IT (Oracle -PL/SQL) opportunities in Victoria

Hi there,

Greetings from Edmonton. I am Sandeep and have been lately contemplating on immigrating to Australia and found out that I could be accepted into ACT and Victoria states via the state sponsorship programme.

I am an IT professional with 10 years of work experience. (7 years of Programming and analysis experience on VB, crystal reports, Production support, debugging and fixing them and another 3+ years into Infrastructure support – mainly help desk). Since last 3 years, I have been purely working on Oracle technologies (SQL,PL/SQL, Forms, Reports) and all my projects, enhancements have revolved around it.
Though I live in one of the best countries in the world (Canada), I am beginning to get a feel that I need to move out of Canada due to the bad weather. It gets so bad here that it touches 40 below zero and my body can no longer take it.

I really need an honest advice from our fellow members, who made the transition from maple leaf to downunder.

My concerns are as follows :

•When I immigrated from India to Canada, (as a programmer back in 2002), I started my career in Canada as a help desk analyst and then gradually rose from help desk analyst to something that I like and enjoy with one of the big 4’s. So seeing this, if I immigrate to Australia, do I have to again start from an odd job/ help desk/data entry kind of job and rise up again? Isn’t Canadian work experience not well received there in Australia (like UK), or can I find a job at my current level?

•How are IT opportunities in the state of Victoria and Oracle in particular?

•Is it possible to get a work permit to Australia sitting in an off shore location (Canada). I believe chances are slim to none. However still asking your views as I feel this is the safest bet to get there with a job in hand.

Does any of you here think that it's worth it to reinvent the wheel again i.e by moving to a different country and starting all over again?

And any other advice or tips, please pitch in. I need to make a decision by end of this month. Please help.

Regards,
BB.

Hi Sandeep

I'm an Aussie married to a Canadian, currently living in Sydney, Aust. We lived in Toronto for 3 years before moving back to Sydney for the last 6 years and now we're contemplating a move back to Toronto. I hope I can help!

Firstly, I do not think you will have any trouble at all finding work at your current level with your industry and experience (in any city). The reason you're eligible for the state sponsorship is because we currently have a skills shortage for your industry (lucky!). You can check out the other states for sponsorship as well.

If you'd like to check out job prospects, websites like mycareer(dot)com(dot)au or seek(dot)com(dot)au are good places to start. There are also recruitment agencies in all the cities who can place you in a job (there is no cost to you BTW, they take a commission from the company hiring you).

Your question regarding getting a visa while you're in Canada; you MUST have a visa to enter Australia and if you are going to work, it’ll need to be a specific working visa. You don’t need a job to enter the country. If you are approved through the state sponsorship program you'll have to apply for a 'Skilled – Sponsored (Migrant) Visa (Subclass 176)' (and live in the state for at least 2 years). I’m sure if you are accepted via state sponsorship the visa process will become clear. The sponsorship/visa does not come with a job though - that’s up to you. You could possibly make a few phone calls/emails to some recruitment agencies as an introduction but anyone will want a face-to-face interview with you so I agree, it’ll be a slim chance of arriving with a job in hand (and its unnecessary). Just make sure you have enough funds to support yourself for at least a couple of months. If you aren’t accepted through a state sponsor, there are other ways to immigrate here. Check out www(dot)immi(dot)gov(dot)au/skilled/

It is warmer the more north you are in the country ie. Victoria gets cold in winter (by Aussie standards) and is notorious for rain throughout the year, Queensland is hotter. ACT is close to our snowfields so it gets cold in winter as well (rarely below zero though for the southern states). WA is definitely worth looking at if you like more mild weather and a more relaxed vibe. Also worth noting which side of the country suits you better if you are likely to be flying anywhere regularly ie. if its US/Canada perhaps the East coast is better, if its UK/EU/India maybe consider the west coast (saves about 6hrs flying time!). FYI, flight time direct from Melbourne to Vancouver is 19hrs.

As for whether its worth reinventing the wheel again - big question and I know exactly what you mean! It's hard to say as everyone has different circumstances and reasons for moving countries. There are pros and cons for each country (trust me, my husband and I have spent the last few years analysing this!).

We love it here, you cannot beat the Aussie lifestyle and the weather. To me, Canada is mostly winter weather ie 9 months its cold, 3 months its hot, whereas Australia is the opposite (and its even possible to avoid ALL cold weather if you are far enough north). My husband wore shorts all through winter this year (he works outside). Food (ie. dining out) is MUCH better here. The culture/people of the two countries is similar (we’re multicultural too). However, Australia is more expensive. Utilities, rent, house prices, petrol, food - all more expensive here so make sure you get a decent wage!

We aren’t considering moving back for the Canadian weather, that’s for sure. For us its a combo of cheaper living expenses and real estate and being closer to my husband’s large family.

Good luck with your decision, Sandeep!

Regards,
Tammy