Zaprime Posted March 2, 2016 Report Share Posted March 2, 2016 (edited) Hello there. My name is David. I'm an electronic engineer. I'm working full time and trying to finish my Masters in Electrical Engineering. The Red Panda has been whispering in my ear to come here and learn about migration to Australia. My interests include electronics, mechanics, old stationary engines, photography, cooking, gaming and solar cars (although there is no time for that right now). I spent two weeks in Oz last year and went to the World Solar Challenge. I decided I liked the place and the people and am now looking into my options for immigration to Australia. My reasons for wanting to move are varied but they mostly relate to limited options for my field of engineering in SA, a stable economy and a safer environment. I should add that my girlfriend is interested in going, so I am also keen to find out what her options are Edited March 2, 2016 by Zaprime 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monsta Posted March 2, 2016 Report Share Posted March 2, 2016 Hey, Sorry to burst your bubble, but your options are pretty limited here too. There is probably a lot of work maintaining power grid, but I can't imagine that's super interesting. Other than that, Aussie doesn't really make things and sell them overseas. There used to be a big motor manufacturing industry, but that is dying quickly. The mining industry is going through a big slump at the moment. There are only a handful of large warehouses and manufacturing facilities here that need automation. I am not saying don't migrate. There are many good reasons to live here. I am just saying you won't be working on the next rooivalk helicopter. But then, you won't be doing that either in RSA. Aussie pays it's way in the world through mining, educating foreign students and taking in migrants. About the only truly innovative thing Aussie has done is work on google maps and created a company called Atlassian. You could also throw in blackmagic as it was started here. Cheers Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaprime Posted March 2, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 2, 2016 My field of experience and interests lie in battery systems and embedded electronics as well as robotics. I currently work in R&D although it's more D and very little R. Interesting you say that, but all our drive train components in our solar car were Aussie made and designed by Tritium and Marand. So were some of our trackers. And apparently the Australian solar equipment is up there as the best in the world with the Israeli stuff. But yes, I heard from two people I know there that the auto industry is effectively dead or on it's way out. Yeah we use the Atlassian cloud at work for project management. But I guess I'll take what I can get Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrendanH Posted March 2, 2016 Report Share Posted March 2, 2016 It is a long shot but look at : https://www.seeingmachines.com/careers/ There might be something that suits your experience/qualifications. These guys are doing awesome stuff here in Canberra. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RedPanda Posted March 3, 2016 Report Share Posted March 3, 2016 Hey! You're here! *RedPanda wombles off, to whisper into some other ears as well...* 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monsta Posted March 3, 2016 Report Share Posted March 3, 2016 YWell, a recruiter called me up the other day to chat about a job doing embedded development. I was quite shocked ? I have had two jobs here which the locals described as highly technical. But they were much simpler than what I was doing in RSA. I now work in e-commerce making sure the Aussie ladies get their Michael Korrs handbags. It's great to be in a role that doesn't pretend to be highly technical. But I do have a view of Sydney Harbour from my desk. There was a cruise ship blowing it's hooter today and distracting me from working. *sigh* more 1st world problems! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaprime Posted March 3, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2016 17 hours ago, BrendanH said: It is a long shot but look at : https://www.seeingmachines.com/careers/ There might be something that suits your experience/qualifications. These guys are doing awesome stuff here in Canberra. Will take a more detailed look this evening. Thanks. Ironically, our uni did a huge amount of image processing, but it was never something I was interested in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaprime Posted March 3, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 3, 2016 9 hours ago, monsta said: YWell, a recruiter called me up the other day to chat about a job doing embedded development. I was quite shocked ? I have had two jobs here which the locals described as highly technical. But they were much simpler than what I was doing in RSA. I now work in e-commerce making sure the Aussie ladies get their Michael Korrs handbags. It's great to be in a role that doesn't pretend to be highly technical. But I do have a view of Sydney Harbour from my desk. There was a cruise ship blowing it's hooter today and distracting me from working. *sigh* more 1st world problems! I've been to Sydney harbour. That's quite a view. What "highly" technical stuff were you doing? I've largely taught myself embedded development -what we covered in Uni was a joke - but I think it's a much bigger part of the engineering curriculum over there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaprime Posted March 6, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2016 Spent half an hour on Seek.com and there seem to be quite a few options, just from searching Melbourne. What's the corporate culture like in Oz? What time to people get to work, how late do they work, over time? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mara Posted March 6, 2016 Report Share Posted March 6, 2016 If you work in an office, the hours are usually 9 - 5. Overtime? I guess that will depend on what you do and what is required. Corporate culture? One of the forum members summed it up quite brilliantly, he said that in the first year you need to practice the 3 L's; look, listen and learn! That is very true... often as South Africans we are eager to share our history, abilities and suggestions, this does not always go down well. I have worked for four companies in Australia in Financial Management, and each had it's own little idiosyncrasies! I think a lot will also depend in what industry you work in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sunnyskies Posted March 7, 2016 Report Share Posted March 7, 2016 Our IT team generally work office hours, unless they are on the help desk in which instance they work a shift after hours as well. But product developers I don't generally see working outside of office hours (lucky them). If you are in an admin related job you will probably work office hours, but if you are in professional services then overtime is the same as it is in South Africa (until you get the job done). Corporate culture is generally quite respectful, there is a lot of ongoing training on diversity and gender equality, but whether you will experience that will depend on where you work. Some environments are very blokey (with a strong culture towards sport) but it really depends on the industry you are in. Here, I find that as a whole our work environment is very inclusive and colour is never an issue. We do have gender issues, but that is more a systemic issue than an issue particular to my workplace. Agree with the view that the best policy for the first year is to keep your mouth shut. When I hear South African's mouthing off about Australians, or about South Africa, or how they did everything better in South Africa it does give me the woolies. It is not the content as much as the tone that is used in giving the message that drives me nuts. We can as a nation sound quite coarse - example: "Hey bru, I'm telling you that back in South Africa you never would have had an issue like that, never! We just used to tell those guys where to get off ....". That tone in Australia is going to win you no friends and will make people back off. Australians are generally quite non-confrontational (other than when they have had a few and it is late at night). Australians would rather say: "I'm not sure about that, is it possible to think about that in another way ....?" or "Hey mate, no one is interested!" But more often than not, they would say nothing and simply disappear, and then try not to be caught with you in the kitchen again. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shellfish Posted March 8, 2016 Report Share Posted March 8, 2016 On 3/7/2016 at 1:57 PM, Sunnyskies said: We can as a nation sound quite coarse - example: I have been told several times that South Africans come across as very aggressive and forceful - even if it's not intentional. I was told this in the UK and Aus. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeTMI Posted March 8, 2016 Report Share Posted March 8, 2016 (edited) On 02/03/2016 at 7:36 AM, Zaprime said: My name is David. I'm an electronic engineer. I'm working full time and trying to finish my Masters in Electrical Engineering. The Red Panda has been whispering in my ear to come here and learn about migration to Australia. If you are just completing your Masters and <31 there may be a temporary visa option similar to the working holiday visa (you would be free to travel / work / study in Australia for 18 months). I have assisted a few engineers with this visa. Although most apply for permanent residence after arriving and so if you already know that you are looking to stay longer it is probably sensible to go apply for PR directly. Edited March 8, 2016 by TeeTMI 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zaprime Posted March 31, 2016 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2016 Sounds like a good learning opportunity, but old habits die hard and it will take some getting used to, coming from an environment where I was left to my own devices to figure a lot of it out and a culture where we usually share input. On 08/03/2016 at 8:48 AM, TeeTMI said: If you are just completing your Masters and <31 there may be a temporary visa option similar to the working holiday visa (you would be free to travel / work / study in Australia for 18 months). I have assisted a few engineers with this visa. Although most apply for permanent residence after arriving and so if you already know that you are looking to stay longer it is probably sensible to go apply for PR directly. I'd prefer to do the PR rather than a temporary visa option which will still cost a fair bit and I believe I won't get some of the other benefits of PR? Well I am hopeful I can finish it. Got stuck on testing with a silly design oversight. >.< Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Goldenlily Posted March 31, 2016 Report Share Posted March 31, 2016 (edited) @Zaprime Just take a careful look at the different pathways of professional registration with regards to Visas (I have no idea how the engineering community works). But for my husband (Medical doctor) it is actually easier to work on a 457 work sponsored visa than the 189 PR visa we already had approved. This is because of the way the Australian medical board grants registration to pracise, as I said, not sure how the Engineering registration works, just know I wish I had this information before we applied for our PR visas! Good luck with all the decisions you have to make! Edited March 31, 2016 by Goldenlily Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeeTMI Posted April 1, 2016 Report Share Posted April 1, 2016 15 hours ago, Zaprime said: I'd prefer to do the PR rather than a temporary visa option which will still cost a fair bit and I believe I won't get some of the other benefits of PR? Well I am hopeful I can finish it. Got stuck on testing with a silly design oversight. >.< Yes, if you already know that your long term aim is PR and you meet the requirements for a permanent residence visa then there is no need to consider the temporary option and makes much more sense to obtain PR directly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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