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The Australian Computer Society should be disbanded

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Re: The Australian Computer Society should be disbanded

#101

Post by astrec »

aohtsab wrote: post #77
lessnonymous wrote: post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We know they exist. They're just irrelevant. It says a lot if you prefer to tell us you're an ACS member rather than that you write code for fun at home.

This is interesting to hear. I'm in the process of applying for an Australian visa (no CS degree). To get an independent visa, I need 2 more years of work experience, before I qualify to apply to have my skills tested by ACS in very specific (and almost esoteric) programming knowledge. And this is only the first step to apply for an 'invitation to apply' for a visa. What are my job prospects as a US software develope…

IIRC you don't need your skills tested if you have at least 5 years experience and can find someone to sponsor you on a 457 visa. After 2 years you can enter the transition stream for PR. You might find that easier than direct entry if you don't have a relevant degree. It's worth talking to an immigration lawyer even if you have to spring a couple of hundred bucks for the privilege.

As for your job prospects, they're excellent in Melbourne or Sydney, and good to fair elsewhere.

Re: The Australian Computer Society should be disbanded

#102

Post by astrec »

mylittlepony wrote: post #65

I'm sorry Australia, you are not getting me as a skilled worker (I thought you were in need of IT experts with fluent english). No seriously, I stumbled upon this issue some time ago, and that wasn't the first or last paywall. You have to pay for everything, even if you end up being rejected (not that I couldn't afford it, but f*ck that). Kind of offtopic, but I also saw they have some serious discrimination issues (…

If you're still interested, and can find someone willing to employ you look at the 457 visa and the transition stream to PR. Circumvents that whole mess IIRC.

Re: The Australian Computer Society should be disbanded

#103

Post by vidarh »

jiggy2011 wrote: post #88
ra wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Totally. I've only once heard the ACS mentioned outside of the immigration context, and that was a senior manager in a bank asking why we (his best tech staff) weren't members. I'm not sure if (Insert nationality here) Computer Societies are as irrelevant in other countries, but in Australia I'm pretty sure it serves no useful role other than in immigration. So, if that's the case, they have no basis for qualificatio…

In Britain we have the British Computer Society. When we were at university they turned up and gave us a talk on the benefits of membership and sold a bunch of us "student memberships", to graduate to full membership IIRC you needed to get a degree and then pass a bunch of extra exams. Out of all the people I know working professionally in dev/IT I don't think any of them are now BCS members. I haven't heard of emplo…

In 12 years in the UK managing development teams and reviewing hundreds of CV's, I've never once seen the BCS mentioned on CV's or had any candidates mention it.

I did consider membership at one point, and attended a few events, and judging from the people there it seems like they might have a little bit of relevance in pockets of the consultancy industry etc., but otherwise there doesn't seem to be much value in joining. There are some good special interest groups, and affiliated organisations (e.g. ACCU is great if you do much C/C++ stuff), but most of those are open to people who are not BCS members anyway.

I wouldn't ever ask for BCS membership from candidates because I know my own experience, and know the hassle I'd still have to go through to get membership just in order to certify a very basic level of knowledge, so I know I'd exclude a huge proportion of good candidates without getting an assurance that they were fit for the job, and would still have to go through most of the same interview process anyway.

Re: The Australian Computer Society should be disbanded

#104

Post by kuahyeow »

mrmincent wrote: post #99
lancewiggs wrote: post #68

Firstly - come to New Zealand. There is long list of ICT/Electronics and Communications roles, including all professional engineers, on the long Term Skills Shortage list. Additionally ICT and creative indistries are deemed long term growth areas. This means it's much easier to get into NZ - either for working or for immigration through our points system.[1] On the ground the answer is yes, we really need more devs a…

as an aussie CS grad looking for work, what is a good NZ job search site to check out? I'd love to work in NZ for a while.

http://www.seek.co.nz - All the corporates

http://jobs.geekzone.co.nz/Jobs - You may find some more fun jobs here

Looking at user groups in NZ might yield you something too

Re: The Australian Computer Society should be disbanded

#105

Post by waylonk »

mrmincent wrote: post #99
lancewiggs wrote: post #68

Firstly - come to New Zealand. There is long list of ICT/Electronics and Communications roles, including all professional engineers, on the long Term Skills Shortage list. Additionally ICT and creative indistries are deemed long term growth areas. This means it's much easier to get into NZ - either for working or for immigration through our points system.[1] On the ground the answer is yes, we really need more devs a…

as an aussie CS grad looking for work, what is a good NZ job search site to check out? I'd love to work in NZ for a while.

http://it.seek.co.nz

Re: The Australian Computer Society should be disbanded

#106

Post by Nursie »

throwaway2048 wrote: post #35
jacques_chester wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Rent control is usually one cause of urban blight. We don't have that in Australia.

Rent control may have been a factor in many major American cities, but it is far from the only contributor. Australian cities currently have many of the same structural problems that lead to these issues in American cities in the sixties seventies and eighties. Suburbanization tied with ridgid regulations that make property development or improvement extremely costly lead to a downward spiral in property values, whic…

Downward spiral in property prices?

I take it you haven't been to Perth lately?

Re: The Australian Computer Society should be disbanded

#107

Post by Evernoob »

lancewiggs wrote: post #68

Firstly - come to New Zealand. There is long list of ICT/Electronics and Communications roles, including all professional engineers, on the long Term Skills Shortage list. Additionally ICT and creative indistries are deemed long term growth areas. This means it's much easier to get into NZ - either for working or for immigration through our points system.[1] On the ground the answer is yes, we really need more devs a…

Yeah but then you have to live in New Zealand...

Re: The Australian Computer Society should be disbanded

#108

Post by alexkus »

vidarh wrote: post #103
jiggy2011 wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In Britain we have the British Computer Society. When we were at university they turned up and gave us a talk on the benefits of membership and sold a bunch of us "student memberships", to graduate to full membership IIRC you needed to get a degree and then pass a bunch of extra exams. Out of all the people I know working professionally in dev/IT I don't think any of them are now BCS members. I haven't heard of emplo…

In 12 years in the UK managing development teams and reviewing hundreds of CV's, I've never once seen the BCS mentioned on CV's or had any candidates mention it. I did consider membership at one point, and attended a few events, and judging from the people there it seems like they might have a little bit of relevance in pockets of the consultancy industry etc., but otherwise there doesn't seem to be much value in joi…

I work with one (out of 200 odd) person who has bothered with becoming MBCS, so they do exist!

I (Comp Sci B.Sc.) never bothered for many of the above reasons, and I can find better things to spend £100 a year on, but I have bothered with IMA (ima.org.uk) membership after finishing my Maths B.A. because the IMA's magazine is actually quite interesting (and it's only £48 a year).

Re: The Australian Computer Society should be disbanded

#109

Post by mylittlepony »

dbaupp wrote: post #98
mylittlepony wrote: post #65

I'm sorry Australia, you are not getting me as a skilled worker (I thought you were in need of IT experts with fluent english). No seriously, I stumbled upon this issue some time ago, and that wasn't the first or last paywall. You have to pay for everything, even if you end up being rejected (not that I couldn't afford it, but f*ck that). Kind of offtopic, but I also saw they have some serious discrimination issues (…

Just out of interest, what are the discrimination issues? (I'm Australian so I don't ever get an outsider's perspective, but it'd be nice to have some understanding of what others think of us.)

Well I was watching videos trying to catch the Australian accent, which I found to be very cool... One video led to another, and somehow I ended up watching this: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hp6J6PF47CM

From another angle, and longer explanation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BsWhGBgbUsc

I have never seen something like that in real life, I couldn't believe it.

Re: The Australian Computer Society should be disbanded

#110

Post by jpatokal »

Nursie wrote: post #100
beilabs wrote: post #58

Here's my experience with the Australian Computer Society. Having studied abroad (Ireland), I was required to send in all of my exam results for my B.Sc, H.Dip & M.Sc. as well as a reference from each employer that I worked with in my field (Software Engineering). For the visa I was applying for at the time it required that I was certified by the ACS, have a minimum of 5 years experience. The process took 6 months fo…

I went through the same process. Yes it took longer than I would have liked, but in general it went very well. Australia is very restrictive on immigration because so many people want to go there. I'm not really sure why they would restructure the system when this is the case, they have a relatively small population and extend a variety of state benefits to immigrants, so they don't want to be swamped.

Please read this, then come back and tell me that Australia's visa system is sane: http://gyrovague.com/2012/08/10/notarizing-your-fingerprints...
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