Vacationing Wages In Australia

There are several reasons, or rather excuses, why you want to breathe foreign air. Maybe you are just out of your college or been wretchedly laid off. Or maybe you just want to have some congenial break from your frantic lifestyle. I seriously don’t want to interfere with these personal motives of yours. However, if you are still wondering about the idyllic location for your adventurous holidays, consider flying to Australia.

The panorama of this island continent is enough to lure millions of tourists every year. However, such stupefying vistas can be witnessed in any tourist location. I am eulogizing Australia for its perfect landscape that equips you with holiday along with some pleasurable but real-money-earning work. And did I mention that you don’t have to take any additional pains to learn new foreign language? I didn’t? Okay, here it is. You don’t have to because they speak English.

You could probably gape at the marvelous blend of Aussie infrastructure, unobserved wildlife, and the cushy backdrops after you are done with the visa processing.

Acquiring a visa

I don’t really know how you react to the word ‘Visa’, but when this sound reaches my eardrums, horrendous nightmares and burden of terrifying formalities keeps me awake all night. However, it’s not as intricate as my feeling to acquire an Australian Working Holiday Visa (WHV). Unlike the chaotic procedure and heaps of manuscripts required too apply for any country, WHV is far too simple. Why? Because it’s online. The online application can be filled within 50 minutes which, thankfully, can be done from home without waiting at the end of the never-ending queue.

It took 3 days to get my visa approved, may be due to my languor because when I reached Australia, I found many visitors who didn’t have to wait even for a day to get it approved. Okay, key note – it will cost you around $195 Australian Dollar (approx 160 USD)

What kinds of jobs are available in Australia for visitors?

I am sure you aren’t seeking some certified professional job because your WHV is for few months. It is very much allowed but usually people don’t want to. A WHV holder can avail any kind of job he prefers to and it’s quite easy to find one. But if you want something that’s most uncomplicated to avail, go for jobs like tourism, hospitality (restaurants, inns), or fruit picking. That’s not your kind of job? I know you want some high-paying work that can at least help you to survive and splurge in Australia. These fruit picking jobs pay not less than $17/hr, which is higher than minimum wages in America.

If you like working in cattle farm and are already proficient in this occupation, you could earn as much as $1500/week. Quite surprising, isn’t it? However, that’s when you are well experienced and highly skilled in cattle farming. An average pay could vary anywhere between 300-800 AUD. And make sure that you carry all your wages home because these jobs are generally complemented with free stay and food.

Fruit Picking

When I learned for the first time that this job is quite common among visitors, I almost laughed at their silliness. However, I worked in such fruit fields for around 5 months and am quite assured that no other job is as entertaining and satisfying as Fruit picking. They paid me around $18/hour. To find one, try searching a working hostel which can be easily found in every corner of the continent. These hostels are the cheapest shelter in Australia backed with assured job.

If you want to know the secret to extend your WHV tenure, work in any fruit picking field for more than 3 months. Do you really mind working for 3 months to get a 1-year extension? I don’t.

Agricultural Work

What’s better than working while witnessing the panorama of emerald ranches and inhaling the indigenous aroma of Australian loam? And guess what? You get $20/week. If you have no skills at all, like me, don’t fret. There are programs that train you on how to rally a sheep on your bike, ride a pony, erect fences, and change tractor gears. After ensuring that you have really adopted all these skills (yes, skills), they provide you with a job. Trust me; it’s very simple.

After my fruit picking job, I was trained in VisitOz that offered a 5 day course and a secure job in eastern farms. My training syllabus was something like this:

1. Learning to ride a motorbike (this may sound strange, but they use a bike to lug livestock)
2. Horse riding and lugging animals.
3. Erecting fences (not very sweet one, fences are barbed wires)
4. Driving a tractor (this was easy)
5. Chainsaw operation
6. Farming tools

This fun-filled, horribly whiffing 5-day training will cost you around $2000 AUD. This also includes assure job placement (if you pass their test), traveling, 9-day stay (5 day training + a night in Brisbane + 3 days at Rainbow beach to recover from blocked nose caused due to stanching livestock) + regular and scrumptious meals. However, it’s quite a profitable deal because you recover all the money quickly by earning around $200 per week.

Hospitality and Tourism jobs

VisitOz should have been named EarnInOz because it offers various opportunities to learn and work in almost all the fields.

Some jobs you can avail through this life-saving institution are:

1. House helper (this includes training to get a job in cookery, cleaning, babysitting, etc. I wouldn’t prefer these)
2. Working in a tavern (guys, don’t rely on this. They need ladies. So they won’t prefer me for this job)
3. Distance teaching (most of these hostels are far away, so kids are taught at their homes. I am not very good with books)

So, none of these really helped me. Hence, I opted for fruit picking and agriculture.

It’s not essential to acquire any of these certified programs. You can try to search a job on your own in any of the restaurants, or bars, or inns in Australia. However, it would be quite difficult to get one without such placement service.

If you like an aquatic life, there are several opportunities at the sea side and cruises.

Choose your bet.