Once you decide to move to the land Down Under, one of the first decisions you will have to make will be whether you want to start your new life as a contractor or go straight into a permanent role. Thankfully I have experienced both types of roles so LEMON's got you covered…
I arrived in Australia not knowing what I wanted outside of a tan. My first month in Australia consisted of two activities: (1) lying on the beach in Coogee and (2) hitting the bars of the Eastern Suburbs before deciding to start with contracting as it gave me more freedom and space to figure out what I wanted to do with my life. From here, I spent 18 months contracting with 3 different companies - first with nbn (Australia's largest telco) as a business analyst, then with the Department of Finance on a Target Operating Model project and finally with TAFE NSW on a transformation project as a process improvement analyst. With the working holiday visa, I was limited to 6 months stints at each (this has now changed to 12 months as of Feb 2022). I worked on some cool projects, got paid better than anything I could have ever imagined and generally worked from 9 to 5.30 (which was alien to me coming from a big 4 background!)
I enjoyed my time contracting but after 18 months, I was keen to get back into the big 4 environment and joined EY. Have a read through some of the pros and cons of each and make a decision which suits your situation upon arriving in Aus.
PERMANENT
PROS
Learning: Going straight into a big organisation (such as the big 4/ Accenture) will mean you will continue your learning at speed; working on cool and interesting projects in an intense environment where projects are never the same
Team Environment: The most pressing issue for me to return to permanent life was that I love working in teams but I also love the office environment - coffees, drinks, social events etc. are hugely important to me. This is not to say I didn’t work in some great teams while contracting but that sense of teaming is stronger when you are part of a big organisation such as EY
Career Development: When I think back on my 3.5 years at EY, I find it extremely hard to comprehend just how much I learned. Working on projects across Strategy, M&A, Operations, Risk and Technology with some of the smartest people I have ever come across was incredibly tough at times but also incredibly rewarding
It's always there! Once you have good experience working in global organisations, permanent roles will always be out there and available. I found that it actually helped me with interviews when I decided to look at perm roles - contracting proves that you have the ability to get dropped into projects, find your feet quickly and operate in the ambiguity…critical skills for any role in accounting or consulting
CONS
Finding your feet: Permanent roles are demanding from the offset. If you are someone that wants to ease yourself into life in Australia, committing to a permanent role may not be the for you. If you (like me) are unsure on what you want to do with your career, then the contracting route gives you much more flexibility and space to figure out what's next for you’re your career
Flexibility and Travel: Like many who make the trip to Australia, you may want to do some travelling in your first year. I was lucky enough to go to Bali for two weeks and spend four weeks travelling the east coast with 6 of my best friends from home. I am not sure a permanent employer would have been as open to 6 weeks of holidays in my first 12 months!
CONTRACTING
PROS
Great working hours: Generally your working hours will be 9 to 5.30 when contracting - this gives you the ability to spend your summer evenings surfing at Bondi, drinking cocktails at the Coogee pavilion or watching Home and Away reruns.
Great daily rates: When the recruiter called me with my first offer as a contractor, I couldn't believe my ears - it genuinely felt like I had won the lotto. Contracting is fairly lucrative with day rates for most roles giving you a much higher take home salary than you would have with perm roles.
Works perfectly with the Working Holiday Visa: One of the requirements with the working holiday visa is that you can only work at the same employer for 12 months (this used to be 6 months). Contract roles tend to be for 6 to 12 month terms so it aligns perfectly with the WH visa.
CONS
Your learning is up to yourself: With contracting roles, your remit is usually clearly defined. Whilst I did learn loads contracting, it's not with the same intensity and speed as you would get when working at a big consulting firm.
Uncertainty over what the future looks like: If you are a person who likes to have the safety net of a permanent role, contracting may not be for you. I had weeks in between starting my contracting roles where I didn't have a job and had no money coming in (which can be quiet scary in an expensive city like Sydney!)
If you have any other questions on contracting and permanent roles in Australia, feel free to reach out and we can chat further.
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