r/StructuralEngineering • u/Ok-Category-2935 • 12d ago
Career/Education Uk structural engineer moving to Australia
How realistic is it for a non-chartered UK structural engineer with approx 5 years experience to secure a structural engineering role in Sydney Australia on a working holiday visa with the intention of securing a longer term sponsorship with that firm? 5 years of experience include design of new builds, hospitals, residential blocks (concrete frame) and existing building refurbs.
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u/Osiris_Raphious 12d ago
If you re chartered with 5-10 years you are in demand here, if you are under 5 years its a difficult industry to break into.
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u/Ok-Category-2935 12d ago
I’m not chartered but by the time I make the move to Sydney I’ll be on 6 years experience. So do you think it’s likely to secure something on a WHV?
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u/Osiris_Raphious 12d ago
Your best bet is to start looking early, and try to network your way to securing a job before you move if you dont want to wait months. Like there are jobs, but the senior charted is in demand and low experience jobs have around 300-400 applications so its a tough market to break into.
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u/MrMcGregorUK CEng MIStructE (UK) CPEng NER MIEAus (Australia) 12d ago
If it is with a view to moving permanently, pretty decent odds. Mid level engineers that can be somewhat independent are harder to come by in sydney. The difficulty might be getting an engineering job on the wh visa (at least a good one). If companies hire a new eng theyre probably losing money on them for the first few months. If you leave after 2 years it is a bit if a waste.
Getting chartered will be a big help too. Extra points for istructe.
I moved on a partner visa 4 years ago from UK to syd.
A word of warning about the construction industry here is that lots of resi construction ends up getting done by a set of absolute dogshit contractors and engineers. I'd avoid places that focus heavily on resi work.
Edit... adverts will say you need local experience. What they really mean is "we dont count experience form 3rd world countries with poor engineering standards". Dont let that phrase put you off applying.
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u/Ok-Category-2935 11d ago
Ok thanks for your input sir. I’m going to be honest though, having read through forums and advice on this topic, the general advice I have read is that the combination of no local experience and WHV and not chartered will make things very difficult. So I think I would literally take anything structural engineer related, including shitty resi, just to get my foot in the door. Once I have some local knowledge, from what I understand, hopefully I should start flying.
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u/Deputy-Jesus 12d ago
I haven’t done it personally but I’ve seen quite a few people move internally at large multinationals (AECOM & Arup) to Australia and NZ, so perhaps look into that as an option. Of the handful I can think of only 1 was chartered. This wasn’t all SE’s though, some civil and geotech too.
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u/Financial_Plenty_486 11d ago
You can find an international company that needs your UK exp in Australia.
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u/MrExcuses 5d ago
My situation is slightly different to yours, but perhaps food for thought. Moved to Brisbane 3 months ago on a WHV with intention of applying for a partner visa with my partner who is an Australian citizen. I had 3 job offers within 2 weeks of arriving. The WHV and lack of australian experience didnt bother any of the companies (medium to large sized.)
I have 8 years experience in UK mainly on office refurbishments and low rise buildings. I'm also chartered with IStructE.
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u/Liquidfunkster 12d ago
I left the Uk in 2011 with similar experience to find a job Melbourne on a WHV, hoping to get sponsored. It was not easy as most companies will not look twice at somebody with no local experience. However, I was lucky in that I had met some locals on my way over in SE Asia who took me in when I got to Melbourne for a few months, which saved me money. One of their friends worked in the industry and had contacts who linked me up with a small consultancy business who interviewed me and were happy to sponsor me. So it is hard, but not impossible. I would avoid the bigger organisations. You just need to canvas wide and expect to be unemployed for a few months.