Career Tips for International Students in Australia

With Australia consistently ranking among the top 10 countries for its quality of life, it comes as no surprise that so many students across the world want to study and eventually settle down in the country. The general expectation is for students to leave upon acquiring their degree, however, there are ways for international students to work after graduating. After working in Australia for a while, the process to acquire permanent residency is quite straight forward and can be more simple than a lot of other countries.

To begin with, let’s take a look at the types of work visa you can obtain in the country.

1. Skilled Graduate Visa (Subclass 485)

Most international students who hope to work after graduating with an Australian degree of 2 years opt for this visa. The 485 Skilled Graduate visa is a temporary visa that is valid for 18 months to 4 years. Holders of this visa are allowed to work full-time.

2. Employer-Sponsored Visa (Subclass 186)

A legal Australian business or an overseas business with an Australian entity can sponsor an employee to work with them under this visa. However, if you are interested in this type of visa, you will have to start applying to companies that sponsor potential employees at least 4-5 months prior to when you hope to begin as this visa is difficult to process with a lot of paperwork.

For the most up-to-date information on visa details, have a look at the Australian Government’s Department of Immigration website.

A few sources to look for a job in Australia include -

1. Australian Apprenticeship Pathways

Their website is packed with resources and information on a range of traineeship and apprenticeship opportunities available in the country.

2. Defence Jobs under the Australian Government

The website lists all the job openings available in the Australian defence force, which includes the country’s air force, army and navy.

3. Skilled Migration Pathway

This is the primary source of jobs for most immigrants to the country. The General Skilled Migration (GSM) program is a point-based system to gauge an applicant’s eligibility so as to issue an invitation to apply (ITA) for the appropriate visa.

Checking online for jobs and applying to them is also a very popular option due to easy access. One such website is seek.com.au. In addition to this, you can also try to apply directly on the company’s website. As companies do not always list their job vacancies, a cold call to the company would be a good way to check for a vacancy.

Connecting with prospective companies on LinkedIn is also another option.

To give you an idea of the job scene in Australia, we’re listing out jobs with hot prospects and those that continue to have demand in the country and a complete guide to study in Australia

1. Actuaries, mathematicians, statisticians – high demand
2. Advertising and marketing professionals – steady demand
3. Public relations, sales and advertising managers – steady demand
4. Ambulance officers and paramedics – high demand
5. Fitness, amusement and sports center managers – high demand
6. Anesthetists – high demand
7. Landscape artists and architects – steady demand
8. Architectural, surveying and building technicians – steady demand
9. Curators, archivists and record managers – high demand
10. Speech therapists, speech pathologists, audiologists – high demand
11. Company secretaries, auditors and corporate treasurers – high demand
12. Barristers – stable demand
13. Restaurant and cafe managers – high demand
14. Contact or call center managers, or customer service managers – high demand
15. Chefs – stable demand
16. Chemists – stable demand
17. Food and wine scientists – stable demand
18. Childcare center managers – high demand
19. Chiropractors – high demand
20. Osteopaths – high demand
21. Civil engineers – high demand
22. Commissioned officers – stable demand
23. Complementary health therapists – high demand
24. Conference and event organizers – high demand
25. Construction managers – stable demand
26. Counselors – high demand
27. ICT Security, database and systems administrators – stable demand
28. Dental practitioners – high demand
29. Early childhood, pre-primary school teachers – high demand
30. Economists – high demand
31. Education advisers and reviewers – high demand
32. Engineering managers – stable demand
33. Environmental scientists – high demand
34. Fashion and jewelry designers – high demand
35. Industrial designers – high demand
36. Financial brokers – high demand
37. General practitioners and resident medical officers – high demand
38. Illustrators, web and graphic designers – high demand
39. Health and welfare services managers – high demand
40. Human resource managers – stable demand
41. ICT managers – high demand
42. ICT support and test engineers – high demand
43. ICT support technicians – stable demand
44. Intelligence and policy analysts – high demand
45. Ingenious health workers – high demand
46. Interior designers – high demand
47. Land economists and valuers – high demand
48. Librarians – high demand
49. Management and organization analysts – high demand
50. Medical imaging professionals – stable demand
51. Medical technicians – high demand
52. Mining engineers – stable demand
53. Nurse educators and researchers – high demand
54. Nurse managers – high demand
55. Nutrition professionals – high demand
56. Environmental health professionals – high demand
57. Occupational therapists – high demand
58. Optometrists – stable demand
59. Orthopedists – stable demand
60. Other education managers – high demand
61. Other engineering professionals – stable demand
62. Other health diagnostic and promotion professionals – high demand
63. Hospitality, retail and service managers – stable demand
64. Information and organisation professionals – high demand
65. Pharmacists – stable demand
66. Physiotherapists – high demand
67. Podiatrists – stable demand
68. Police force employees – stable demand
69. Practice managers – high demand
70. Private teachers and tutors – stable demand
71. Psychiatrists – high demand
72. Psychologists – high demand
73. Registered nurses – high demand
74. Research and development managers – high demand
75. School principals – stable demand
76. Social professionals – stable demand
77. Social workers – high demand
78. Software and applications programmers – stable demand
79. Specialist physicians – high demand
80. Supply, distribution and procurement managers – high demand
81. Surgeons – high demand
82. Telecommunications engineers – high demand
83. Transport services managers – stable demand
84. Urban and regional planners – stable demand
85. Veterinarians – stable demand
86. Welfare support workers – high demand
87. Welfare, recreation and community arts workers – high demand