Living and Working IT Jobs and Job Search in Australia

Living and Working IT Jobs and Job Search in AustraliaLiving and Working IT Jobs and Job Search in AustraliaAustralian consumers are one of the fastest adopters of new technology as are our industries. However due to scales of economy, the majority of our hardware and software comes from the US and Japan. That said, Australia has a strong creative streak in many niche IT product development projects. In particular, we are very strong with software development and technical management disciplines and enjoy using the latest IT techniques. A good indication of the state of the Australian IT industry can be gleaned from ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) reports (www.abs.gov.au). In particular, the series of reports Australian Labour Market Statistics (cat. no. 6105.0) provides the following information During the five year period from 200102 to 200506, the industry which employed the largest proportion of ICT workers was the Property and business services industry (which includes a C omputer services subdivision). In 200506, about 37% of all ICT workers were employed in the Property and business services industry, compared to 12% of all employed people. Computing professionals and technicians accounted for 85% of all ICT workers in this industry. The second largest group of ICT workers was in the Communication services industry (13%) with most employed as Electronic engineers/technicians and communication technicians. The proportion of total employed people who are ICT workers has remained relatively stable at around 3.5% over the five years to 200506. In 200506 almost half (47%) of all ICT workers were Computing professionals (i.e., system managers, designers, programmers and auditors, software designers, and applications and analyst programmers). The number of Electronic engineering associate professionals fell by 39% between 200405 and 200506. Over the five financial years to 200506, the number of overseas-born ICT workers increased from 115,200 to 134,300. I n 200506, 39% of all ICT workers were overseas-born, compared to 25% of all employed people. IT Skills Shortage The IT recruitment company that the author of this web report works with is ADAPS, which has grown substantially over the last five years to become one of the top five IT recruitment companies in Melbourne. With this high level of recruitment (exclusively in the IT industry), we feel we have some authority in discussing the most sought-after skills. Lately, we have noted a skills shortage particularly in the following areas C/ C / C*.NET technologiesAdvanced Web designJ2EESAPPeopleSoftSiebelOracle E-Business SuiteNetwork Security/ Firewall/ Internet SecurityPKIE-Commerce security (non-programming) As Australias IT industry forges ahead, this shortage is becoming more pronounced and has led to ADAPS taking the pro-active step of sponsoring oversees workers. For instance, If someone is based outside of Australia and sees a contract role on the ADAPS jobs site that intere sts them, and they apply and are successful, ADAPS will discuss the process of sponsoring the workers visa and possibly paying their Living Away From Home Allowance in advance. Traditionally, the highest perceived risk for an oversees contractor has been the prospect of relocating to Australia only to find that a job evaporates. To allay this fear, ADAPS has taken the unprecedented step of guaranteeing the optimum match between contractor and client by offering a full fee return to the client should they find a contractor unsatisfactory for any reason within the first twelve months of employment (even on contract). It, of course, means that the non-commissioned ADAPS Client Managers take exceptional care in selecting the right candidates for the jobs which naturally minimizes the risk of early contract terminations. The Bottom Line The compensation for IT workers in Australia is generally well above the average wage. It, coupled with the relatively low accommodation rent costs a nd the very high liveability ranking for both Melbourne and Sydney, makes Australia a very attractive destination for oversees IT workers. The table below shows the average annual wages (permanents) for different IT roles. It should be noted that unterstellung values are the average for IT workers across all industries.(Source http//mycareer.com.au/salary-survey/it-telecommunications) Architecture $98,323Business Analyst / Systems Analyst $79,474Database Development and Administration $70,028Hardware Engineering $71,501Helpdesk and Desktop Support $55,964Management and Supervisory $103,174Networks and Systems $72,693Project Management $89,569Software Development and Engineering $76,042Technical Writers $70,595Testing and QA $67,839Training $54,590Web Design and Usability $92,341Web Development $70,279 An oversees resident working in Australia will most likely attract the Non-resident tax rate as shown on The Australian Tax Office site. Before we consider a worked remuneration exampl e, it should also be noted that the table above is for permanent rates which are often considerably less than contract IT rates. For instance, consider that a contract Test Manager working on a Global Data Warehouse (ADAPS role 18202) was advertised only this week for $750 a day (equivalent of $180K a year based on 48 working weeks) and this yearly sum is higher than the maximum of ANY classification in the above table For our example, consider in 2007 a non-resident earning $150,000 and working 48 weeks (equivalent to $625 a day) would most likely be taxed at $52,250. If they rented a house in Melbourne worth $500 a week ($26K a year), this would still leave them with nearly $71K (not including any rebates they may receive for their Living Away from Home Allowance). As you can see, it truly pays for an IT contractor (resident or nonresident) to live and work in Australia. Our industry is flourishing and is expected to continue growing for a long time to come. Living and Working in Australia The author of this article has lived in many parts of the SE of Australia where the main bevlkerung lives especially the two largest cities of Sydney (4.2 M people) and Melbourne (3.6M). As I currently live in Melbourne some of the examples will be biased towards this great city. Facts about Australia As many people know, Australia has a large land mass populated by relatively few people due to the interior desert regions. Australias population has just passed the 20 million mark - 20,728,983 as of Jan 4, 2007. Around 90% of Australians live in coastal regions, and our climate is classed as temperate (very pleasant). In general Australians experience warm-hot summers mild spring and autumn and cool winters. Winters are in July, and in Melbourne, we have average temperatures of 41 to 55 degrees Fahrenheit with temperatures ranging from 57 to 78 degrees Fahrenheit in the peak of our February summer. Noting that in summer there are often a couple of days that can reach over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. The average monthly Melbourne rainfall is about two inches for any one month. Melbourne is located in Victoria at the SE extreme of the continent and is the smallest mainland state (228,000 square kilometers) - slightly smaller than the US state of California. Sydney is located in New South Wales, about 900 Km NE of Melbourne. Life in Australia To gain an understanding of what it might be like to live in Australia, it is useful to consult some recent independent reports. The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) annual constructs a Human Development Index (HDI) to rate livability of developed countries. In 2004, Australia rated third on the list of themost livable countries,with the US rating eighth. In 2004 another group ranked all major global cities and selected Melbourne as the worlds highest Quality of Life Ranking and placed Sydney at number six. The weighting factors included Stability Healthcare Culture and environment Education and Infrastructure. Besides these very high standards of living, it is worth noting that Australia is a large sporting nation and loves its popular entertainment. While Australia is known for its world-class swimmers, rugby union and cricket teams we also have a high interest in soccer, all other forms of football (Australian Rules and Rugby League), basketball, baseball, etc. General large venue entertainment can sampled fromTicketekandTicketmaster. Entertainment wise while Australia is globally most noted for its soap operas (Neighbours and Home and Away) we also have a strong music and film industry. Australia has also had a few good years on the international film scene with its now predominately US-based Australian actors. However, the local industry is still gathering pace. To see what is happening in the Australian film industry readers might like to visit film sites such asAFCandFilm.gov Comparisons to the United States Having a similar culture to the USA and the UK (aft er years of saturation with their consumer products, music, and films), Australia is eminently accessible and enjoyed by visitors from both these countries. The major difference is often said to be the Aussie laid back approach to life. While this generalizationcan appear disarmingly charming, Australians still take aspects of culture such as loyalty (mateship), the environment, homegrown entertainment and a high rate of hi-tech uptake very seriously. The latest Australian housing surveys have revealed that major Australian cities are becoming expensive due to housing prices and a significant appreciation of currency against the US dollar. Sydney remains the most expensive city in Australia with its rank going up from 103 in the world in 2001 to 20 in 2004. In 2004, Melbourne held the second highest expensive Australian city position with its rank rising from 129th position to 67th position during the same period. While housing prices have risen substantially in most capital cities since 2000, rentals have not kept pace. This fact still makes Australia a very attractive proposition for US IT contractors intending on working and renting in Australia. For comparison of the Most Unaffordable Housing Markets, consider that in 2006, Los Angeles USA still ranked as the worlds most unaffordable housing city (house cost of 11.2 x the median wage) while Sydney Australia was 8.5, New York USA (7.9) and Melbourne house prices were 6.4 times the median wage. To put that into perspective, the 2006 September median house prices were Sydney $520,000 and Melbourne $357,000. Using the Unaffordablity ratings above, that gives Sydney a median wage of $520k/ 8.5 ( $61.2K) and Melbourne a median wage of $357K/ 6.4 ($55.7K). With the AUS$ currently hovering around 80 US cents that makes the median wages Melbourne (US$44,000) and Sydney (US$49,000). The very good news for visitors is that while our house prices have seen a dramatic climb in recent years, the rental prices are still quite reasonable. A report by a leading real estate data company shows that in August 2006, that Australias capital cities gross rental returns on houses remain at around 4 percent. Based on median house prices and rents for three-bedroom houses. Thus the rent on the median three bedroom house in Melbourne would be a quite affordable 4% x $357K $14,200 p.a. or $275 a week. If you wish to see some current examples of house rental pricesyou may like to look at.