51–60 of 65 posts
In my view with Australia cancelling the 457 visa that a lot of tech talent uses its pretty much over for everything tech related in AU. If you're looking for a fast growing tech city thats less expensive than the valley then head to Toronto https://www.gostudy.com.au/blog/australian-457-sponsorship-v...
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I find your comments about technical competency of Australians being less than elsewhere interesting. My own experience over the decades is the opposite. I have had to deal professionally with various fly-in gurus (from the US and Europe) and they have had little success in understanding how we implemented the projects we were involved in. what was more ridiculous was the major discrepancy in pay. If US or European,…
> they have had little success in understanding how we implemented the projects we were involved in I don't think I've ever had trouble helping people to grok the implementation/architecture/whatever of any system I've been involved in.
I think one of the problems of today is the limited education that many in technical fields have. They are taught how to do something in one language or system and they do not get to see that other ways are possible in other languages and systems.
One of my former colleagues (from decades ago) was a brilliant programmer. We had a particularly pernicious problem to solve. He had spent some hours programming a solution around the problem and had written about half the code needed. In discussions with him, I brought up that old chestnut of Karnaugh Maps and Don't Cares. He had never heard of either. Once explained to him, he fixed the entire problem with 5 lines of code, throwing away all the previous work. He was very capable of thinking outside the box.
I have worked with many very capable Australian technical people over the years and they have been less valued than foreign people even though the Australians were vastly superior to their overseas counterparts.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
They may be liveable, but the work on offer is really nothing like the US market. I tell folk that the NYC technology scene is larger than every Australian technology scene combined. The Bay Area's tech scene is large than every Australian scene multiplied . It is a stark difference. In Darwin, I could get a job but not, as my father said, a career. In Perth I could get a career, but it would be in moving from backof…
Great analogy and completely agree that we couldn't compete on overall opportunities. Would still argue we have a pretty unbeatable lifestyle though, which it sounds like you're pretty familiar with :-) As far as recruiters, I can't recall a week here without at least one contact, but it sounds like it's even busier in NYC!
I am in Sydney now and yes, if I was already wealthy and lived near the beach and had lots of free time I would have an amazing lifestyle.
But if you are a busy professional, you just won't have the time to really enjoy all of this unless you just don't care about your career much and clock out at 5 on the dot.
My weekdays are an absolute blur. I lose one weekend day to chores / errands. So I have one day to actually enjoy my surroundings and I need the weather to co-operate that day too.
I agree though Adelaide is under utilized. It could be such a great place if it had a strong economy. Unfortunately it's hampered by lack of vision. I also think Darwin has been a complete lost opportunity. They should lease the whole place to the Singaporean government and see what happens ;)
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Great analogy and completely agree that we couldn't compete on overall opportunities. Would still argue we have a pretty unbeatable lifestyle though, which it sounds like you're pretty familiar with :-) As far as recruiters, I can't recall a week here without at least one contact, but it sounds like it's even busier in NYC!
What exactly do you mean by lifestyle? I am in Sydney now and yes, if I was already wealthy and lived near the beach and had lots of free time I would have an amazing lifestyle. But if you are a busy professional, you just won't have the time to really enjoy all of this unless you just don't care about your career much and clock out at 5 on the dot. My weekdays are an absolute blur. I lose one weekend day to chores /…
I mean sure it is mostly safe and the economy is doing fine at the moment but those are the bare minimum of survivability. The rest, you are paying a premium for.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Where in Queensland? There is plenty of tech going on in Brisbane if you look for it... I suppose it depends on your specialisation though.
Just curious: what is some cool stuff happening in Brisbane these days? I grew up there but I moved away to find more interesting work a long time ago. It would be nice to hear about interesting things happen there nowadays.
Console seem interesting, they were recently acquired by Macquarie. Console Connect and Rex are hiring.
I’ve met people trying to take advantage of lack of competition to set up dev offices. I talked with a well funded US startup who seems interesting.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
You do gain something keeping the tech team in Australia which is Australians are much more “team” orientated than Americans. “Mateship” really is a thing here that means something. A tight team with focus will beat a group of talented individuals every time.
According to Hofstede's cultural dimensions theory, the USA and Australia have very similar cultures, although 'mateship' is not a dimension considered I will admit. :D https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hofstede%27s_cultural_dimensio... https://www.hofstede-insights.com/country-comparison/austral... I would suggest that all national cultures value loyal friendship and working as a team. That said, 'mateship' has a sense…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Australians tend to lack confidence on their own in the greater world, but when put together as a team they think they can beat everyone (and often do). One thing we don't make is good managers of Americans - cynicism and laconic humour does not come across well with American employees.
I’d work for an Aussie, but my auxiliary national affiliation in New Zealand would mandate I give them some good natured grief :-) I’d say it takes all kinds. I work with one Aussie who is a great manager, and she enjoys good rapport with everyone above and below as far as I can tell. Kiwis and Aussies that I’ve known have had a tendency to project a feeling place inferiority which I think is rubbish. Everyone has im…
Yes the Australian cultural cringe (the Kiwi version is even worse) is pretty terrible. The way to overcome it is work as a team. In a team Aussies/Kiwis really beleive they can beat the world. It is a very intersting cultural trait.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Where in Queensland? There is plenty of tech going on in Brisbane if you look for it... I suppose it depends on your specialisation though.
I lived in the Gold Coast for 18 months. I did weekly flights to Sydney and drove to Brisbane twice a week. I didn't have good results looking for work in Brisbane. I could get a job, but not a job I wanted to do, and not for much money. I would've had to move to make the commute feasible, especially with the state of Brisbane parking prices. I found it more convenient cheaper to travel to Sydney. Gold Coast airport…
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Where in Queensland? There is plenty of tech going on in Brisbane if you look for it... I suppose it depends on your specialisation though.
Just curious: what is some cool stuff happening in Brisbane these days? I grew up there but I moved away to find more interesting work a long time ago. It would be nice to hear about interesting things happen there nowadays.
I’m in Systems programming/electronics design - it’s probably a different story for a front end dev - I don’t think there’s much of that at all!
One little company I used to work for was in traffic systems, basically IoT/sensor networks before it was cool (all on private networks though!) and we developed a system that GPS tracked ambulances and fire engines, and predicted their likely path (destination was known) and ran interventions on traffic signals to both minimise travel time for the emergency vehicle and minimise disruption to other traffic. It’s a lot more effective than the dumb IR blaster systems used elsewhere. We also had a ramp system that staggered cars coming in down on-ramps near chokepoints that significantly increased highway flow and reduced nose-to-tail accidents (from the stop-start traffic) by something like 30%. I think they’re rolling out that tech now with some US cities departments of transport.
Now I work at a little company that makes class-leading satellite/microwave equipment, including maritime and road-vehicle satellite-tracking terminals, frequently up- and down-converters, etc.
There’s actually a surprising amount of microwave engineering, and lots of aviation/defence work (some in the city with Boeing Defense and some out in Ipswich at Amberley), as well as Virgin Australia being headquartered here.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I have to disagree with the high-paying work statement. I moved from Melbourne to the USA because I hit a salary ceiling. Just over 100k AUD is not that much compared to west coast salaries.
Yeah, mid-to-senior dev jobs in Melbourne and Sydney are going for $150k+ right now.