budget that I have posted. Luckily we do have a bit of savings that will helps us to supplement this shortfall for at least 6 months. Hopefully it won't take that long for me to find a job and then we should be fine.

 

I don''t have a feel yet for what a good salary would be, my frame of reference is that of SA, a salary of R 600k would be very descent whereas a salary of R 200k would not be great. For Oz I don't have the same sense yet; from the 2016 Census stats, I gather that the median weekly household income for Brisbane is $1562 which translates into an annual income of $ 81 224 (Total Cost to Company). This is for a household and not per person. However, stats can be deceiving and the median income does not tell me anything about the median standard of living. To illustrate, if I had to look at the median South African weekly household income it would probably be  around R 1250 per week which is not good enough for a middle class lifestyle. Heck it will barely be enough to cover the installment on a Polo plus fuel and insurance.

 

I am more interested to know though if the budget I put forward is realistic in terms of expenses or if I am underestimating some costs (or overestimating!).

 

I do think though that there are some things that we can cut (Recreation, Eating out and Misc) if we need to.

 

Kind Regards

 

ZPrinsloo

[Martinp]

Hi ZPrinsloo,

 

 

Glad your wife got a good salary, I would expect you to prob get the same type of salary she is getting.

 

I agree we have been here a long time, so I don't even know what a good salary would be.

 

Census wouldn't be a good thing to look at as well, as you mentioned, it skews the results and as you said, a family living on R1250 per week is nothing and won't even survive in South Africa as "middle class".

 

A good salary is anything from 75k incl super + where you guys as engineers would prob be earning closer to the 100k +.

 

The budget you have seems like a fair budget at least, taking into consideration most stuff. Renting could prob be more depending on the area you stay in (we live in Brisbane northern side), 3/4 bedroom is around $550 per week +, but you get older homes that go for around $450.

 

Cheers

[ottg]

Let me start by saying that there aren't many industrial engineers in Australia and the job titles most likely will not be that. Those from RSA is well sought after.

Further, many industries won't know the benefits of an Industrial engineer, so that means you need to do quite some selling along the lines of business/process improvement and cost/time savings. Think about it from a business owner/stakeholder's perspective - they want lean operations, lower input costs and higher profits. Based on your experience you will need to decide in which industry you can add the most value immediately eg banking, retail, gas, mining etc and your successes eg saved company x, 30% on an operations budget of y, doing z.

 

The government provides grants to companies for product development and exports. Those are the typical companies that may benefit directly from your skills. The way to find them is through business advisers here:

http://www.ame.org.au/

http://www.austmine.com.au/

 

However, it will be difficult to get traction while you still in RSA.

Once you have landed then contact me (inbox) and I will put you in contact with 1-2 industrial engineers & business advisors (via Linkedin) that may provide some pointers, although they not in Brisbane. There are also 1-2 on this forum so hopefully, they can give more pointers.

[ChrisH]

The budget looks ok, also keep in mind that you won't have all of those expenses from the get-go.  It will build up to that which will allow you some breathing space. 

[FromDurbs]

Welcome to the forum and to the whole complicated process of moving.

Just one detail on your budget.  If you are on a temporary visa like the 482 I do not think you qualify for the childcare rebate.

[ZPrinsloo]

On 26 September 2018 at 10:20 PM, ottg said:

Let me start by saying that there aren't many industrial engineers in Australia and the job titles most likely will not be that. Those from RSA is well sought after.

Further, many industries won't know the benefits of an Industrial engineer, so that means you need to do quite some selling along the lines of business/process improvement and cost/time savings. Think about it from a business owner/stakeholder's perspective - they want lean operations, lower input costs and higher profits. Based on your experience you will need to decide in which industry you can add the most value immediately eg banking, retail, gas, mining etc and your successes eg saved company x, 30% on an operations budget of y, doing z.

 

The government provides grants to companies for product development and exports. Those are the typical companies that may benefit directly from your skills. The way to find them is through business advisers here:

http://www.ame.org.au/

http://www.austmine.com.au/

 

However, it will be difficult to get traction while you still in RSA.

Once you have landed then contact me (inbox) and I will put you in contact with 1-2 industrial engineers & business advisors (via Linkedin) that may provide some pointers, although they not in Brisbane. There are also 1-2 on this forum so hopefully, they can give more pointers.

 

Hi ottg, thanks for the insightful post, will make contact when we land.

[ZPrinsloo]

 

On 28 September 2018 at 7:31 AM, FromDurbs said:

Welcome to the forum and to the whole complicated process of moving.

Just one detail on your budget.  If you are on a temporary visa like the 482 I do not think you qualify for the childcare rebate.

 

Thanks, I did go to the government website RE:Childcare rebate and filled in a questionnaire with all the details (visa, hours of work, etc.) and according to that site we do qualify. I might be wrong but it is also to the benefit of the government if both parents work as they get more tax income.

[ZPrinsloo]

Hi all,

 

It has been some time since I posted here. I has been quite a busy and tumultuous past few months for us sorting out all the admin, making sure our paperwork is in order, packing up our house, selling the house, moving back in with the parents for the last few weeks etc. etc. As D-Day draws closer, the reality of our decision to up and go is slowly starting to sink in. I think initially we had a very romanticized version of things to come but it is with mixed emotions that I am writing this message.

We are really looking forward to the adventure that lies ahead but its is not without sadness and some regrets (especially for leaving the family and friends behind) that we are spending our last few days in South Africa. If all goes well, we depart for Brisbane on 4 January 2019!

 

My wife's new employer has been really good for us, they arranged Visas, flights and accommodation for January and my wife officially starts her new job on 21 January. My 18 month old son has already been enrolled in one of the guardian early learning centres in the CBD and he starts there on 14 January. This 'free' time will allow us to hopefully find some good accommodation and get familiar with the new environment as well as buy a car and sort out all the admin such as getting our bank accounts and drivers permits etc.

 

I have not been able to secure employment as yet  even though I have been applying for around 100 jobs. I have already updated my CV to "Aussie" standards but have received numerous "regret letters".

 

If anyone is willing to share from their own experience, I would appreciate help on the following:

 

1) Names and numbers of reputable second hand car dealers that have good after-sales service in and around Brisbane

2) Names and numbers of reputable rental agents that will help us secure a good property close to the Brisbane CBD

3) Names and numbers of reputable professional CV writing specialists in and around Brisbane

4) Names and numbers of reputable recruitment agencies that will be able and willing to assist me with finding employment in and Brisbane

 

(I have an Industrial Engineering degree from the University of Pretoria (2008) and an MBA from Wits Business School (2018) and I have been working mostly in the Supply Chain Space within FMCG companies in South Africa - Cadburies/Mondelez, AVI-National Brands/Snackworks and Tiger Brands)

 

Thanks you in advance for any pointers/assistance.

 

Hope you all have a pleasant and safe festive season!

 

Peace to all

 

Z Prinsloo

[AlfieLuca]

I am based in Sydney so can't offer advice from a Brisbane perspective, but in case it helps, here is how things went for us:

 

My husband and I arrived in Sydney at the end of September. He was in a similar position to your wife - he had a job waiting and our visa was sponsored by his firm etc so I was like you in that I had to find a new job. I also started applying like crazy from SA, made all recommended tweaks and changes to my CV and received many of those 'thanks but no thanks' generic with regret responses, which also left me wondering if anyone was actually reading my CV as they all said they appreciated my applying but my skills/experience didn't match what they were looking for or they had a candidate that matched the job better, and while some jobs didn't fit my profile perfectly others did and yet I kept getting the same standard responses. Once I arrived in Australia and updated my LinkedIn profile and CV with  an Aus cellphone number and street address I noticed a big change in the response rate from job applications. I also, while in South Africa, contacted a few recruiters on LinkedIn that I had seen advertising the type of jobs I was going for, some I didn't hear from but two I did, both of whom I met once I had landed in Sydney and one of whom I got my current job through. 

 

It is very frustrating sitting in SA unable to control much before hand but if your CV and LinkedIn profiles are ready, once you have landed in Aus I would recommend applying afresh (after getting an Aus cellphone number) and reaching out to some recruitment agents...Hopefully you will see the change in response rate that I did. As mentioned we landed at the end of September and I started work mid November.

[TamTam]

Hi

 

With respect to rentals you need to do the legwork yourself - the agents work for the property owners and not for the tenants. Just look on realestate.com.au for rentals. We got a car from the VW dealer in Newstead and were happy with the service. 

 

I am also still job hunting and find the most important thing is to not rely on email and/sending CVs via online application portals. You want to start by building your network and that means lots of legwork and coffee chats.

 

I live close to the city; please pm me if you need any advice for settling in.

Edited January 2, 2019 by TamTam

[Bonny]

On 12/30/2018 at 5:45 AM, ZPrinsloo said:

 

 

If anyone is willing to share from their own experience, I would appreciate help on the following:

 

1) Names and numbers of reputable second hand car dealers that have good after-sales service in and around Brisbane

2) Names and numbers of reputable rental agents that will help us secure a good property close to the Brisbane CBD

3) Names and numbers of reputable professional CV writing specialists in and around Brisbane

4) Names and numbers of reputable recruitment agencies that will be able and willing to assist me with finding employment in and Brisbane

 

Hi there ZPrinsloo

 

Gosh your posts remind me of our early days. The excitement, turmoil and uncertainty all rolled into one! We’ve been here 12 years now and the memory still makes my heart beat a little faster!

 

I found a very, very good job within 2 months back then (banking sector, before the GFC). My husband had an income from SA but we were afraid we would not be able to access it, so I felt immense pressure to perform and do everything right. We had 3 kids relying on...me (in my mind). 

 

Actually our first year turned into a bit of a disaster. I tried too hard. I didn’t understand the work culture, burnt myself out, missed my kids’ birthdays, cried all the way to and from work, and ended up resigning after 8 months and going to work for another South african who basically took advantage of me. Halved my income within a year. We bought a crap car and sold it after 4 months. We rented a house and broke the lease in order to buy our own place. We bought a business and lost money...

 

Moral of the story? I was going at 100kmph and Australia goes at 50kmph. It took YEARS for me to figure it out and slow down. 

 

You know what I’d do if I were you? Rent a 2 bed place with aircon for $350pw, about 20mins from your wife’s work. Look on RealEstate.com. There are no ‘better’ agents but you can read their Google reviews for  insight. Personally I hate Ray White East Brisbane with a passion (there, named & shamed!) because they are unethical. I would not rent through them, even if the place seemed amazing. 

 

If I were you, I’d buy a car from Carsales.com with under 50,000kms on the clock, for around $10k cash. All cars in Queensland must be sold with a recent roadworthy certificate. Check the service book for service history, get a feel for the sellers. For about $30 online you can make sure there is no finance outstanding and it’s not stolen. Check if there is a major service coming up, etc. If you are very cautious you can pay to have the car checked over first by the RACQ. Why pay a dealer more?

 

 Don’t go nuts on medical cover. (Extras are a huge waste of money in my family). 

 

Take a deep breath. Play with your toddler. Take a few months off. Settle in. Go hiking, go to beaches, smell the coffee. Never ever pay full price for anything (clothes, furniture). Save your nest egg. Live on your wife’s income. Chill for a while. 

 

That’s what I would do, if I did it again.

 

Good luck and enjoy the ride. 

 

Edited to add...If you see a ‘great’ 5 bedroom place for under $200 a week, that means it is only one room, usually in a shared student house. Ignore those, they have no other way of explaining it online. 

 

Also if you see something amazing for ‘NRAS eligible tenant’, forget it, it’s special housing for low income people and too hard to get.

Edited January 6, 2019 by Bonny

[Aleku]

3 hours ago, Bonny said:

Personally I hate Ray White East Brisbane with a passion (there, named & shamed!) because they are unethical. I would not rent through them, even if the place seemed amazing.

 

I agree with you on this 100%