Re: [rails-oceania] What's it like being a Ruby dev in Australia?
Your company only needs to *ensure* you have medical insurance. They are not required to provide it. In fact, now the rules have changed, it is taxed as a fringe benefits tax, so, for example, my current employer does not provide it though did require proof that I had acquired it. As far as I know though, you could simply stop paying it since no one ever follows it up (though this would be extremely foolish as accidents do happen. My previous work covered it but only after tough relocation negotiations. I have found though that my medical insurance covers virtually nothing unless I'm in some sort of horrible accident requiring hospitalization and unless you're paying very high monthly tiers.). I had Medibank's highest tier when my employer paid, I've since switched to IMAN which has much lower costs... but conversely covers just the basics of misadventure. I have a lot of things I want to say about working in Aus (and in comparison having worked in Canada, several European countries, the US and several points East), but don't have the time at the moment. Will try to get tho this before I head down to the snows this weekend. ciao ! Daryl. On Fri, Aug 24, 2012 at 11:25 AM, Jonathan Clarke wrote: > > * Working in Oz was simple for me - I'm on a 457 sponsored visa with >> reInteractive.net. It has limitations though - I can only work for my >> sponsor - if things don't work out I have 28 days to leave the country. >> After 2 years I can apply for residency. Because the US doesn't have >> nationwide health coverage I also get no health coverage here and am >> required to have 3rd party health insurance ($$$). If you're on a visa >> from a civilized nation though (UK, Canada, EU, etc.) I think you get >> health coverage here with your visa. >> > > I thought it was a requirement on the 457 that your company provide you > with visitors coverage through a third party ( Medibank ). It was the case > with me anyway, 2*457 + current permanent Resident. You can get Medicare > when you apply for your permanent residency. > > I've worked all over the world and I have never seen the like of the > Australian ruby community, I was made feel very welcome when I came off the > boat from Ireland not really knowing anyone over here. I did take your > jobs but at least I brought my own woman. :D > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Ruby or Rails Oceania" group. > To post to this group, send email to rails-oceania@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > rails-oceania+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/rails-oceania?hl=en. > -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ruby or Rails Oceania" group. To post to this group, send email to rails-oceania@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rails-oceania+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rails-oceania?hl=en.
Re: [rails-oceania] What's it like being a Ruby dev in Australia?
After having relocated a fair number of candidates from the US to Australia I can say that you should be looking for a 30% lift in salary from what you are would be paid in San Francisco to have the same standard of living in Sydney. If you are coming from somewhere like Austin to Sydney you are should be looking to double your current salary. This big jump in salary does not happen as most people think 1:1 is a fair enough ratio to maintain so you get candidates who arrive and see $4.00 bottles of water and freak out when they realised they have undersold themselves. On the other side of the table when I have US clients establishing offices in Sydney they simply cannot get their head around why a Senior Engineer is getting director and senior director salary offers. -- Cheers, Adam http://adamseabrook.com On 24/08/2012, at 10:07 AM, Julio Cesar Ody wrote: > TL;DR: between US and Australia, it's what you make of it. > > Pitching in, as someone who went through two 457s, permanent > residency, and eventually citizenship. Oh and I'm from Brazil, which > is one category before last in terms of "qualifiable background". > Also, I have no degree. > > The three last visas I applied for, I did it all online, on my own, > with perhaps two phone calls made to the department of immigration for > clarifications. Maybe, I got lucky, but I find it hard to believe I'd > get lucky three times in a row with *zero* friction as far as the > processes went. They were helpful and polite all the way. > > I'm yet to be offered more money by a US company, despite numerous job > offers from there (I bet a lot of people from here get those regularly > too). Not to say the offers from there were all bad, but even > factoring cost of living, plus the certainty that you won't be able to > live there forever even if you wanted to, I'd still come out ahead > with any of the better-than-average offer from locals. > > And as a freelancer, all my great clients were local. Had about three > good clients from overseas, though all the great ones to work with > were from around here, including people being being organised with > payment dates and such. > > So go Australia! > > P.S.: there are great people to work with everywhere. > > > > > > On Fri, Aug 24, 2012 at 9:11 AM, Chris Aitchison > wrote: >> "Oh, and I suspect there's a few grumbles about getting permission to work >> in Australia." >> >> Here is the best of those grumbles! From a Lonely Planet Ruby dev (yes they >> still have a Ruby dev team in Footscray) trying to get permanent residency >> for himself, his Japanese wife, and half-Japanese baby born in Melbourne. >> >> http://gyrovague.com/2012/08/10/notarizing-your-fingerprints-for-fun-and-profit >> >> >> >> On Thu, Aug 23, 2012 at 6:42 PM, Andrew Grimm >> wrote: >>> >>> I've been invited to give a 5-10 minute talk about what it's like >>> being a Ruby dev in Oz. It'll be at a pre-RubyKaigi meetup in Tokyo, >>> which will have a fair number of Japanese and non-Japanese people. >>> >>> As far as I can tell, most of the capital cities have Ruby meetups, >>> and possibly meetups on JavaScript, functional programming or iOS >>> programming. And Sydney also has hack nights. I'll also talk about >>> Railscamps, and RubyConf Australia. >>> >>> I'm also asked about work in Australia. Is Ruby-based work mainly >>> based in small startups and/or freelancing, with more mainstream >>> languages required for larger corporations? What is the work >>> environment like? What kind of hours are expected? What is the pay >>> like compared to the cost of living in Australia? >>> >>> I've heard a few grumbles about what it's like working in a large >>> corporate, but is that more about what tools and processes are used, >>> rather than how they treat you? >>> >>> Oh, and I suspect there's a few grumbles about getting permission to >>> work in Australia. But is that more of a PITA rather than a >>> show-stopper? >>> >>> Thanks, >>> >>> Andrew >>> >>> -- >>> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >>> "Ruby or Rails Oceania" group. >>> To post to this group, send email to rails-oceania@googlegroups.com. >>> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >>> rails-oceania+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >>> For more options, visit this group at >>> http://groups.google.com/group/rails-oceania?hl=en. >>> >> >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "Ruby or Rails Oceania" group. >> To post to this group, send email to rails-oceania@googlegroups.com. >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> rails-oceania+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/rails-oceania?hl=en. >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "Ruby or Rails Oceania" group. >> To post to this group, send email to rails-oceania@googlegroups.com. >> To
Re: [rails-oceania] What's it like being a Ruby dev in Australia?
> * Working in Oz was simple for me - I'm on a 457 sponsored visa with > reInteractive.net. It has limitations though - I can only work for my > sponsor - if things don't work out I have 28 days to leave the country. > After 2 years I can apply for residency. Because the US doesn't have > nationwide health coverage I also get no health coverage here and am > required to have 3rd party health insurance ($$$). If you're on a visa > from a civilized nation though (UK, Canada, EU, etc.) I think you get > health coverage here with your visa. > I thought it was a requirement on the 457 that your company provide you with visitors coverage through a third party ( Medibank ). It was the case with me anyway, 2*457 + current permanent Resident. You can get Medicare when you apply for your permanent residency. I've worked all over the world and I have never seen the like of the Australian ruby community, I was made feel very welcome when I came off the boat from Ireland not really knowing anyone over here. I did take your jobs but at least I brought my own woman. :D -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ruby or Rails Oceania" group. To post to this group, send email to rails-oceania@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rails-oceania+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rails-oceania?hl=en.
Re: [rails-oceania] What's it like being a Ruby dev in Australia?
TL;DR: between US and Australia, it's what you make of it. Pitching in, as someone who went through two 457s, permanent residency, and eventually citizenship. Oh and I'm from Brazil, which is one category before last in terms of "qualifiable background". Also, I have no degree. The three last visas I applied for, I did it all online, on my own, with perhaps two phone calls made to the department of immigration for clarifications. Maybe, I got lucky, but I find it hard to believe I'd get lucky three times in a row with *zero* friction as far as the processes went. They were helpful and polite all the way. I'm yet to be offered more money by a US company, despite numerous job offers from there (I bet a lot of people from here get those regularly too). Not to say the offers from there were all bad, but even factoring cost of living, plus the certainty that you won't be able to live there forever even if you wanted to, I'd still come out ahead with any of the better-than-average offer from locals. And as a freelancer, all my great clients were local. Had about three good clients from overseas, though all the great ones to work with were from around here, including people being being organised with payment dates and such. So go Australia! P.S.: there are great people to work with everywhere. On Fri, Aug 24, 2012 at 9:11 AM, Chris Aitchison wrote: > "Oh, and I suspect there's a few grumbles about getting permission to work > in Australia." > > Here is the best of those grumbles! From a Lonely Planet Ruby dev (yes they > still have a Ruby dev team in Footscray) trying to get permanent residency > for himself, his Japanese wife, and half-Japanese baby born in Melbourne. > > http://gyrovague.com/2012/08/10/notarizing-your-fingerprints-for-fun-and-profit > > > > On Thu, Aug 23, 2012 at 6:42 PM, Andrew Grimm > wrote: >> >> I've been invited to give a 5-10 minute talk about what it's like >> being a Ruby dev in Oz. It'll be at a pre-RubyKaigi meetup in Tokyo, >> which will have a fair number of Japanese and non-Japanese people. >> >> As far as I can tell, most of the capital cities have Ruby meetups, >> and possibly meetups on JavaScript, functional programming or iOS >> programming. And Sydney also has hack nights. I'll also talk about >> Railscamps, and RubyConf Australia. >> >> I'm also asked about work in Australia. Is Ruby-based work mainly >> based in small startups and/or freelancing, with more mainstream >> languages required for larger corporations? What is the work >> environment like? What kind of hours are expected? What is the pay >> like compared to the cost of living in Australia? >> >> I've heard a few grumbles about what it's like working in a large >> corporate, but is that more about what tools and processes are used, >> rather than how they treat you? >> >> Oh, and I suspect there's a few grumbles about getting permission to >> work in Australia. But is that more of a PITA rather than a >> show-stopper? >> >> Thanks, >> >> Andrew >> >> -- >> You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups >> "Ruby or Rails Oceania" group. >> To post to this group, send email to rails-oceania@googlegroups.com. >> To unsubscribe from this group, send email to >> rails-oceania+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. >> For more options, visit this group at >> http://groups.google.com/group/rails-oceania?hl=en. >> > > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Ruby or Rails Oceania" group. > To post to this group, send email to rails-oceania@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > rails-oceania+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/rails-oceania?hl=en. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Ruby or Rails Oceania" group. > To post to this group, send email to rails-oceania@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > rails-oceania+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/rails-oceania?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ruby or Rails Oceania" group. To post to this group, send email to rails-oceania@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rails-oceania+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rails-oceania?hl=en.
Re: [rails-oceania] What's it like being a Ruby dev in Australia?
"Oh, and I suspect there's a few grumbles about getting permission to work in Australia." Here is the best of those grumbles! From a Lonely Planet Ruby dev (yes they still have a Ruby dev team in Footscray) trying to get permanent residency for himself, his Japanese wife, and half-Japanese baby born in Melbourne. http://gyrovague.com/2012/08/10/notarizing-your-fingerprints-for-fun-and-profit On Thu, Aug 23, 2012 at 6:42 PM, Andrew Grimm wrote: I've been invited to give a 5-10 minute talk about what it's like being a Ruby dev in Oz. It'll be at a pre-RubyKaigi meetup in Tokyo, which will have a fair number of Japanese and non-Japanese people. As far as I can tell, most of the capital cities have Ruby meetups, and possibly meetups on JavaScript, functional programming or iOS programming. And Sydney also has hack nights. I'll also talk about Railscamps, and RubyConf Australia. I'm also asked about work in Australia. Is Ruby-based work mainly based in small startups and/or freelancing, with more mainstream languages required for larger corporations? What is the work environment like? What kind of hours are expected? What is the pay like compared to the cost of living in Australia? I've heard a few grumbles about what it's like working in a large corporate, but is that more about what tools and processes are used, rather than how they treat you? Oh, and I suspect there's a few grumbles about getting permission to work in Australia. But is that more of a PITA rather than a show-stopper? Thanks, Andrew -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ruby or Rails Oceania" group. To post to this group, send email to rails-oceania@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rails-oceania+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rails-oceania?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ruby or Rails Oceania" group. To post to this group, send email to rails-oceania@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rails-oceania+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rails-oceania?hl=en. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ruby or Rails Oceania" group. To post to this group, send email to rails-oceania@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rails-oceania+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rails-oceania?hl=en.
Re: [rails-oceania] What's it like being a Ruby dev in Australia?
Andrew, I'm from the US and have worked in Boston, San Francisco and Seattle doing Rails since Rails was in beta. Before that I was a windows .net Borg but resistance proved far from futile and I split that collective the second Rails was viable. I've been at this game for about 20 years. I've researched working in Europe (less jobs, gobs of immigration rules), South Africa (way less money), NZ (less money, very few jobs, harder immigration) and Brazil (less money - pretty much required to live in São Paulo) but haven't made that jump yet. Here's my take on working in Australia vs the US * Less money (and given the cost of living in Sydney that'd be __much__ less money). I moved here taking a modest pay cut (about $30K) which I thought wouldn't be a big deal. I failed to factor in cost of living... oops. Cost of living in Sydney is a non-trivial factor. All things considered I'd say I make about 1/2 what I did in the US. If money is your motivator I'd hop a plane to San Francisco - although visa's in the US can be challenging (that's putting it politely). I'm most likely moving elsewhere in Oz soon ... I'm barely surviving financially in Sydney and that's getting old. * Much smaller scene - especially in regards to startups. Seems like more jobs here are consulting/corporate than in the US where the Rails scene is very startup focused. * Demand seems to be about the same though - in terms of ease of finding work... maybe less opportunities here but, there are also fewer devs. * Working in Oz was simple for me - I'm on a 457 sponsored visa with reInteractive.net. It has limitations though - I can only work for my sponsor - if things don't work out I have 28 days to leave the country. After 2 years I can apply for residency. Because the US doesn't have nationwide health coverage I also get no health coverage here and am required to have 3rd party health insurance ($$$). If you're on a visa from a civilized nation though (UK, Canada, EU, etc.) I think you get health coverage here with your visa. * Community: RoRo actually has much better attendance than the Seattle.rb group... I'd say Oz has the community thing down - better than the US from what I've seen. And - RailsCamp - that's a very cool Oz/NZ thing. * Corporate - it's the same Dilbert madhouse in every country afaik (unlike national culture, corporate seems to be devoid of differences world-wide). Only notable exception in Sydney is dress code (which Seattle hasn't heard of yet). Corporate rails/open-source adoption here seems a bit behind the US although Mikel has been doing an awesome job opening corporate eyes to using Rails in traditionally windows shops. Bottom line - if cube farms are your goal there seems to be plenty of opportunities here :) * Freelancing - I'm not technically allowed to do this here (see 457 visa) but there seems to be fairly frequent opportunities (I get approached maybe once a month and I'm not advertising or looking) * Working environment... well - at reInteractive - it's pretty chill. We mostly work from home, not required to live in Sydney (or even NSW), set our own hours, have a minimum of rules/policies, etc. It's a pretty cake scene as far as consulting goes. The one stint I did in corporate here (CDB - Sydney) was the usual 9-5, typical corporate rules, firewalls on the internet, etc. Not my scene but, as far as corporate goes seemed about the same as the gigs I had in the US. Hope that helps. -ben On Thu, Aug 23, 2012 at 6:42 PM, Andrew Grimm wrote: > I've been invited to give a 5-10 minute talk about what it's like > being a Ruby dev in Oz. It'll be at a pre-RubyKaigi meetup in Tokyo, > which will have a fair number of Japanese and non-Japanese people. > > As far as I can tell, most of the capital cities have Ruby meetups, > and possibly meetups on JavaScript, functional programming or iOS > programming. And Sydney also has hack nights. I'll also talk about > Railscamps, and RubyConf Australia. > > I'm also asked about work in Australia. Is Ruby-based work mainly > based in small startups and/or freelancing, with more mainstream > languages required for larger corporations? What is the work > environment like? What kind of hours are expected? What is the pay > like compared to the cost of living in Australia? > > I've heard a few grumbles about what it's like working in a large > corporate, but is that more about what tools and processes are used, > rather than how they treat you? > > Oh, and I suspect there's a few grumbles about getting permission to > work in Australia. But is that more of a PITA rather than a > show-stopper? > > Thanks, > > Andrew > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "Ruby or Rails Oceania" group. > To post to this group, send email to rails-oceania@googlegroups.com. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > rails-oceania+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google
[rails-oceania] What's it like being a Ruby dev in Australia?
I've been invited to give a 5-10 minute talk about what it's like being a Ruby dev in Oz. It'll be at a pre-RubyKaigi meetup in Tokyo, which will have a fair number of Japanese and non-Japanese people. As far as I can tell, most of the capital cities have Ruby meetups, and possibly meetups on JavaScript, functional programming or iOS programming. And Sydney also has hack nights. I'll also talk about Railscamps, and RubyConf Australia. I'm also asked about work in Australia. Is Ruby-based work mainly based in small startups and/or freelancing, with more mainstream languages required for larger corporations? What is the work environment like? What kind of hours are expected? What is the pay like compared to the cost of living in Australia? I've heard a few grumbles about what it's like working in a large corporate, but is that more about what tools and processes are used, rather than how they treat you? Oh, and I suspect there's a few grumbles about getting permission to work in Australia. But is that more of a PITA rather than a show-stopper? Thanks, Andrew -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Ruby or Rails Oceania" group. To post to this group, send email to rails-oceania@googlegroups.com. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to rails-oceania+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/rails-oceania?hl=en.
