Hello, my names Cody. Im 20 years old and just beginning my adult life. I'm having troubles on what I want to do with my life. So far its just been a forced idea of going into the IT field. I do like computers, but i don't feel i should make it my life. I've been toying with the idea of moving out of my country. I'm a very friendly and non-hateful person. And what the pervious generations have molded this country into does not represent who i am or what i believe in. Now im scared somethings going to happen and im going to be stuck here. I need to get away from here. I've become more and more interested in the whole climate change and pollution problem. Australia seems to be the on the right track with these problems, and I believe i could maybe help out someway. So my questions: How hard is it to obtain a student visa or even citizenship? What part of Australia would have the best colleges? And If anyone knows, what should I major in to start helping the way I explained in the paragraph above? Would me getting a job to help pay for classes hurt your economy?(I have very little money) Sorry for choosing your fourm, but there arn't many places on the internet i can ask these questions directly to the people that live in Australia. And asking people in America would be social suicide for even considering leaving the states. Feel free to delete this post if you feel it is spam. chabitz@gmail.com
Hi Chabitz! Student visa, I don't think is too hard. When I was at Uni (about 5 years ago) we had a lot of international students, and the Uni helped them with their visa paperwork. Citizenship on the other hand, I understand can be quite difficult, depending on where you're from. Personally, if a person was coming to Australia from overseas I would suggest starting in Sydney or Melbourne, where there's a large and diverse population, and relatively easy access to services you might need. I think coming from overseas and getting plonked right down in somewhere like Central Queensland might be a bit overwhelming. As far as training goes, there's universities which, if you get in as an international student, shouls also help you with your paperwork. Central Queensland University, which despite the name actually has campuses all over the eastern Coast including Brisbane and Sydney, is the one I went to, and they seemed to love their international students. I think as an international student you have to pay full fees for your course, which can be very expensive. I'm only suggesting CQU because I know they work with International students, there's probably loads of others that do too. Then there's TAFE (stands for 'technical and further education'), which I haven't had a lot to do with, but they do shorter courses as well as full-on three and four year degrees, and they tend to focus on more practical things (fixing computers, hairdressing) rather than Uni which can get fairly book-bound. I THINK their tuition fees are less, too, but it depends what you're studying. Then there are private colleges which have their own courses and fees - check these out before you sign anything, and make sure the qualification they offer is actually recognised and worth something. Most of them are fine, but there's the occasional dodgy one charging big bucks for a useless certificate. I'm not sure you're allowed to work on a student visa. If so, there's probably a cap on how much you can earn or how many hours you can work. There's a relatively new visa in place, which allows you to live and work in Australia for two years, designed for backpackers who work for a few months, then travel and kick back for a while, then work again to finance their next adventure. You might find these links helpful: Immigration: http://www.immi.gov.au/ A site with info on studying in Australia: http://studyinaustralia.gov.au
Hey Cody, If you aren't sure what you want to do, and you are thinking of going to Australia, come here and start a Bachelor of Arts degree (that way you will get a lot of variety – more than any other degree can offer). You could also do a Bachelor of Science degree if that is what you are interested in. The best cities for colleges/universities are Canberra (Australian National University is generally ranked best in the country), Sydney (stay away from UWS) and Melbourne. If you are heavily into study/partying/uni life I would recommend Canberra (most educated part of the country / lots of students), most restaurants per-capita (even more than Melbourne), highest wine consumption per capita, and generally high paid jobs (cost of living is a bit more expensive than other parts of Australia including Sydney and Melbourne!). The downside to Canberra is that it is away from the coast (about 3 hours drive doing 110km/h) and the climate (Canberra is very cold in winter and is very hot in summer). In terms of "hurting our economy" don't worry. Australians get welfare payments virtually automatically if they are unemployed and research indicates that migrants tend to create more jobs than they take. Unfortunately migrants do not get the same benefits when studying in Australia as Australian citizens - this means you will have to pay for your education up front (i.e. get a loan, get a scholarship or have the money). If you need to get a job make sure you get the right visa and stay away from places with high unemployment (i.e. such as Wollongong - great university no jobs). I'm afraid you are wrong about this. Australia has refused to sign the Kyoto Protocol (as has the United States and China). A change in government is likely in the next year or so, so maybe things will be different then (the opposition that is likely to be elected has stated they will sign Kyoto and reduce green house emissions greatly).
Thanks for the information! I'm seeing something about being able to use U.S. financial-aid at some of the schools. I havn't been able to qualify for it yet, due to my parents claiming me on their taxes. Yet not helping me out with paying for it. Whats your minimum wage? They finally changed ours to $6.95/hr, a small raise and still not enough money to move out on my own. Average apartment is $800-$1000/month. Which would leave me no money for food or gas. If anyone would like to chat you can email me at chabitz@gmail.com Im really interested in knowing what daily life is like in AU. cody1313 for AIM
