IT SecOps/Sys Admin - Working Abroad

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  [Deactivated] on 02/09/2023 - 17:41

  Iceland!

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    kHartouN on 02/09/2023 - 20:32

    oh yeah, Scandinavia is definitely an area of the world I could work and live in. do you have any good recommendations where I could start?

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      [Deactivated] on 03/09/2023 - 09:16

      Iceland! lol

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        kHartouN on 03/09/2023 - 11:57

        lol, thanks but I meant in terms of resources, i.e LinkedIn for applying for work..

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  Muzeeb on 02/09/2023 - 17:43

  +4

  Definitely Vietnam. Catch up with the other ozbargainer who lives there. He can introduce you to the ladies.

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    kHartouN on 02/09/2023 - 20:33

    ahaha, yeah sea is super cheap and chill. although I would image the tech field not super rampant over there?

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  Roentgenium on 02/09/2023 - 17:55

  considered site reliability engineering roles? I know someone who moved to Singapore and does SRE, every day is different and they really enjoy that aspect

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    kHartouN on 02/09/2023 - 20:34

    would have to look into what they entail - I know a lot of my skills can easily be transitioned/massaged into other roles I don't necessarily have a lot of experience in.

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  netjock on 02/09/2023 - 21:08

  UK is far too similar to Aus and Melbourne. The culture, lifestyle (i.e fri/sat night, go out to drink and gamble), cost of living, is identical. I want something different.

  Which part of the UK you talking about? Obviously not London.

  If you compare the "culture" London is miles ahead of Melbourne. There is somewhere around 200 cities in Europe within 2hrs flight time of London. The top 100 companies listed in London: BHP / RIO is top 20 in Australia but they are in the top 100 listed in London to put things into perspective.

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  rumblytangara on 02/09/2023 - 21:28

  To me, the UK is far too similar to Aus and Melbourne. The culture, lifestyle (i.e fri/sat night, go out to drink and gamble), cost of living, is identical. I want something different.

  Are you serious? The UK is an hour flight away from a zillion interesting places in continental Europe. If you're pulling in tech contactor wages you can go overseas at least every month.

  Having lived there (London), the culture and lifestyle is nothing like Australia. Besides people speaking English. Sysadmin jobs are all over the place, but for Asia at least, nobody will even bother interviewing you unless you're in the city.

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    kHartouN on 02/09/2023 - 22:40

    Aus/English culture is very similar(I wonder why..). Both my parents are from the UK and I've been there multiple times. What do people over here do on a Friday night? Go to the pub, watch the footy, I wonder what happens in the UK on a Friday/Saturday night? It might be different in country towns but in any metro area it isn't.

    The easy access to Europe is obviously an advantage.

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      rumblytangara on 02/09/2023 - 23:06

      I lived there for five years. It's nothing like Australia. Even the pub culture is different.

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  streetsmart on 03/09/2023 - 03:01

  Singapore and HK are 2 places in SEA that come to mind if you are after earning close to AU salary. Depending on the industry, be ready for long hours or having regular calls in the evening if you end up in a team needing to overlap with EU or US. The thing I miss being in Asia is the ease of travelling internationally, lower taxes so more savings in the bank/disposable income, convenience in so many aspects (24/7 availability of almost everything, adaptation of technology (SG), etc). You said you are 31, go for it and explore. Vietnam and Philippines are 2 other IT hubs in the region i.e a lot of AU, Europe and US based companies have offices there.

  Personally, I'd consider somewhere in Europe too.

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    kHartouN on 03/09/2023 - 11:37

    Thanks. Singapore I know has a lot going on, but Singapore is also a very expensive country so if anything I'd need a salary better than what I am on currently if I'm being honest.

    Did you apply for work prior to moving or did you move to the city and then start looking? The same question goes for work in Vietnam/Philippines - I'm guessing most employers over there are going to want to physically present in the city. So in a way you kind of have to risk a bit, move there without anything lined up, and hope for the best..

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      rumblytangara on 03/09/2023 - 13:40

      Suggest you do a lot more research if that Singapore is expensive if you live in a major Australian city and pay local tax. For starters, look at SG tax rates.

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      streetsmart on 03/09/2023 - 14:12

      +1

      This will be a long post just to give a bit more insight —-

      Yea been talking to friends still in SG, they said the house rentals went up quite a bit. The HDB, which is the govt housing, i.e. no gym or pool facilities for a 3br is around 3000-3500sgd for the whole place now. I was single when I was working there so I lived in a 3br unit and took the master's bedroom so I have my own ensuite - paid 40% of the whole place's rent plus utilities. Condo prices are on a different level and I won't even suggest it given that you are single and you will likely be out and about most of the time. If you work in financial companies,i.e. Investment Banks and get a good package you should be fine since as I mentioned, there is more disposable income given the lower tax rates. Food wise, I find it pricier here in AU to be honest as there's heaps of hawker centre options there, grocery prices are somewhat similar, some cheap here, some cheap there so it evens out. Some Western items are dearer but if you can adjust your palate somehow to eat more of the local offeri gs then you should be fine. There are local wet markets too, you just need to find out what is cheap where in your local. Public transport is good there and cheaper than here, I was not spending over 2.50 dollars a day there, of course depending on how far you are from your place of work - https://www.transitlink.com.sg/travel-fares/adult-fares/

      I find the cab rides cheaper there too. Car is a luxury of course but I never felt the need to have one given the good public transport and if I am lazy I just take the odd 30 to 50 dollar cab ride for long distances. Shorter rides I remember paying as low as 6 dollars for a ~4km ride(2016). Alcohol is expensive so what we used to do, we buy from Duty Free every time we travel, have drinks at home initially and then go out and budget some amount for more drinks, it's all about budgeting really as you can easily blow off hundreds of dollars in one night out. There are more opportunities to ozbargain there, i.e. I had 15 credit cards at one point just because I was taking advantage of sign up bonuses and freebies. My partner and I were speaking recently and we both agreed that if someone has no restrictions financially, Singapore is a good place to be due to convenience,safety and again low taxes. It's a small place so of course the wow factor wears out after a while but you can be in surrounding tropical paradise in 1-3 hours via flight. There will be cultural difference adjustments though, not just on the workplace but in day to day too but I guess anywhere you go that's going to be there.

      Vietnam and Philippines, that's right or unless you score a role here in AU and they are expanding that side, you can see if you can go for an assignment and get paid as an expat.

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  OZB Al on 08/09/2023 - 11:41

  Get your LinkedIn up to date, get as many professional "certifications" as you can in anything you want to do, expect to deal with stupid recruiters who don't have the first clue what you do telling you you don't have relevant skills. Contracting can be fun and easier to get in to, but you'll start out on an awful rate with an agency taking half of your money until you have local contacts.