Migrating to Australia via Masters

Member since 22 May 2016

usaraMember22 May 2016 08:48:03

Currently living in Sri Lanka and I am a few weeks away from graduating with a (UK based) bachelor's degree in Software Engineering. I also have one year of internship experience working in a software company.

I am planning on moving to Australia and doing a Masters degree in a software related field, using Higher Education Sector visa (subclass 573). Most masters degrees are around 2 years long, part time.
I understand that I can work part time in Australia once my course commences.

I'm hoping to find a software based job during this time and sticking with it till be degree finishes.

After the masters degree finishes, I'll hopefully be working in Australia and the company I am working with will assist me in applying for job visa.

My end goal is to get a software job and settle down in Australia.

My question is, is this approach viable? How hard is it for a techie with minimal experience to find a job in Australia. Which cities in Aussie are the best places to land a tech gig? Like I said, I only have a solid 1 year as an intern in the Sri Lankan software industry. My experience is not specialized, rather broad (have worked with a range of languages/technologies like Java, C#, JS, Android, iOS etc) and have a good grasp of what's going on in the world of tech.

I have heard of Sri Lankans moving to Australia for a masters and having to come back after the degree is done as no company would hire/assist them with job visa. I don't want to do this as doing a masters in Aussie will burn through my savings and I don't want to come back here on a loss.

Any advice is super appreciated from anyone in technology (software engineers/developers).

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sha1818 Active member

Member since 19 March 2016

sha1818Active member30 May 2016 01:59:06

Hi Usara,

Yes. It is a bit hard for your market. Because Australian Government giving priority to onshore graduates to place them in a job rather than outsource graduates. Especially for India, Sri Lanka, Vietnam, China, Korea a bit tough. Too many of them here.

usara Member

Member since 22 May 2016

usaraMember04 June 2016 12:05:24

Thanks for your response, but I'm a little confused. Why does the government have to be involved when getting a job? Isn't it possible to find one yourself? Given that you have a job by the time the masters degree is done, its possible to convert to a job visa right?

stumpy Laos Expert

Member since 27 November 2009

stumpyLaos Expert04 June 2016 22:09:50

18024

@usara
As a student you can only work part time. The govt is involved with every job holder in Australia via the taxation office.

You can find a job by yourself but you will have to comply with govt visa regulations.
So the govt is always involved in what you do and much more so on those who enter
from other countries. The govt makes sure everyone complies with their visa conditions.

The job market is tough in Australia and so locals have a better chance of getting work before anyone else.

It costs companies a lot of money to process visas for overseas workers and is time consuming. It costs nothing to employ a local.

usara Member

Member since 22 May 2016

usaraMember05 June 2016 05:50:25

Thanks for your response. I appreciate your input, and at this point I understand it's a bit of a gamble. I'm hoping someone else here can give a better background on what the tech scene is like in Australia so I can get a better idea of the difficulty in finding a job.