Perth Australia (real estate, find a job, construction)

[GreggB]

I have never been to Australia, but I have always been fascinated with the country. Especially the WESTERN coast around Perth. Does anyone know what the employment picture is like there for a CDL (tractor trailer) driver and for a pharmacy technician. Any info is appreciated!!

[haydskies]

Originally Posted by GreggB

I have never been to Australia, but I have always been fascinated with the country. Especially the WESTERN coast around Perth. Does anyone know what the employment picture is like there for a CDL (tractor trailer) driver and for a pharmacy technician. Any info is appreciated!!

No idea about any specifics, but I'll give you some links to a few of our online job classifieds - usually pretty effective
www.careerone.com.au
www.seek.com.au
www.mycareer.com.au

The list goes on, but try them for now, I'm sure you'll find something! Perth is nice...

[plugga7]

Well Western Australia is going through an absolute BOOM at the moment due to the many mining and resources projects either in production or soon to be in production. Very good wages available in this industry - truck drivers are definitely caught up in the demand. Not sure about Pharmacy tech's, but people are always getting sick, so who knows.

Most of the mine sites are located in remote areas, so if the thought of two weeks on, two weeks off, Fly in-fly out (from Perth) sounds like your thing, then you should definitely consider it.

Going south of Perth (Margaret River, Busselton), that area is pretty nice, especially if you like surfing and the occasional drop of wine! Plus it's always a bit cooler than Perth which can get a bit hot in summer.

[azza-bazoo]

I feel obliged to sign up just to comment on this thread :-)

If you can drive any of the vehicles used in construction or in mining, you can get a job here in about thirty nanoseconds. These jobs start at roughly A$50-60 thousand a year. There are also shortages of staff in other sectors (other kinds of driving, hospitality staff, medical techs, etc.) but they're not so severe. plugga7 is right that most of the work, and the highest-paying work, is at the mine sites in the north of WA, and that generally means fly-in fly-out, but many employers in Perth are also short-staffed.

Perth is often rated as a nice place to live, we have top-notch beaches and good weather (not counting the hot summer). That said the nightlife is scattered around (you need to know where to look), and it's a minimum 4-5 hour flight if you want to visit anywhere other than the forest areas to the south or the dry regions to the north.

One thing to note, if you come here to work, the Australian immigration department can be a pain in the backside. There's info at www.immi.gov.au (Federal government) and www.migration.wa.gov.au (State government).

P.S. You guys know that the right hand city picture at the top of this page is Perth, right? ;-)

[urbandeco]

did not!! cool. Where is the left side pic?

[azza-bazoo]

I was going to answer "no idea", I only recognised Perth because I live here ;-)

But after some digging through Wikipedia and Flickr, I'm fairly certain that the left picture is Seattle, taken from the Space Needle but flipped left-right.

Interesting that both Seattle and Perth are cities built next to large bodies of water, but neither photo shows that ...

[mon Cherie]

Originally Posted by GreggB

I have never been to Australia, but I have always been fascinated with the country. Especially the WESTERN coast around Perth. Does anyone know what the employment picture is like there for a CDL (tractor trailer) driver and for a pharmacy technician. Any info is appreciated!!

I hope you find a way to come to Western Australia.. I only registered on this forum to encourage you because I live here (300 miles north of Perth) and I am a Pharmacy Assistant.. (not exactly a technician.. lesser than a technician I guess, I am a hospital pharmacy assistant, trained on the job)
I don't think a tractor trailer driver will have any problem finding work.. like an earlier poster commented, we have a booming economy.. especially in the mining sector, but you would make the most money quickly up north of Western Australia or in the mining towns which might be a bit of a culture shock at first.. they are a bit isolated. With regards to finding pharmacy technician work, enquire in the hospitals. Hospitals are often looking for experienced pharmacy technicians.. if not a hospital, you'll find a job in retail as a dispensary assistant in no time..
If you are coming from the USA the exchange rate will favor you.. more Aussie dollars in your pocket.
Australia is a good country and the laws are still just and fair for everyone..
Good luck and God bless you

[manlybeach]

I live in Sydney, but the Western Australia mining boom is always in the news. One thing other respondents did not mention is that, although jobs and salaries are plentiful, housing is the opposite: scarce and outrageously expensive. Perth real estate has gone gonzo. Also - I read an article reporting that a WA mining town has resorted to importing air conditioned shipping containers for housing - and that's the "better" accommodation. I don't know the details as well as locals would, but it's something you should look into in your planning.

[iyam]

MY husband is a RN in KSA. what's his opportunity in finding a job in perth?

[GreggB]

Thanks to all for the responses!!