# how much should i expect (salary)?



## lumandai (Nov 10, 2010)

Hi there, 
I am from singapore and being offered a job in Oil & Gas company in Brisbane. But I am not sure how much should salary that I should expect?
Now in Sngapore i am earning about S$7000/mth. I am having just above average lifestyle here.
What is the range of salary for executive/engineer/office in Brisbane?

Any advice are welcome!


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## EE-India (May 16, 2009)

lumandai said:


> Hi there,
> I am from singapore and being offered a job in Oil & Gas company in Brisbane. But I am not sure how much should salary that I should expect?
> Now in Sngapore i am earning about S$7000/mth. I am having just above average lifestyle here.
> What is the range of salary for executive/engineer/office in Brisbane?
> ...


Hays Salary Guide


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## joeman (Apr 19, 2009)

Hi,

Congratulations on getting an offer. It is not easy to get a job offer but you are very fortunate. 

In Singapore, you earnings is not "just above average lifestyle", you are already in the top 20% category of high payers in Singapore as most average earners are fetching $3K to $5K.

Howeer, you have to weight heavily on your decision to come here because you have to scarifice some opportunity costs for the benefit of coming here. 

Generally, Singapore has the most expensive cars and houses but it is cheaper here. 

On the other hand, you may have to scacrifice your career advancement as maybe in Singapore, you are a key personnel in your dept or organisation but remember that Australia has a large migrant influx and thus competition will be stiff when you are fighting with the best. 

The next thing you need to know is that the tax here is high and thus the higher the salary, the higher the tax bracket and whatever you have after your tax will be needed to pay for rental, car etc. 

So, for your SG salary of $7,000, you bring back net about $6,000 plus but you have a 33% of your salary into CPF which is about $1,400 per month and that works about $15,000 a year. So, you can pay back your house faster. 

In Australia, you should be offered around $7K to $9K a month, you take back about $6k plus but if you have a house, it will suck away $2,500 in mortage for a 30 years full loan and then another $700 for car etc and if you have kids, you have to spend again and you will have just enough. 

So generally, you keep MORE money in Singapore. 

Make sure you also have sufficient funds for your Singapore CPF to pay for your house back home so that you don't have to remit money back. 

But the no. 1 reason why Singaporean migrate is for their kids. Most parents dont mind pushing aside career advancement for their kids to get the best in their future...






lumandai said:


> Hi there,
> I am from singapore and being offered a job in Oil & Gas company in Brisbane. But I am not sure how much should salary that I should expect?
> Now in Sngapore i am earning about S$7000/mth. I am having just above average lifestyle here.
> What is the range of salary for executive/engineer/office in Brisbane?
> ...


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## sunny_73 (Jun 20, 2010)

Hi,
What Joe said is correct.
Your career advancement might be better in Singapore and it also offers better taking home money compare to Aussie.
But, as you know, working life style in Singapore is quite stressful and cars, accomodation, etc.....are more attractive in Aussie. And one more thing is the retirement life style in Singapore. You know that.
So, if you like the different life style, you can move there. Or, if you like more saving and keyrole in your job, stay in Singapore.

This is what I observed. Others may have different views.

Good day,



lumandai said:


> Hi there,
> I am from singapore and being offered a job in Oil & Gas company in Brisbane. But I am not sure how much should salary that I should expect?
> Now in Sngapore i am earning about S$7000/mth. I am having just above average lifestyle here.
> What is the range of salary for executive/engineer/office in Brisbane?
> ...


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## lumandai (Nov 10, 2010)

sunny_73 said:


> Hi,
> What Joe said is correct.
> Your career advancement might be better in Singapore and it also offers better taking home money compare to Aussie.
> But, as you know, working life style in Singapore is quite stressful and cars, accomodation, etc.....are more attractive in Aussie. And one more thing is the retirement life style in Singapore. You know that.
> ...



Hi guys, 

thank you so much for the info.. do you mean that its not easy to get job there in Queensland? Yes, Queensland..

How about getting around 150kAUD /per annum? i am nervous when it comes to salary / benefits part..because i am just too afraid its not enough to survive.

Regards,


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## sunny_73 (Jun 20, 2010)

lumandai said:


> Hi guys,
> 
> thank you so much for the info.. do you mean that its not easy to get job there in Queensland? Yes, Queensland..
> 
> ...


Hi,

No, not necessarily to take it as difficult in Qld. We are just talking about nature of the two work environments. It might be the case as what Joe said in his 5th paragraph. This is an important factor when you make the decision. 

150K is big bucks my friend. You don't have to worry for survival.

Cheers,


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## EE-India (May 16, 2009)

lumandai said:


> Hi there,
> I am from singapore and being offered a job in Oil & Gas company in Brisbane. But I am not sure how much should salary that I should expect?
> Now in Sngapore i am earning about S$7000/mth. I am having just above average lifestyle here.
> What is the range of salary for executive/engineer/office in Brisbane?
> ...


Hi


150K is good salary for QLD and it should keep you happy in all the ways than Singapore 

Use this link to calculate your net salary after TAX , 

TaxCalc - Calculate your income tax and your tax cut

*7000 S$ = 5500 AUD*, keep this in mind when you calculate local salary

I assume you are coming in 457 visa and you will be paid Living Away From Home Allowance (LAFHA) which is tax free 

Oil & Gas salary is much higher than the other industries so your case will not be identical with other people here

No tension, come and enjoy Oz


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## joeman (Apr 19, 2009)

Hi lumandai,

I am concern that you mentioned that you are going to get 150KAUD/yr and is worried about benefits.

The reason is that in order to command that sort of salary, either you are in the management role or a very senior specialist and you have really have the confidence to do that job. 

And I am worried that because you do not have that local experience to understand the culture here, you will have a bit of tough time because you are need to work with a range of people and vendor with different laws and expectations. Please read this thread I post a couple of days ago about IT Indian Managment, read the way people post and you can expect competitions from all group coming in and some tell your boss that they are cheaper and can replace you anytime. 

If you are concern about putting food on the table, a migrant from poor part of the world will not be worried when they come to Australia because they have nothing to lose and come here with 2 luggages. What about you ? Have you got a lot to lose and consider ? 

eg your career in Singapore, your house mortage in Singapore, your family support, your kid education ? Do you have a backup plan when you lost your job ? 

At 150K, you will be expected to delivery more. You have to be really good at your technical and people skill to drive results. Unlike Asean countries, you cannot shout or punish your staff or vendor unjustly, you can be sued or they can leave you high and dry. 

In a nutshell, when I read your salary range in Singapore, I think you are in a senior specialist role or a manager role in your company in Singapore and to compare on par in Australia, most specialist professional are commanding about $70K to $90K/year.


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## EE-India (May 16, 2009)

lumandai said:


> Hi there,
> I am from singapore and being offered a job in Oil & Gas company in Brisbane. But I am not sure how much should salary that I should expect?
> Now in Sngapore i am earning about S$7000/mth. I am having just above average lifestyle here.
> What is the range of salary for executive/engineer/office in Brisbane?
> ...



Hi Mate

If you are from IT, I will be a silent watcher of this thread, but since we are from same field (Oil & Gas), I think it is important to express my view here

Graduate engineer is getting paid 80K in Oil & Gas industry here and for the middle management level (6 to 10 Years exp), 140 to 180 K is very nominal salary. For instance my sal is 188.4 K to work as senior engineer in Darwin (you can check my offer letter in other thread). I am not doing any rocket science, it is the same typical detailed engineering job we do it back in Asia and Middle East. To make it clear, it is easier than working in Middle East, with decent work load. If you complete a project in 6 months in Asia, it takes at least 9 to 12 months here ….this is how it goes in Australia. Offcourse it does not mean that you can sit back and relax but you need to have basic competency to handle the job 

Lead Engineers are paid 220K AUD and Engineering managers > 240 K AUD , salary is fixed based on skill set , experience and demand , not based on race , check the attachment….

People are commenting here without knowing the history of projects like Gorgon, APLNG and many more multy billion dollar projects getting executed in Australia right now…ignore their ignorance…. Australia Oil& Gas market is growing very rapidly and skilled engineers are in demand always …if you are still confused , PM me your email id , I will introduce some of my Malaysian / Singaporean friends who working in Australia for many years in Oil & Gas industry , they can explain you the way you understand


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## sunny_73 (Jun 20, 2010)

EE-India said:


> Hi Mate
> 
> If you are from IT, I will be a silent watcher of this thread, but since we are from same field (Oil & Gas), I think it is important to express my view here
> 
> ...


EE,
Sounds like I also need to change to O&G. I am Civil Engineer but the pay is not that good. Any idea for the range of offer for Civil Engineers? Please don't refer to Hays. I got that.

Cheers,


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## syncsam (Feb 5, 2009)

EE-India said:


> Hi Mate
> 
> If you are from IT, I will be a silent watcher of this thread, but since we are from same field (Oil & Gas), I think it is important to express my view here
> 
> ...


Hi EE-India,

Any job opportunity for an electrical engineer without experience in O&G industry and would like to make career switch to the O&G industry?


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## EE-India (May 16, 2009)

sunny_73 said:


> EE,
> Sounds like I also need to change to O&G. I am Civil Engineer but the pay is not that good. Any idea for the range of offer for Civil Engineers? Please don't refer to Hays. I got that.
> 
> Cheers,


140 to 180 K is applicable to all disciplines (Civil, mechanical, electrical, process and I & C) with 6 to 10 years relevant Oil & Gas experience 

BTW, you are in which industry now and what is the salary for above level


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## sunny_73 (Jun 20, 2010)

EE-India said:


> 140 to 180 K is applicable to all disciplines (Civil, mechanical, electrical, process and I & C) with 6 to 10 years relevant Oil & Gas experience
> 
> BTW, you are in which industry now and what is the salary for above level


EE,

Thanks, your reply motivates me.
I am in construction engineering (Infrastructure) with past experience of 10years and am quite new to Aussie land. I am now looking for a new job. Our industry may have range of 80-130k for Project Engineer. I am not so sure. The figures you said are quite interesting.


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## EE-India (May 16, 2009)

sunny_73 said:


> EE,
> 
> Thanks, your reply motivates me.
> I am in construction engineering (Infrastructure) with past experience of 10years and am quite new to Aussie land. I am now looking for a new job. Our industry may have range of 80-130k for Project Engineer. I am not so sure. The figures you said are quite interesting.


Good Luck


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## sunny_73 (Jun 20, 2010)

lumandai said:


> Hi guys,
> 
> thank you so much for the info.. do you mean that its not easy to get job there in Queensland? Yes, Queensland..
> 
> ...


Hi,

Any update? You grabbed the job?


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## temporary (Apr 5, 2010)

Im definitely changing careers....I am a programme leader/senior lecturer at a uni and have a phd and 20 years experience in my field and will only get around £100K pa when I go back to Oz


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## lumandai (Nov 10, 2010)

Hi guys,

still have no news since the first interview about few month back. but they did call me back for another interview last month. I am yet waiting anxiously their offer if any. 

i definitely update you guys if i made it..



temporary said:


> Im definitely changing careers....I am a programme leader/senior lecturer at a uni and have a phd and 20 years experience in my field and will only get around £100K pa when I go back to Oz


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## hagen (Mar 5, 2011)

Hi guys..

This question is for EE-INDIA since we are in the Oil & Gas industry as well. 


Really appreciate if you can give some advice.

What about 9years of working experience in IT&T?
what salary should i expect? I am expecting some feedback from recruiter (Brisbane) maybe in the next few week. So, i am starting to prepare myself to survey the salary + benefits part.

By the way, I am from Malaysia. Earning about RM10000/mth. 
Hope can get some advice from you.

J.Hagen


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## EE-India (May 16, 2009)

hagen said:


> Hi guys..
> 
> This question is for EE-INDIA since we are in the Oil & Gas industry as well.
> 
> ...


Hi Mate

I am happy to assist you , but please can you explain what is IT & T in Oil & Gas Industry !!

If you belong to any of the core engineering streams like Mechanical, Process & Electrical , then HAYS salary guide attached on previous post will be very much applicable. 

However Your first job in Oz is always exceptional


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## hagen (Mar 5, 2011)

Hi EE,

Thank you for your response. 

I am not belong to core engineering. Its related to subsurface (upstream). Very close to the Geoscience support.

I had a look at the Hays Salary guide you sent but doesnt really fall into any of the category.,  its stated there that the position will be on local terms. 

Hope to get the job. 




EE-India said:


> Hi Mate
> 
> I am happy to assist you , but please can you explain what is IT & T in Oil & Gas Industry !!
> 
> ...


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## hagen (Mar 5, 2011)

*med check done, whats next normally?*

Hi EE,

I've gone through 1st and 2nd interview then done my medical checkup here in home country. Results sent to recruiter.. now whats next? is this normal practice in OZ specially in O&G industry?

Havent got any offer yet, still waiting .. hope to hear some good news but not sure what stage my application is right now.

Can someone explain or advice whats the recruiting process looks like?
i am not in australia right now and dont have any visa yet..

here are the process i gone through so far:
1. 1st interview (phone)
2. 2nd interview (video conference)
3. Reference Check and Medical done
4. ... not sure
5. ... hope to arrive in Australia already. :eyebrows:

Praying to get some good news and offer soon..


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## hagen (Mar 5, 2011)

Hi guys,

I GOT THE JOB! hooray!..i just return back the signed employment contract today via courier.

It will be under visa 457 (we are still in hometown), and will bring my wife + 2yrs old son with us.
Job will be in Brisbane, with AUD100k salary packages. Including relocation (shipments), relocation allowances, flight ticket for us, and few weeks stay in hotel until we got our own house & car.

Am i eligible for LAFHA? after tax deduction etc, my financial budget does not really look good.


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## ricks1088 (Mar 10, 2011)

U can avail LAFHA on anything above base salary which is currently 71K. Check with your employer if they participate in LAFHA program!

Congrats on the offer!!!


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## hagen (Mar 5, 2011)

Thank you rick!

i did asked my employer last two weeks and they gave me a form for me to fill up, after return back the form and they evaluate they said that i am not entitle for LAFHA. my mistake because in that form i choosed 'not returning back to Malaysia'..

so, i sent the HR another email just now and ask if i can re-apply the LAFHA. well, might look bad on me but .. 






ricks1088 said:


> U can avail LAFHA on anything above base salary which is currently 71K. Check with your employer if they participate in LAFHA program!
> 
> Congrats on the offer!!!


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