Need advice on emigrating to Melbourne Australia

funnycar SG

Greetings everyone!

I don't know if this is the right place to be asking this, but since it says 'Singaporeans Overseas', I'm assuming this is a place with many Singaporeans/ex-Singaporeans living in foreign land come together and it will be a good place for me to seek advice on this subject.

I am a 20 year old poly graduate waiting for enlistment in June this year and I've receive university offers from both NTU and NUS.

However, I am seriously considering of emigrating to Melbourne after my NS. I'm thinking of doing a degree in aerospace or mechanical engg in Melbourne, look for a job (in a related field to my studies) after graduation and hopefully get Australian PR status.

Question is, with all things being equal, if i decide to do my degree at NTU or NUS, would it put me at a disadvantage when I'm trying to look for a job in Melbourne? Do companies in Australia favour job applicants with their own Australian degrees?

What are your views?

Thank you!

ben1406 SG

Hi there, welcome to our humble forum. It's great to study overseas and learn a new culture and all. But i not sure about studying Aerospace engg in Aus. Don't think they are really good at that.. Just my thoughts..

Wait for the Aus students to reply to you, they will give you a better insight...

honeymouse SG

Australia is currently short of engineer (especially Civil) at the moment so your chance of getting a PR is fairly good. I don't think it matters much in terms of where you do your degree though there are advantages to it if you do it here in Oz.

One advantage is, you can apply to get your PR immediately after you completed your course (after you got your final results) and the application usually takes 6 months if everything goes well. During the duration of the application, you're allowed to stay in Oz with your student visa or a bridging visa. (if you apply from overseas with overseas degree it can take up to 12 months to process)

The other advantage is, since you're going to work in Oz, studying in Oz means you get to learn the design etc based on Australian Standard and it will give you a better chance of getting a job here.

Hope that answers your questions. Wink

laurence82 SG

Aerospace? Melbourne?..wouldnt that be RMIT?

i think one forumer also graduated from RMIT doing Aerospace, but he dont seem to surf forum anymore

Gedanken SG

There are actually two forumers here who did aerospace at RMIT, if I recall correctly.

It's not so much a case of being disadvantaged if you do the degree at NUS or NTU, but the advantage you have with doing an Australian degree.

If you apply for PR through the points scheme, your work/education background will contribute to your points. However, your background will have to be assessed as being compliant with Australian standards before being recognised for points awards.

If your degree is from a non-Australian institution, you will have to jump through all kinds of hoops to get your training and experience assessed and verified. On the other hand, because Australian university courses are required to be accredited by the relevant professional bodies, getting the degree automatically means that your training/experience is recognised. Note, however, that the recognition is only valid for six months after you graduate unless you have started working in that particular field before that six months is up.

On top of that, you get an extra ten points if your degree is Australian.

All in all, if your intention is to migrate, go for the Australian degree.

If you need help getting around the aerospace industry in Australia, let me know. Boeing is one of my clients, and I have contacts with aircraft maintenance training institutions in Melbourne and Sydney and they are hooked up to most of the aerospace companies here.

funnycar SG

Thank you all for all the advice!

I think i'll be looking forward to studying in Australia even more now.

So i guess spending about S$100000 on tuition fees and everything will allow me to jump through 'hoops' and get myself acquainted with the place and culture and hence put me in a better position to land a job and get PR?

But do the advantages really worth S$100000? Will the advantages really put me in a much better position in trying to get PR? Are there any ways to quantify the advantages? It isn't that my parents can't afford to fork out the money, but its still quite a large sum.

Thanks for the offering me help! I'll look for you when i need too in about 5-6 years when i graduate. Very Happy

Thank you.

Fatum SG

I studied and am now working in a whole different continent altogether, but I still feel I should say this:

don't count on getting a job after graduating in a foreign country, there are a lot of hidden barriers against you ... everything from your cultural background to your accent can work against you ... it's a employer's market for foreigners ... you're begging to stay, they can afford to choose ...

I've seen classmates with crazy 90 over % GPAs get rejected by companies who went on to hire an average local student ... (I suspect it's cos the former chap from the PRC still couldn't handle the lingo so well ) ...

so my point ? plan, but don't count on things to turn out as they are ... as with everything with mice and men .... Wink

Arapahoe SG

True. Actually i find that when working in oversea country, it might be easier to work in areas similar with your past job experience.

Gedanken SG

To some extent I suppose Fatum's got a point, but IMO it's up to the individual and it also depends on which route you take to PR.

If you apply for PR through employment circumstances, the employer will have to demonstrate that you're bringing in skills that can't be found within the local population. This is often done by showing that the job has been advertised for some time and no local applicants have suited the role. A good part of the time it's too much of a hassle for employers to go through.

However, if you're applying through the points scheme, you won't need an employer to vouch for you, and after getting your PR, it'll be no more hassle for the employer to hire you than to hire an Australian citizen.

Now as for things like accents and cultural backgrounds, from 13 years in Australia, my experience is that nobody really gives a continental about that sort of thing, especially in places like Melbourne, Sydney and Perth which have an established Asian community. If you come off as a real jerk or if you can't understand simple English it would be a barrier, but that's a separate matter from your cultural background.