Should I stay or go?

jojo75

Hey guys,

I’m looking for some advice. I am currently thinking about heading to OZ/New Zealand on the WHV like most other people around. The only difference is most people seem to be going because there’s no work around here but I actually still have work, a decent job working as a Technician in an Engineering office but like most other jobs in construction its not exactly safe. I’m 24 but I reckon if I stay any longer in my job I’ll just get into a routein and get too comfortable and never get a chance to travel.

Now I’m just wondering am I stupid leaving a job at home to head to OZ/New Zealand where work seems to be drying up. I know a lot of people would like to be in my situation at home, doesn’t seem to be many people working at the minute. If I do go it wouldn't be untill the end of the summer when I try save a few pound, ideally would like to be going with around 8 or 9 grand and I still have about 2 grand of that to save. Anyone any advice would be greatly appreciated.

hussey

the WHV visa is a working holiday visa, not a career move.
So the question is do you want to take a long break from ireland?

what is your main priority? Holiday/see the australia?
or work ?

can there be a chance of a career break from your employer??

There are jobs in Australia, but people in Ireland seem to be coming over excepting to replace the jobs at home etc

Personally I'd say ask for a career break, then come over and see this great country

jojo75

hussey wrote: »

the WHV visa is a working holiday visa, not a career move.
So the question is do you want to take a long break from ireland?

what is your main priority? Holiday/see the australia?
or work ?

can there be a chance of a career break from your employer??

There are jobs in Australia, but people in Ireland seem to be coming over excepting to replace the jobs at home etc

Personally I'd say ask for a career break, then come over and see this great country

Yea definitely want to take a break from Ireland, just haven't got the motivation for work at home these days. Spent a summer in the US and loved it and I would like to see OZ.

Well I would be going over to Australia to have a good time , work when I have to and obviously see the country. I'm not one of these people who except to walk into a job over there when I land, that's why I hope to have a good few pound saved up and when that dries up I'll try find work even on a farm or fruit-picking.

I have never even though of a career break, not sure what my boss would think of that though. I know there's a fela just waiting to jump into my job if I do leave so maybe my boss would just replace me with him.

myhorse

I think if you have ajob in these crazy times you would be mad to leave.
If i was you this is what i would do
Check out the DIAC site see if you qualify for any of the various residency options.
If you do then start the application process. It takes time but at the end you will have an infinitly better chance of getting meaningfull employment in Australia.

If you feel you dont qualify for residency then I would still stay in your job and save like crazy for a whv in the future (increase your funds therefore hugely your ability to do more things when you get there)

Australia is going nowhere. You are 24 and have another 6 yrs to take up the WHV. Within that time I would expect the economy to pick up and therefore be more demand for your skills here. Again that may lead to a sponsorship or residency option.

I highly recommend looking at other visa types first

Excuse90200

JoJo

im in the same suitation as yourself, im currently working in a sales position, selling to the construction industry. im leaving my job and heading to Oz on june 1st, i have asked for a gapyear and they said they cant garentee that my job will still be here when i get back but ive to keep in contact with them just in case. Im giving up a lot of things to fulfil this dream, its just like an itch, and for the past few years ive just overlooked it, but this year it just has to be scratched, feel free to contact me if you are traveling around the same dates.

Cheers
Richie

lady_j

As already stated above if you can get a career break that'd help, though many of my friends have come home to find their career break disappeared anyway and are now looking for work. With that kind of budget you'd last a fair few months with no job in oz. And as far as Ive heard there is some work in your field in Queensland. Its an amazing country, and well worth seeing. However personally I'd still think you're a bit mad to give up a job in this climate, esp i the industry you're in. Maybe forget about working there and see if you can get 2 month leave in work and have an amazing holiday??

jojo75

myhorse wrote: »

Australia is going nowhere. You are 24 and have another 6 yrs to take up the WHV. Within that time I would expect the economy to pick up and therefore be more demand for your skills here. Again that may lead to a sponsorship or residency option.

I know I can go on a WHV up untill the age of 30 but I feel I'm at the right age now to go, been to college and worked for a year and I feel if I stay any longer in my job I'll get into a rut and find it harder to leave. I know it probably is a risk leaving a job but hopefully when I return in a year or year and half work might have picked up a bit even if I dont get my old job back.

jojo75

lady_j wrote: »

As already stated above if you can get a career break that'd help, though many of my friends have come home to find their career break disappeared anyway and are now looking for work. With that kind of budget you'd last a fair few months with no job in oz. And as far as Ive heard there is some work in your field in Queensland. Its an amazing country, and well worth seeing. However personally I'd still think you're a bit mad to give up a job in this climate, esp i the industry you're in. Maybe forget about working there and see if you can get 2 month leave in work and have an amazing holiday??

To be honest I wouldn't just like to go for 2 months, I'd like to experience OZ for at least 9 months and possibly head to New Zealand for a few months also. If I had to move up to Queensland for work for a few months then so be it, could save a few pound and move on. As said in a previous post I aint going for a career move, just to have a good time and see the world.

I appreciate all your advice guys even though I'm still in two minds whether to go or not.

Daithio

It sounds like you might well qualify as a skilled migrant with your qualifications. Have a look on the immi website. On a regular working holiday visa you won't get a job in your field, you'll be looking at bar work/ construction work etc. In this climate that sort of career gap is a major risk. If you could get a skilled migrant visa and get work over here in your field, I'd say go for it. International experience is a major plus on your CV in fact.

jojo75

Daithio wrote: »

It sounds like you might well qualify as a skilled migrant with your qualifications. Have a look on the immi website. On a regular working holiday visa you won't get a job in your field, you'll be looking at bar work/ construction work etc. In this climate that sort of career gap is a major risk. If you could get a skilled migrant visa and get work over here in your field, I'd say go for it. International experience is a major plus on your CV in fact.

I looked into the skilled migrant visa briefly before, its quite expensive if I recall and takes a long time to be granted, could be wrong on this though. Not necessarily looking to get a job in my field of study, if I could then happy days but would be just as happy to do some construction work or even working on a farm to raise a few pound because I hear construction work is quiet. But yeah international work on a CV would look great but I hear companies not interested in employing you if your in a WHV.

Hi JoJo,
I'm in a very similar position to yourself. i'm leaving a good job to go to NZ for the year. It is definitely a risk but if you look hard enough you WILL find work. If you can get 3 months work done in agriculture you can stay the extra year and travel through this recession. I wont be looking work in the same field either as whats the point of a similar life in a hotter building! :-P

I look at many people in my job too who hate being there but have got stuck there because they love the money and are scared to leave.

I was in Oz a few years ago and you will love every minute. Hostels are great places for picking up work. If you want you can PM me and i can help with visa/flight stuff.

jojo75

Deleted User wrote: »

Hi JoJo,
I'm in a very similar position to yourself. i'm leaving a good job to go to NZ for the year. It is definitely a risk but if you look hard enough you WILL find work. If you can get 3 months work done in agriculture you can stay the extra year and travel through this recession. I wont be looking work in the same field either as whats the point of a similar life in a hotter building! :-P

I look at many people in my job too who hate being there but have got stuck there because they love the money and are scared to leave.

I was in Oz a few years ago and you will love every minute. Hostels are great places for picking up work. If you want you can PM me and i can help with visa/flight stuff.

Geeby,

I can see you are a glass half full person like myself. Yea I'm used to budgeting from being in college so what's another couple of years of it! I've heard people saying that there's jobs in OZ away from the bigger cities, countryside etc. The way I look at it is I'll be working the rest of my life, might as well have a good time before I get on a bit, even if that means leaving a decent job. I'm not actually that worried about leaving my job because its very convienent for me, i.e. close to home, pretty good boss, flexible hours, but I definitely couldn't see myself here full time. Might send you a PM surely for some info, thanks.

Xavi6

I say go for it.

I turned down basically my dream job (to work full time as a sports journalist) to leave Ireland and move to Australia in early 2007. It was a risk coming over. Obviously the recession hadn't kicked in by then but I was still going into the unknown career wise. I'm lucky enough to be a citizen so that helped with a job, but even if I wasn't I'd still have found something to pay the bills and have a great time.

Like you OP, I'm just gone 24 and now is 100% the right age to come over and experience everything the country has to offer. If I was at home I'd be bogged down with a mortgage and the like and might have never gotten the chance to experience all I've done so far.

You certainly won't regret the experience of Australia, and it's better than always wondering "what if?". Worst case scenario it doesn't work out and you go home.

Dots84

Hi JoJo,
I am heading to Melbourne mid june on a whv, although my situation is different to urs as i have no job here at the mo.. i have been thinking of going for the last year now....so i just decided this is the time to go. I am 25 and feel if i dont go now, like u said, ill get too settled in Ireland and never do it. I think if u have the urge to go that u need to do it and get ot out of ur system.... well that how i feel....at least then even if it dont work out as planned u will have tried and wont have any regrets...
As i said i am going min june a and hoping to find work in melbourne to start... feel free to send me a PM if u wana chat

shane86

tbh I wouldnt advise anyone to come right now. Wait until September or so, see whether the stimulus packages have any impact, see whether the job market becomes less saturated with jobless foreigners returning home broke. Ive been here about 60 days and worked 16 of them That is in Sydney, you hear conflicting stories about the rest of Oz. tbh Sydney is so cheap that even with a 40 hour minimum wage job you can have a great life, problem is actually nailing down those 40 hours. Construction is going into hibernation until at least August. Most retailers dont handle CVs if you turn up with one, its a load of bollix of submitting your CV via the chain website, my job hunt is essentially going nowhere. I love Sydney and never want to go back to Ireland, but getting a real job with set hours is a pain in the hole, looks like I will be heading north withion a few weeks (awaiting response on a job today, truly does seem to be the last roll of the dice for me). Not remotely arsed with seeing the east coast bar taking a one or two week sightseeing tour there, want to stay in Syd but it appears my best option will be head north, stack up funds and try and get work back in Syd by September or so.

Ive got mates back home who I would love to see out here with me, but at the same time I tell them not to come.

jojo75

shane86 wrote: »

tbh I wouldnt advise anyone to come right now. Wait until September or so, see whether the stimulus packages have any impact, see whether the job market becomes less saturated with jobless foreigners returning home broke. Ive been here about 60 days and worked 16 of them

What are these stimulus packages here you are on about does anyone know?

shane86 wrote: »

Construction is going into hibernation until at least August. Most retailers dont handle CVs if you turn up with one, its a load of bollix of submitting your CV via the chain website, my job hunt is essentially going nowhere.

Why you say construction work is going into hibernation untill August? It would probably be August at least before I head over, save more money. Might send you a PM

hussey

jojo75 wrote: »

What are these stimulus packages here you are on about does anyone know?

the government gave tax payers $900 back etc, to try to boost the economy

lala stone

Ya like you I have a job but want to go.. alot of ppl say its mad to go when you have a job, but you could be sacked tomo morning.. and if your mates are heading now u should go.. no 1 might be around when you finally get your act together and decide you wanna go,, altho this obviously doesnt apply if you want to head on your own,, then maybe you should wait and save more money.. maybe some to come back to etc!

jojo75

lala stone wrote: »

Ya like you I have a job but want to go.. alot of ppl say its mad to go when you have a job, but you could be sacked tomo morning.. and if your mates are heading now u should go.. no 1 might be around when you finally get your act together and decide you wanna go,, altho this obviously doesnt apply if you want to head on your own,, then maybe you should wait and save more money.. maybe some to come back to etc!

Well I would be heading over on my own but that part doesn't bother me. Most of my mates have been and gone to OZ, they are a few years older than me and the one's that haven't been are kinda settled with girlfriends so that rules them out! As I said it'd be the end of the summer before I go so I'm thinking I might apply for the visa soon, after all I have a year to use it.

amybabes

I am almost a graduate (starting finals next tues) and have exhausted nearly every option of getting work here....applied for AT LEAST 70 jobs, things i had no interest in, had a final round interview for my dream job in marketing with diageo on a great graduate programme and it took 5 rounds of interviews to get that far and i didnt get the job....honestly feel that its been the worst yr of my life in terms of stress, worry, rejection..


i do have a part time job which i have worked in 4 yrs, weekends n summers etc, in a bar n restaurant, they are very keen to keep me for the summer and have plenty of hours to give me...but its bar work and minimum wage, and while i know i am so lucky to have work here...its not the career that ive been anticipating the last few yrs. i had a particularly rough weekend last wk where i worked double shifts because someone rang in sick, we were crazy busy and i just felt....i cant stick this for the summer!

my boyfriend of 3 years is in sydney since last june, hes a carpenter, when he left he had more work than ever and had a flight booked to come back last month, since then his company has gone belly up, theres NO HOPE of him getting other work if he comes home and hes doing well in sydney so hes staying on for a 2nd year.

I know that our relationship wont last a 2nd yr apart....the first nearly killed us....and i do want to go to australia. However, i feel that the timing is all wrong for me, im only 22, none of my friends are ready to go,most are just finishing college n have 0 funds, one has been made permanent in her job, one has just had a baby etc. i know how hard it is going to be to get ANY kind of work in oz, and i have to wonder if i am LUCKY ENOUGH to get bar work, what is the point in going over to a strange country, where all i will have is my bf and he'll be working days and ill be working nights and on my own in the day time. I just feel that id like it to be different, after paying for flights ill have about 2 grand to bring with me....thats at a push, as im flying alone, i wont be stopping over in thailand for a month like my bf did on his trip.
i just wish it could be different, his trip was the holiday of a lifetime....mine is a trip to save my relationship, and a fight for survival...as there is no work here, figure id rather do barwork in oz than here. Most people only do Oz once in their lifetime, i guess i feel robbed that its the wrong time for me in Ireland, and the wrong time for me in Oz....dont know what to do....afraid to take some time out, i feel like i have to take action quick, because if recent polls are right, 20% of this yrs graduates are planning on heading for either Oz or Canada, which means thousands of Irish graduates will be hitting Oz every week over the summer....quicker i get there, better chance i have of getting work.

ANY advice welcomed....sorry for long post!
Also, can you apply for a new zealand WHV after your 1 yr Oz visa, while your still in Oz??

zootroid

amybabes wrote: »

I am almost a graduate (starting finals next tues) and have exhausted nearly every option of getting work here....applied for AT LEAST 70 jobs, things i had no interest in, had a final round interview for my dream job in marketing with diageo on a great graduate programme and it took 5 rounds of interviews to get that far and i didnt get the job....honestly feel that its been the worst yr of my life in terms of stress, worry, rejection..


i do have a part time job which i have worked in 4 yrs, weekends n summers etc, in a bar n restaurant, they are very keen to keep me for the summer and have plenty of hours to give me...but its bar work and minimum wage, and while i know i am so lucky to have work here...its not the career that ive been anticipating the last few yrs. i had a particularly rough weekend last wk where i worked double shifts because someone rang in sick, we were crazy busy and i just felt....i cant stick this for the summer!

my boyfriend of 3 years is in sydney since last june, hes a carpenter, when he left he had more work than ever and had a flight booked to come back last month, since then his company has gone belly up, theres NO HOPE of him getting other work if he comes home and hes doing well in sydney so hes staying on for a 2nd year.

I know that our relationship wont last a 2nd yr apart....the first nearly killed us....and i do want to go to australia. However, i feel that the timing is all wrong for me, im only 22, none of my friends are ready to go,most are just finishing college n have 0 funds, one has been made permanent in her job, one has just had a baby etc. i know how hard it is going to be to get ANY kind of work in oz, and i have to wonder if i am LUCKY ENOUGH to get bar work, what is the point in going over to a strange country, where all i will have is my bf and he'll be working days and ill be working nights and on my own in the day time. I just feel that id like it to be different, after paying for flights ill have about 2 grand to bring with me....thats at a push, as im flying alone, i wont be stopping over in thailand for a month like my bf did on his trip.
i just wish it could be different, his trip was the holiday of a lifetime....mine is a trip to save my relationship, and a fight for survival...as there is no work here, figure id rather do barwork in oz than here. Most people only do Oz once in their lifetime, i guess i feel robbed that its the wrong time for me in Ireland, and the wrong time for me in Oz....dont know what to do....afraid to take some time out, i feel like i have to take action quick, because if recent polls are right, 20% of this yrs graduates are planning on heading for either Oz or Canada, which means thousands of Irish graduates will be hitting Oz every week over the summer....quicker i get there, better chance i have of getting work.

ANY advice welcomed....sorry for long post!
Also, can you apply for a new zealand WHV after your 1 yr Oz visa, while your still in Oz??

Yeah, you can apply for a New Zealand WHV while in Oz, and vice versa. I was in New Zealand when I applied for my Oz WHV.

Just bear in mind, as has been pointed out in numerous posts, the WHV is a visa for a holiday, with work being a minor part of it. Don't expect to get a "career" type job with it. And with so many people coming over, the type of jobs people on a WHV usually fill are becoming harder to come by. Another thing to bear in mind is that you have support at home, you can live with family and draw the dole if you are out of work. Here you are on your own if things don't work out.

Having said that, it is a fantastic country and worth seeing. I'm 27 now and came over last year. At the start I wondered about whether it was the right time as I had left a very stable job, and the recession was just starting. But I'm glad I did because if I left it a little later I might not have come at all. At times it was pretty hairy, being out of work and having no money, but things always worked themselves out (in my case anyway). I'd thoroughly recommend coming over, just be wary of the risks involved.

Mr Benevolent

It depends. Do you care more about money or freedom? Are you a worrier? If the answer is 'no worries and freedom', go for it.

portomar

jojo75 wrote: »

I looked into the skilled migrant visa briefly before, its quite expensive if I recall and takes a long time to be granted, could be wrong on this though. Not necessarily looking to get a job in my field of study, if I could then happy days but would be just as happy to do some construction work or even working on a farm to raise a few pound because I hear construction work is quiet. But yeah international work on a CV would look great but I hear companies not interested in employing you if your in a WHV.

from what i've experienced, you're probably more likely to find a career-type-job in australia now than random construction work. my mate works as a welder and his boss had a qualified sparks (irish) call him everyday for 3 weeks for work. he eventually gave him a job labouring. i've met a bunch of tradesmen who are in the same boat. i did labouring for a summer at home and wouldn't remotely compete with those kind of people looking for labouring work out here (not sure if you have good construction experience??) similarly, apart from American girls i know who were here a while back and have contacts, bar jobs are few and far between. the only places i've managed to get work have been places applying skills i had from home, in the industry i worked in at home (Broadcast) there is ANY amount of unskilled labour in australia, a lot to compete with. Whereas if you work in something niche (sounds like you do) you'll eventually find something in that.
a friend of mine went for an open interview for a couple of openings as chamber maid in a Sydney hotel...350 people turned up. went for an open interview for a clothes shop...bout 200 turned up. I hear on the grapevine that even fruit picking is getting scarce.

and as for all the people saying you won't get a career type job? i came over here with 3 other lads, all four of us have been offered sponsorship (we all work in different industries)

hertz

I would agree with Portomar in that if you have skills in a specific area you should look for work there. When I was in Melbourne about 6 months ago I was with a few mates and all bar 1 had skills in IT and eventually all got a full time job. Granted these jobs were short term contracts and werent offering sponsorships but it was regular work.
My other mate didnt have any skills and he found it extremely hard to get regular work as he was competing with alot of other locals and travellers for unskilled jobs in factories/warehouses.