Hi guys, I read about migrants and interested potential migrants here so I'd love to hear about some of your experiences (if relatively recent) or advice.

I'm a student on 573 now, graduating in July (3 year Bachelor's in Australia). Student visa expires September. The desired occupation is on SOL (Actuary) but fresh grads are more like analysts, so I'm not sure how that works.

I'm under pressure right now as most positions will not consider non-PRs. Further the market is not particular good in Malaysia at the moment.

With my education I am ready to work in any area in banking and risk management, but of course none of those are on SOL.

I read about some visas, 485, 457, 189, 190.

I realise 457 is for those who have found work with a willing employer - a scenario that is highly unlikely.

189/190 are similar except for the state agency nomination - what does that really mean and who is that aimed for?

Now 485 might allow me to stay back for a short while but I'm not going to find long-term work solely on this. Does anyone know how long it takes to get a 485?

Any comments would be super appreciated. Thanks.

Wow, so that means it's really bad news.

With the bridging visa it means you have to remain in Australia the whole time, correct? Or are you allowed to be overseas? I know there's a B which may allow for travel.

Thanks for your replies.

Yeah, it's a pretty desperate cycle of no work no visa, but no visa no work. Well, the ones that sponsor are one in 10,000 or something ridiculous like that.

How are you going? In Australia?

if I'm lucky maybe I can find something in Singapore

it's not suspended off the SOL list yet but it's not open for nomination in VIC or NSW, which is pretty much a dead end

Banking opportunities are wider in SG, but you'll know in Australia the work life balance is far better

Of course I'm in no position to be choosy, I will take whatever comes

As for my sector, I might be wrong but I think even with citizenship it would've been hard to find graduate level work. I can't complain as I did not blow my parents' money - I'm on scholarship and have found easy ways to make extra income when I have the time.

So on an 18 month visa, the chances of finding a sponsor are slim because they can easily get a local (doesn't matter if I have grades and some experience, we're all entry level and this isn't investment banking), while graduate route is no longer applicable either. I could be very aggressive, start with the smallest company and try to make that work for me, albeit from a disadvantage (behind the new round of graduates).

Any idea how long it takes to be granted a 485 these days? I assume all the testing screening etc has to be 100% done before applying?

56k, many of us would kill for that, haha. I've seen some graduate energy/data jobs that are in the 80s range, not sure what kind of high they are riding (not banking or mining).

Oh I see, I thought resources was more cyclical.

I think lying is not going to work really well in my favour - as for work, maybe I could stay on, use that "24 months" and try to convince employers I'll eventually get permanent working rights. In terms of formal programs most 90 or 99% are closed if you haven't got PR.

It will be hard to justify trying to find work for the sake of staying, as tempting as that might be just to avoid having to go home right away. It would dredge away time that could be spent gaining experience, and then trying to return or not at all. Although entry level work is likely to be equally grueling anywhere, just with better hours in Aus.

Studying in Australia is quite rough now. Even if your occupation is on the skilled list, you need work experience for your skills to qualify for the occupation. Otherwise it doesn't matter if you have enough points for migration. But how to convince someone to hire you on a temp visa even when you believe you might be able to migrate 1 or 2 years in the future...

The annual quotas, some <100, some a few 1000, are also restrictive.

Not that many Australians are interested in Engineering, IT, Accounting, Maths, etc. Some news claimed that for every local Accounting grad there were 2.5 foreigners. They also make Maths, Physics, and Engineering cheaper to study than Business, Law etc. And they have a lot of ads to encourage people to take Engineering, none for Law, Languages, Arts, Music.

Not that there are that many spare jobs in Accounting and IT for foreigners. But many Australians prefer to study Arts and Law so maybe that's why a tiny number of spaces remain open. Especially if you are very experienced.

Australia really is a migrant-rich place. Their last PM was Welsh. High ranking senator was ex Malaysian. Many of their business academics are Chinese, Eastern European, Indian. Too bad now it's quite hard to migrate compared to just a few years ago.

True. If you are rich and have $5 m then you don't even need to speak English properly, or have any qualifications or even success in business. While if you are poor, you'll need to meet a lot of rules, to make sure you are at least a bit employable and needed.

Maybe should have studied Oil and Gas

yeah, the wealthy Chinese push up prices. but if they are really rich, with many paying cash, it shouldn't be a big problem. socially yes, it creates differences in wealth and young people cannot afford houses. but it doesn't hurt the market that much, because banks are very careful, no one is over-borrowing to buy houses, and prices are actually quite sustainable (they may be very expensive, but not outrageously overvalued). it helps their construction sector (which helps drive the economy), because it stimulates supply side investment.

they are closely watching house prices... some see double digit (27%) growth in just one year... they are scared to increase rates as that might slow the economy

Market is very saturated. Singapore not easy to find work. Canada housing market is crazy, may be about to shift, but skilled labour again is hard. Not like Malaysia has that many great opportunities - or there wouldn't be that many people looking elsewhere. Except maybe they will be more accepting.

i agree with you about mismatch, especially if your skills or experience are not appreciated. some people with 5 to 8 years experience, don't get recognised. sure, maybe the employers can't believe or accept all of it.

how or why did you let PR expire?

sounds like it's going to be hard on you if you move. i believe the costs are high in Australia, too, but I am entry level so I may be different from you - I find that entry level is competitive everywhere but Australia's prospects are good, IF you are so bloody lucky that you find work

whereas many people have to muck around doing random jobs because they could not find skilled work

your cousin is lucky, i would say

many smart people have to leave. but if you have PR, you have a good chance of finding work. smart doesn't matter if you don't have PR... you might need to be a genius or just be really lucky (unless it is Engineering which seems to not have run out of jobs yet)

partly true but believe me smart people realise there are only so many top tiers

if you have no visa then no question you need a lot of luck

seriously i feel like there are only so many companies, I can't send 1000 applications out like in the US

what

diff people are everywhere

well the tax threshold is 18k, if you mean the part time job brings you into another bracket where you pay tax on that income which exceeds the lower limit, then yes, at that point it might not be worth doing

but the system is the same as Malaysia... brackets... the more u earn, the higher the tax rate, but it is still tiered - only it is so much higher because of the welfare state, but after comparing standard of living, political and civil problems, working hours, overall savings.. that's what matters more than the tax rate

You guys are lucky to get a 457!

Find that quite hard to believe as a student who lives in ACT after growing up in KL and has travelled to Melbourne and Sydney, and even Perth, Brisbane, and Gold Coast years ago.

Of course I don't live in Sydney so I might not have the full picture but feel free to elaborate.

When we talk about costs like these (and ignore FX rates) we also need to account for relative salary. It's much higher in Australia. In KL a grad might get 3,000 monthly if lucky (plenty of evidence on this forum that many get below that even in what's seen as high performing industries, and Jobstreet will confirm this), which translates to 36,000 pa. Let's ignore SOCSO, EPF, and taxes for now. A Sydney or Melbourne grad can easily get 60,000 pa, sometimes 80,000 pa. We're talking service industry and not working in mines or oil fields. You may want to account for maybe 25% taxes since the starting taxes for income above AUD 18k is around 17-20% if I remember correctly. Even then it's 45,000 to 60,000.

Now I can observe (anecdotal, not fact or statistics) there are plenty of things that cost the same nominal units of money in either country. A restaurant meal (MYR 30 or AUD 30). A suit jacket. A house or apartment unit (~500k).

Now the Australian salary starts at a much higher base. Assuming equal growth, equal performance, comparable economic conditions blah blah the Australian is gonna have a much higher pay in several years' time. Who is better off?

$7 sounds cheap for fast food. Is that location highly accessible, or is that price point common, or is the portion big enough, i.e. will many people be able to enjoy $7 meals too?

$20 for a proper shirt sounds like it's been discounted quite a bit and in KL you can also get 3-shirt or 2-shirt specials all year round for quite cheap, quality stuff. Where do you shop in Malaysia? We have some of the cheapest goods around the region and it attracts so many people from Hong Kong, Singapore, Australia and New Zealand.

Yes you can. Sales are pretty regular too. These stores are similar to "outlet" type stores where they stock small brands but good quality. These clothes hold under time and wear, maybe better than big brands. And they don't cost much. But even then, in volume RM50 a piece is not cheap on Malaysian salary! It is only cheap in the sense that some alternatives cost more.

Yes, money is not everything. Australia is not a richer version of Malaysia. Even Singapore, which one can argue is already very close to Malaysia (languages, culture, food) is very different in terms of housing, government etc.

BUT the prospects for new graduates can be very dreadful in Malaysia by most metrics and that is why when we see foreigners getting PR in Australia it really raises feelings of jealousy and/or admiration.

well yeah. even the numbers that people like to use, per capita GDP adjusted for purchasing power etc, don't really make sense in a practical way.

it is also possible to attribute costs and financial values to some of those soft differences