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15 April 2007

First time in Melbourne? Some tips for you. Rajan's advice thread.

Advice from Rajan for Indians thinking of studying and working in Melbourne.


Can I use my electronic items?

The Australian standard is 240 volts with frequency of 50Hertz. Most of the universal converters are available in super markets.

Happy wrote:
If I want to drive taxi part time there in Melbourne then what should I do?

Happy...my question to you is why do you want to drive a cab? Just because a lot of friends told you that they are doing the same here? Its easy money but a bad job..especially when you are dropping people home when they do not know what they are doing (Drunk)... anyway you asked this question so I can tell you that you need first of all a Full Victorian License ... you need to clear driving tests for this. then you need to attend a course with the Taxi directorate. Then they also give you exams. Look for taxi Directorate Victoria on Google for more information.


Gorav asks:
Can you please tell about job prospects in the IT field? I've enrolled for a masters in network computing from Monash in Feb'07 session. Its a 1.5 yrs course. I've seen other postings in different communities and they've suggested that its really a bad time for guys in this field, thats why now I'm feeling a bit afraid of making this investment. Please help.

Hi Gorav, I did my Masters of Network Computing from Monash. Its a good course but problem is Australia has not grown up to be a really good market for IT professionals. Prospects for programmers are not many as compared to China, India, USA, UK and Germany.

The rest is all about luck. You never know. I know people here who work for companies like TCS, Infosys, EMC and other. Depends on how hard you can try and how good you are. You also require a reference. As a fresher its a hard and long way to go.

Hey Rajan, I have my real sister also there, she's in Canberra workng with Accenture.....will her reference do? Or i'll still have to struggle a lot!!!

Buddy. MNC from Monash lets you decide what you want to do. Its up to you to go for programing based subjects or the ones related to Network Security and System Administration. All depends on you that what do you want for you.

If you are really good at programing and you can prove that. I would suggest you to work for MNC in India and after having experience move where ever you like. If you sister works in Accenture ask her what she can do for you. She would be able to tell you better than me.

Vicky wrote
How much money can I carry from India to Melbourne. I am coming on a student visa in Feb 07 ?

Rajan's advice
In my understanding you do not need to declare if you are carrying less than $10000. I am not sure if you get questioned in India about this. If you want to bring more than $10000 then you need to declare it in Australia.


Vicky wrote
But Sir, what about travellers cheques. How much money should I take?
I mean the expenses of accommodation and all before I get a job there ... and what about jobs. What kind of jobs are there? Are call centre jobs easily available there?

Rajan's advice
Vicky, that is the hardest question you can ask us. It all depends upon where you want to live and what facilities you want to have.

Fully furnished places will be expected to be expensive, so do the ones closer to the city and universities.

Best is to stay in a university campus for 1-2 weeks and meanwhile start looking for people who are looking for house mates. Believe me there are a lot of them

Vicky responded
“Thanks sir ... just sir my question is still not answered fully...
well I am getting temporary accommodation for $220/ week with meals for a single ...later I will look in some suburban area for share accommodation... so what amount should I carry with me as a travelers cheque so that I can manage before I find a job to earn my living?

Rajan's advice
Vicky, the question you are asking is very broad... there are so many things which matters like do you want to live close to the city ? Close to uni ? Close to public transport ? All these places will be expensive to live in.

To be on the secure side at least keep $A5-8K with you. In case you will find it hard to get a job which can pay for your accommodation.

Sumit wrote
“Hey Rajan, I will be there in July, but at that time I will be just 18 years old. Will it make any difference to anything like my job?”

Sumit, your age not not affect your working capability. 18 years is a good age except for few jobs which involve driving because you will not have a full license.

Networking Jobs
Hi Rajan .... I am a Networking Engineer with 7 years of experience in a Large Scale ISP network. Can you please tell me what is the job prospect of such Network Engineers in Australia?

Hi There,

Telling you the truth there are jobs in the market. But not as many jobs as the professionals who are here. Usually companies promote internal staff to the next level. Still there are chances to score a job but you might have to start with small job. But we never know if luck is with you, you might get a good job in the beginning (Usually as we say you could be in the right place at the right time).

Cheers,
Raj


I am flying in Plane for the first time. What should I carry?
In your hand luggage you should carry
a) your passport and student visa, aeroplane ticket, money, important documents and valuables
b) Items that will be declared at Australian Customs
a spare copy of the front pages of your passport and visa
c)emergency clothing and a jacket
d)suitcases and other luggage should be 'LOCKED' and tagged with your name, address and contact telephone numbers.

From the Orkut Melbourne community. Republished here with permission from Rajan.

06 April 2007

Buying a Wireless Modem

I'm sick of all the electric cables and computer cables around the place & want to buy a wireless modem. I've been shopping around the internet, and was about to buy a Netgear DG834G from warcom.com.au for $179 when I chanced on the Shopferret website. Why didn't anyone tell me about this site before? After comparing about 10 shops on Shopferret, I was about to buy a D-Link modem from SkyComp for $113, when I checked the sites on my Discount-Melbourne Swicki & found the same D-link modem from PCWorld for $109. PCWorld doesn't have such a good rating from Shopferret, so I'll check them out for real in Dandenong tomorrow.

11 February 2007

Job sites

The biggest site for jobs in Melbourne is www.seek.com.au, but some advertisements are only posted on mycareer.com.au
If you are looking for work in non for profit organizations the website is www.infoxchange.org.au it also has a link ifyou want to do some volunteer work, another one is www.jobsearch.gov.au for government jobs.

Search for Jobs at MyCareer.com.au.


24 December 2006

Arriving in Melbourne in summer - clothes

Summer in Melbourne is unpredictable. A day may start with hot north winds and reach 40 degrees C, before a cool change in the afternoon which drops the temperature to 20 degrees in half an hour. Then the next 3 days can be cool and wet, with night temperatures down to 10 degrees and maximum daily temperatures below 20 degrees. A few days later the wind direction will change and the temperature rise again.

For people coming from tropical climates, you need to bring warm clothes for the cool nights. People coming from cooler climates can be uncomfortable on the hottest days and you'll need to bring something cooler than jeans. Air conditioning is not always installed in homes or workplaces.

Australia gets some of the highest levels of UV in the world. I think all foreign visitors are surprised by the ferocity of Melbourne's summer sun. Spend too long outside without sunscreen and you will change colour. If you have ever been sunburnt, bring some sunscreen (sun burn cream) with you.

18 November 2006

Factory Outlet Shopping

Shopping at factory outlets, markets and clearance centres is a great way to buy clothes and other items at way below ordinary retail prices. I've created a community search engine and put it the right of the page. You can use my Discount Melbourne Swicki to search for the best markets, warehouse shops, factory outlets and fashion sales in Melbourne - from DFO clearance centres in Cheltenham, where I've bought fashions at heavily discounted prices, to sportswear in Smith Street Collingwood.

08 August 2006

Wanna enjoy free caLLs using a VoIP facility??


Folks...

Heard of Yahoo phone, Skype n other VoIP softwares ???
Well here is one which gives you free talking minutes for selected countries..

The software is from Axill Europe Limited and the product is "Globe7".


Features

*FREE calling by watching videos
*Earn half a cent of a dollar (USD) for every one minute of watching videos on Globe7 to make free international calls.
*FREE 1GB storage space!
*Upload files of your choice and share with your Globe7 friends.
*Breaking News
*View latest News feeds in your Globe7. Customize News feeds as per your choice.*
*Video Calls
*Free High quality PC to PC Video calls with your Globe7


Thats the general features Globe7 offers...
The interesting part is that who ever downloads the software from the globe7 messenger website will get 100 minutes of free talk time***

*** Free talk time can be used for calling,
-Aussie land line
-Both mobile and land line of US
-Both mobile and land line of HongKong
-And many more.. Check the Globe7 website for more details

All new users will get free credit of ONE US$ (can call any mobile/landline in the world using this credit). Also there are a number of "sponsored minutes and credits to be won. For more on this and for downloading the messenger log on to
www.globe7.com

Please check your firewall/proxy settings before using globe7..
Njoy..

02 August 2006

Customs/Quarantine Declaration Cards

Advice from Sophia to students about to arrive from India:

Unlike India, Aus has very strict customs and quarantine laws, which people there aren't aware of (had to laugh when my grandpa told me to take mangoes with me). Don't bring any milk products or fresh fruit (they will throw these away/make u throw these away and if you don't or don't declare it, they will fine you). Some non/incorrect declarations can lead to prosecution.

So make sure you declare (by ticking off things on the form they give u on the plane), that you're bringing food, etc if u do bring food because the quarantine laws are really strict and you can end up with a massive fine or worse if you don't declare something you've brought with you (however minor you may think it is) and they find out.

Anytime I travel overseas (not just India cos I hardly go), I tick everything that I may remotely have. For example, I had antibiotics and on the checklist, medicines were categorised with non prescribed drugs or something along the lines of something illegal you may have... and I got asked about it and I'm like ye it was just antibiotics and the officers were like ye that's cool.

Also, you can bring more than $10000 into Aus but you need to declare that too on the same card.

Better to be safe and tick if you're unsure than sorry!

01 July 2006

Voice over IP. A cheaper way to phone?

I'm sick of paying so much to in phone bills. Every month I pay about $100 for landline, broadband and mobile. I don't even make many calls. $80 of that is for the privilege of having landline and broadband connections. All I really want is the internet but how do you get broadband internet without having to tack it onto a phone line? In the past, the only way was if you were lucky enough to be in a cabled area*, or you were unlucky enough to live in student accommodation with broadband. Now there's another way, Wireless Broadband. Plans range from about $30 per month & I'm looking at getting one at about $35 - $40 per month. There are some special discounts here in the ISP area.

So what's the point? Once you have a good broadband connection you can use it for your phone calls too. Fine, you can use all the free PC to PC services, and PC to phone eg(Skype Out) but you can also get a "normal" phone service from Engin at a cheaper price than the landline telcos. One of my friends has been using it for the past couple of years & there's no way she'd change back. At $10 a month, she gets voicemail and 10c untimed calls around Australia and doesn't have to keep her PC switched on. As a bonus, with Engin her number isn't listed in the white pages, so she doesn't get sales calls from call centres.



*Find out whether you can get cable from the major telcos' websites, eg bigpond broadband availability.

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