Well my friend. Your this decision i did it 10 years ago. I came back from Sydney end up working salary at RM1600/mth. Look for job like 1mth +
I didn't apply PR thinking that malaysia is a place for me to fulfill my dream. 10 years past...luckily i got my PR this year.
You could try to work in malaysia environment but don't expect they pay you same salary in Aust. Stress and humiliating words from work is normal. Working long hours and don't expect any union fight for your rights.
5 months job hunting in malaysia is not a norm. i guess maybe your expected salary is abnormal?!?

Well I would love to continue living in Australia(and keeping my PR), hence the 2 year timeframe before I return to fulfill my visa requirements.

Unfortunately not having a professional job is not an option for me - my justification is I'd rather build up professional skills in Malaysia than work in a dead-end part-time job with no prospects of progression. After looking for about 3 months in Sydney with no success, I started applying for jobs in KL at the same time and recently secured a job in KL.

Do you think Australian companies use the non-Australian work experience as an excuse to prevent non-PRs from applying for the job? Also what is the underlying reason for not recognizing overseas work experience? Is it the culture-fit or the industry knowledge?

The reason I ask is because the area I will be working in is sort of specialized, and the regulatory bodies around the world adopts a standardized framework.


Did you secure a job before you moved back to Australia? If you did, was it difficult to secure one?

I was actually job-hunting in Australia. I could not apply to any grad programs before because I got my PR too late. And I was unsuccessful in applying for ad-hoc full time jobs after..

This post has been edited by monev88: May 9 2013, 05:47 PM

I have to re-phrase my sentence. I got PR recently only, means that i have yet secure any job in Oz besides Malaysia.
In 2 months time, i'll be heading perth for job hunting. Did some research and saw quite a number of jobs in my profession. Now, the question is do they recognize my experience here in Malaysia?
The feedback given to me so far is that they don't really recognize besides Ozzie experience. So this should answer your overall question.
I think you're still young and still can continue job hunting in Oz. If not, might end up like me with 10 years experience not recognise by Oz company eventhough i'm graduate and working the same profession.

Yes, you're right. Most employers will disregard non-Australian experience and for good reasons especially in the technical field. We use very different standards, methodologies and requirements than the rest of the world.

If you want to look for a job, you either go back on day 1 or keep looking till you get a job.

Depending on what industry you work in if you're expecting a stress free environment then that is hard. In mining and resources we work everyday. 7am to 7pm Monday to Sunday is quite common. If you're unlucky and get a shitty roster like 21/7, well, you're outta luck.

Also humiliating words are regular. We do not pussyfoot when it comes to giving people shit and we will give most people hard times if they don't perform, thus the regular use of "get your head outta ya arse mate!" as a form of motivation. We also give "lembut" people shit all the time.

As a professional, your choices of union are very very very small and next to none will take up most cases for you. That's why even though I'm an engineer, I'm still a member of the Electrical Trades Union by virtue of the fact I have an apprenticeship and restricted electrical license.

Job hunting for 3 months is relatively short. Set aside 1 year. I did, I just cleaned jambans and supermarkets in the mean time while going for my licenses and courses. Remember that your degree is the least valuable of your education, it is a requirement, but the most basic one that people don't really look at.

eg; If you want to get into OnG / Mining people look for the below aside from a degree
- BOP Multi-Level Training
- Shotfiring Ticket
- EEM/MEM Qualification
- MR/HR Drivers License
- Hazardous Materials License
- First Aid + CPR Qualification
- Standard 11 Coal Induction
- TUV Rhineland Safety Cert
- BOESIET
- Confined Spaces Qual

Remember that depending on the general industry you aim for, you will have to tailor your skill set. I'm an engineer, but I can weld, drive a forklift and do EEHA assessments. That's the value people here look for, because labour is so expensive.

Oh okay. That is pretty brave of you. Good luck in the job hunt!

I have a cousin who was in a similar situation as you and she managed to secure a position in one of the big 4s in the end (albeit she had to work in a shitty job for a year first)

For once you made a good choice of not working in a dead end-part time job with no prospects.

As empire23 has mentioned, Australians don't recognise experience outside of Australia unless you're a noble prize winner or smtg like that. Its actually not an excuse but they tend to have what i call "Island Mentality", "we do things different here" kinda attitude (an example would be their own brand of english) no offence to them. But take comfort that returning Australians too, face a difficult time to re-adjust to these kinda mindset.

But most importantly why do you want to go and live in Australia assuming you are having a promising career in Malaysia?

Australian system is so different from the rest of the world...
Normally you need to be in a country for a few years before applying to for a PR...
Other countries will only issue you a work permit if you've never lived in the country..

How do you qualify for a PR?? Where do you score??

I applied offshore, subclass 175 just before skillselect. I graduated from sydney but the main score is from work experience which i score 15points.
I just try luck if it hit a jackpot and yes we had it.
I just feel worried by now coz job hunting is the main concern to any new immigrants. Startup with shitty jobs 1st, other hand looking on your job profession.
But the main reason is the children education. I don't mind to work shitty jobs but just that children education is much more important.
My main question is since Ozzie job is so hard to get, how come the government still listing short skill? To earn immigrants money?

then why don't you start your own company, like opening a malaysian restaurant??

haha, good idea!i was thinking that way too. Saw they sell wantan mee or laksa got so many branch around!The raw food material is cheap somemore but selling good price per dish

7-11 nightshift pays pretty well. And I'm not kidding.

Kids education will cost money and remember that as a new migrant you cannot claim FTB (Family Tax Benefit) via Centrelink (waiting period tested), so your costs will be high. I personally would save up enough money for 1 year of living. That's the around the time taken for most to get a job.

The government is listing those skills because the mining industry wants to drive costs down, so business lobbying groups keep pushing for more migration because they don't want to pay the prevailing rate for engineers. I'm lucky to have started with 80k a year when I graduated, but now, you're lucky if you can get 50k as a freshie engineer even while working in the field.

Also migration is good for the government. Why?

- No need to pay for your childhood education
- No need pay for your university fees
- No need to pay for your social welfare
- No need to chase HECS debt
- Instant tax paying citizen

Because it costs the government around 1 million dollars in investment to bring an Aussie into the professional workforce from birth. An immigrant costs 0 dollars. They pay the government lol.

Yeah, there's 2 years period. Anyway, maybe work for nightfillers.
You're right on the government. They're quite calculative on this. Professional immigrants is a ready-trained and contribute to the country with lifestyle in return.
When you claiming more from centrelink, they'll start making noise. One of my friend who actually stayed in Tasmania and sending children for education. He's not working but claiming centrelink. I don't know how he do it but it's true that centrelink calling almost every week asking him to look for job. Yet he's not that rich but the children is in uni now.

Gahmen not stewpid one. I mean Dullard isn't the sharpest tool in the shed and Abbott is the whole tool shed but they both know that they have to keep big business happy and to do so they have to keep the labour market flowing.

Either way, good luck with your job hunt. If you don't like WA there's always NT and QLD.

It might not be as good as you think.
Businesses in Australia runs on high opex.
Imagine, labour alone will cost you a bomb at A$15 p/h for waiter and more for cooks.
Then there is the maintenance of your shop and equipments which also cost way more than in M'sia.
Rental is also not cheap. Labour is also erratic and some people just don't turn up for work (happens frequently)

Yeah, that's a common problem there. Well, that can be settle no problem

What?....engineers doing welding and driving forklifts? And what @#%& certifications are those? I expect NDT certs, API certs etc. Yeahh...Australia is an island where they send convicts, killers and rapers to die.

Nothing wrong with welding and driving lifts. No point in having an NDT cert if you can't even weld. You wouldn't even pass the exam here

Plus driving a forklift isn't something I do everyday, BUT if I need something from racking or need to move stuff, I'm expected to do it myself instead of wasting the storeman's time, which saves on labour.

If you have the right skillset and know people, getting a job here isn't an issue. A person with an EnE postgrad, EEM ticket and with an electrician's license will get paid around 200k AUD a year out in the mines with a 5/5 roster.

Yo, i always wanna drive a forklift but never have the chance. Thinking of getting a license cost me AUD300

It's a good idea especially if you're in the construction industry and have the need to move gear around.

There are a lot of other tickets that are useful, but I'm not sure what would apply to your industry.

you know i really like the bobcat very much. actually i do request contractor to let hv a try but too bad. there's no open space for me to handle it.
i'll see how can i get a license for that. i know it's not expensive to get 1 but just that where's the opportunity to drive one?