Sydney Australia: have questions

[wmw999 2,589]

My son is there right now, on a semester abroad program. He's hoping to pick up some work to help with expenses, and is registered with the foreign students' job office.

Can anyone there say anything about the local job market? I.e. is it likely that he's SOL on finding anything like tutoring etc (in which case I might have to supplement with some money), or will some diligent effort land him something that will make some fun money for him (in which case I'm tempted to let him sweat a little, because, well, how else do you grow up?).

I really don't want him to have a sucky time, but I also don't want to end up with 10,000 mile-long apron strings.

thanks
Wendy W.

Edit to say: I will shamelessly bump this when Australia folks are likely to be awake

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[Tonto 1]

Erno went to Oz after visiting here. Wanted to do Tandem - ended up picking fruit and then working in a warehouse, I think.

Oz is quite strict about allowing (or not allowing) work. (although not as strict as the US) Take it from me - if you need the money and are prepaired to work, there are always jobs available.

t

It's the year of the Pig.

[cocheese 0]

Contact my sweet friend "Lainey" on here.
She has all the answers.

[jtval 0]

not that I can help but what type of thing is he good at?

I'm guessing he's around 18-22? can he do labor work is he more office inclined?

that info may help ppl in thier efforts to answer your question.

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[wmw999 2,589]

Good point.
He's a college student (duh), who has worked in a store (4 years), and has also delivered pizza. Trainable to anything, but unsure of what's out there.

He can do labor, but, well, I'm sure he'd rather do office work. knows all the standard computer stuff.

Wendy

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[jtval 0]

one thing Im sure of is that he'll love sydney!
that place rocks!

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My Videos

[wmw999 2,589]

Shameless bump.
Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[cocheese 0]

I think its 6am there. In two hours or so you will have the Aussies.
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[CornishChris 5]

Wendy - does his education VISA allow him to work in Oz?

He should do the rounds of some of the city pubs as they are always looking for staff. also sign up with a few recruitment agencies as they should be able to help. there are also local magazines for travellers that may help.

Also looking in the backpackers hostels he should be able to get hold of any info on jobs around.

unfortunately I don't need any staff at the moment...

Hope this was of help. the job market is pretty buoyant in Sydney and as so many bar/pub/p'time jobs are filled by people travelling there is a pretty good turnaround of staff.

CJP

Gods don't kill people. People with Gods kill people

[Squeak 17]

Quote

Wendy - does his education VISA allow him to work in Oz?

He should do the rounds of some of the city pubs as they are always looking for staff. also sign up with a few recruitment agencies as they should be able to help. there are also local magazines for travellers that may help.

Also looking in the backpackers hostels he should be able to get hold of any info on jobs around.

unfortunately I don't need any staff at the moment...

Hope this was of help. the job market is pretty buoyant in Sydney and as so many bar/pub/p'time jobs are filled by people travelling there is a pretty good turnaround of staff.

thAT PLUS he'd be fine to do tutoring if he's qualified, without a work visa of some sort, going through normal chanels will be pointless.
Tell him to do the rounds of the Pizza places and pubs, and like Chris said, pop into a backpackers hostell and check out the job vbacancy boards also try city internet cafes as they also advertise to the backpacker community.

You are not now, nor will you ever be, good enough to not die in this sport (Sparky)
My Life ROCKS!
How's yours doing?

[wmw999 2,589]

As an international student, I'd be willing to bet he doesn't have a work visa -- I don't know how it works there. He's a good worker, but he hasn't quite figured out yet that "job hunt" means that he hunts for the job, and not the other way around. It's a lesson that is best learned when you're young if you have to learn it the hard way.

When he described to me the help being provided by the international student job office, it sounded great -- apparently he heard what he wanted to, or else they were more optimistic than they should have been.

I'll suggest the bar scene, and the hostels. His needs aren't huge, but this is what his entertainment is dependent on.

thanks
Wendy

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[bob.dino 1]

To work in a bar in Sydney you need to have an RSA (Responsible Service of Alcohol) certificate. I believe it's a one day course ("If you serve a pissed person, you can be fined AUD$5000. So don't") and usually costs about AUD$60.

Some venues may require the RCG (Responsible Gaming) certificate, related to video poker / fruit machines / sports betting. Again, not too hard to acquire.

As for the actual job, if your son goes into any backpacker's hostel there'll be a pile of free magazines listing jobs and job agencies for temporary visitors. For pub work he should just walk in and ask. All is visa-dependant though - check his entitlements on http://www.immi.gov.au.

edit: Sydney isn't cheap, and the USD is weak against the AUD. His needs will probably be greater than he or you realise :-)

[Lainey 0]

I was just about the mention the whole RSA/RCG thing, I know of one place that runs the courses that is in Broadway just outside of the CBD. Pubs/Bars are pretty easy to get work in.

Another option that pays pretty well (and sometimes it's cash in hand) is landscaping/gardening, i know some english guys who came out here and made pretty good money doing that kind of thing, although you did mention he'd rather be working in an office so I don't know how suited he would be to that kind of thing.

I'm not really up to speed on the whole working VISA thing but for most office jobs i'm pretty sure you'd need to have the okay to work in the country to be hired. He's probably better off going for a casual job in a small company to try to fly under the radar if he's not allowed to actually work here.

can he pack?
.

And you shed not a single tear for the things that you didn't need
'Cause you knew you were finally free - Death Cab For Cutie

[Brodes 0]

Quote

Erno went to Oz after visiting here. Wanted to do Tandem - ended up picking fruit and then working in a warehouse, I think.

Oz is quite strict about allowing (or not allowing) work. (although not as strict as the US) Take it from me - if you need the money and are prepaired to work, there are always jobs available.

t

Erno worked at my DZ for a fair while doing tandems in south australia, now he's gone and everyone misses him hehe.
Theres ALWAYS jobs in bars or pizza delivery here but it wont pay much cos our aussie dollar is kickin' ass As long as his VISA issues are ok and he's willing, theres no reason he couldnt get something better, most unemployed people here are just slack and dont want to work.

[wmw999 2,589]

Wow -- thanks for all the answers. And nope, he doesn't know how to pack. I'll pass on the information, and I won't let him have an awful time, but, well, he could have tried harder to find work to save up ahead of time, too.

Damn I'm a hardass!

Wendy

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[wmw999 2,589]

One last shameless bump in case anyone only logs on in the evening...
Wendy W.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)