# Mechanical Engineering in Brisbane



## NikolayS (Aug 26, 2015)

Hello everyone,
I'm planing to move to Australia in February 2016. So, I'm wondering if anyone could give me an idea about the job market for a mechanical engineer in Brisbane. I already know the basics about a relatively bad market situation and so on. But it would be really nice if someone shared a story about a job hunting as a mechanical engineer. 
I have 7 years of experience in oil and gas as a project engineer / mechanical engineer. Currently I'm a senior product engineer who is in charge of products development for subsea industry. Due to the oil market today, I'm ready to switch the role to any engineering related industry, such as construction or mechanical engineering.
I've read a few stories about a job hunting, and I realize that it will take more than a few weeks as opposed to how it was 2-3 years ago. However, I'm really interested if it is really so desperate as some ppl claim, like fighting for a "corner shop shelves manager", or it is realistic to enter the job market within 3-6 months.
BTW. What do you think about applying for jobs in Sydney and Melbourne while being in Brisbane? Will recruiters treat such applications similar to oversea ones, or they will be more relax to accept it if a guy lives in Brisbane?


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## tosss (Jan 19, 2015)

I am exactly in the same situation as you are. 5 years of experience as a mechanical project engineer in oil and gas.
I've been searching for a job from overseas for 6 months now without success.
Let me know how it goes


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## NikolayS (Aug 26, 2015)

Hi tosss,
Have you been trying to apply for job positions in all the cities or a specific one?
Have you managed to get any replies/phone calls?


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## cyberkidpk (Sep 9, 2013)

Finally some engineers 

Well guys, I am in the same boat, been applying like crazy for O&G roles from Abroad.

I have background in Field Instrumentation & Control for EPC & Maintenance with 7 years under my belt.
You got the market situation right, it's worse. 
As for the job roles, it certainly does matter where you are physically in Australia when they need a guy on urgent basis.
However, majority of recruiters do consider you even if you live in Sydney or Melbourne etc ( one of my electrical friend got a Perth based job from Sydney)
I have another Mechanical friend (project engineer) with 8 years experience in petrochemicals struggling to find a job even after 3 months in Brisbane 

As for applying from offshore, I have been doing it for the last 6 months but did not get shortlisted.
Mostly got a standard reply saying that we have a better candidate or you are not what we are looking for etc.
I also called recruiters after applying however many of them simply say they have not shortlisted the candidates yet or you are abroad and we need a candidate NOW.

It is certainly not like middle east where you can easily bag a role if you start searching for one month. I am arriving in Oct , get in touch to share the experiences.

Cheers


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## mr. mittens (Aug 27, 2015)

Mechanical project engineer here - 8 years in oil and gas, been living in Brisbane with PR since Feb.

The oil industry is dying with some major layoffs currently happening, like the rest of the world. Same with mining. As a result, the market is currently flooded with engineers just like you and I, and a number of sponsored expats are being sent home early. I haven't had a single call back from any application, and the number of job postings has been noticeably declining over the last couple months. There is lots of civil work and mechanical work, specifically in HVAC, but without 5+ years experience in that field, they aren't interested. I've seen several job postings that specify anyone with oil and gas or FIFO experience in the last 2-3 years shouldn't bother applying. That says a lot. 

I may leave in the next few months and try again in a couple years when things settle down. I recommend you stay away for now as there are signs of a looming recession that will make things worse before they get better.


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## NikolayS (Aug 26, 2015)

2 mr.mittens
Quite worrying feedbacks.
When you say "mechanical work", do you mean office work related to production and machining?
What sort of job ads you have been applying mostly?


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## bossshakil (Nov 8, 2014)

OMG ! quite frustrating !!

I am also a Mechanical Engineer with 7 years Oil & Gas related experience. Moreover I have not any field related experience (office based instrument service/support engineering) which may cause more frustration in job search...

I am waiting for 190 Visa in SA (Adelaide). Is there any good news from SA??

Seems we have to depend upon the casual jobs


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## NikolayS (Aug 26, 2015)

From what I understand, there is no much hope for any sort of workshop/offshore type of work related to oil and gas. It is very well paid, and, consequently, there will be high competition with local guys.
I tend to believe that this sort of experience background might even play a negative role in the job hunting due to the market flooded with service engineers. Many companies reduce production and maintenance programs these days.
If one have the office type of experience, it would be better for potential job hunting for a similar role comparing to having service engineering experience and trying to apply for office jobs.
I think we should be realistic and forget about finding a job in oil and gas  
I'm looking towards any sort of industrial engineering, manufacturing, or civil engineering. However, for the last one, relevant experience is highly essential.


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## Kwebs (Aug 29, 2015)

*Eng*

Greetings nice to see some fellow mechanical engineers. I been looking for work for almost 6 months now in Perth ( project manager experience in mining and plant design). I agree that the job market now is pretty rough especially for mining here. Every position i applied for project engineer, project manager, planning, cost or related is flooded with 200+ applications. I managed to get a few interviews but nothing else. 

From what i have seen so far i can tell you this:

1. be patient
2. bring money to stay for at least 6 months
3. HVAC design is on demand right now but with prior experience
4. Oil and gas and mining are dead right now, nothing new 
5. Most applications here gets 200+ CVs (asked to recruiters)
6. FMCG on QLD, NSW and VIC is an option if you have experience in projects or operations

The best bet right now is to wait and see what happens in the next months, 

Kind regards and good luck


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## tosss (Jan 19, 2015)

Seems like things arent so good down there. Not sure what to do next.


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## spiritstallion (Apr 26, 2014)

Oh my beloved dreamers, you and your dreams, come to papa 
Well, I'm here for 5 months +.... literally "Living the dream".. and I wouldn't say its bad I would rather call it "dead" until further notice, they say its going to be until End of 2016 (when oil prices recover)... Mechanical Engineering specifically is so ruined that even some Aussies are laid off.. Wonder what's behind keeping the SOL open, believe there is some sort of $$ benefit for allowing more victims to come.

I`ll summarize in points how it looks like:
*Mech. Engineers applying from offshore.... (HAHAHAHA )
*Being a generalist engineer isn`t any good..i`m one from Oil&gas services for Offshore /subsea (diving offshore projects and some maintenance planning for equipment) I have NDT lvl II (american one) here its ,literally, trashed.... remember my word (an island culture way of thinking) no way of even recognizing rather than paying 12-15k AUD for training+ certification.
So bear in mind how worthy are your certifications in Australia are.

*SAP and alike are useful but still. I have an extra Good skill set of SAP MM, PM, PS noticed that its really on demand (contacted a couple of times, but even this doesn't tolerate the fact that the market is kinda dead)

* Employers are demanding and the flood of unemployed engineers allows them
realistic numbers from a friend, if you search Seek.com.au for a "mechanical engineer" in 2012 results were 600+, today its ~200 of which most are fake garbage recruiters scams.

*If you wanna come, do it on your own, please don`t get your family.. i`m on my own and i`m already seeing a psych. and all my life savings are GONE for good, now getting support (but looking at the bright side i knew what to do) regardless of your nationality, Australia is the 3rd most expensive country, meanwhile, brisbane is the CHEAPEST state to last longer before you starve out  on your own you need 20k+ to last a year including extra costs for driving license and courses and similar.

*"Corner shop shelf manager" you won`t even get that not even the shelf cleaner because (from experience) these jobs have TRILLIONS applying for them mainly winners are high school leavers and teenagers because "legally" they get paid 14$/hr.. i tried with coles &woolworth EVEN with networking my landlord who is Aussie got me with a duty manager, still zero chances!
In Australia the word Engineering is reputable but, its not recognized elsewhere except in Engineering! so for Logistics, warehousing, trades, general labouring.... a Cert III is more valueable than my production Engineering B.Sc (which is a mechanical, industrial, logistics hybrid).

*Atm i finished my Queensland Cert III guarantee, I got certificate III in logistics (30 hrs course) and a Forklift License which believe it or not will improve your chances in landing a 25$-37$ job HIGHLY.
And guess what? i met two Professional mechanical engineers in that course one was a 20 yrs exp HVAC engineer and the other was a Santos engineer who was just laid off for the oil crisis. 
This is the way to go.... And I signed a contract for a Labouring recruiter (Manpower) which is quite reputable, Searching on your own, chances are LOW that you will get anything on your. This 6 month contract prevents you from getting any other job (I would n`t stop searching in engineering sure but will try to reach a settlement if i found such) 

*So should you come or not? depend on one thing, are you ready to compromise engineering and make money since the start, working as a driver/stores person, forklift operator until you land something in Engineering? otherwise if you want to gamble and come with all your life savings and TRY to land a Mech. engineering job over a year or two or three I would say stay in Norway my friend specially if you have a family which will shorten your longevity here and increase the psychological toll . And I'm really really happy seeing my frustrations, and struggle is of any use to help others avoid my misfortunes (lost chances) so you can come yes.. but you have to be ready to find ANY lower/mid job.. 
I have seen others who work in low pay 10-12$ jobs on the hope of finding an engineering job but I believe finding a GOOD (back breaking) role is the best choice... cause at the end your income as a full timer.. will be like engineering if not better..

Last thing, there is an "Overseas experienced engineers program" in Perth for 6 months, its the only one remaining, used to be in all other states but thanks to "funding cuts" over the last couple of years.. sorrowfully, i had no way of knowing about it before i come.. so you might really consider investing this money. why? the intern-ship part at the end, you choose an employer of your CHOICE to be placed with for 12 weeks, and there is a good chance you will be employed with that company after all.
My Whatsapp is +201142288764 if you want keep in touch i`m really more than welcoming.
I didn`t mention the employers feedback for engineering through the last 5 months but basically, its like that feeling when you throw a stone in a well and wait for the echo to understand how deep roughly it would be . An ULTRA MEGA SUPER ZERO.... fake/overwhelmed opportunities. although I applied precisely near to my speciality and with will written specific over letters.
Good luck to all.


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## mr. mittens (Aug 27, 2015)

Between 3000 and 5000 layoffs have been announced among the big oil companies in the last couple weeks. It's going to get much worse before it gets better. I'm making plans to leave soon. Oh and $20k per year for living costs mentioned above will barely cover rent in a distant suburb unless you live like a university student in a share house with 6 others people and eat nothing but ramen noodles and fruit stolen from the neighborhood trees. Budget at least $2500/month to live reasonable comfortably.


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## dineshngct (Jul 23, 2014)

Hi Friends,

I got my 189 Visa. But really worried that whether to make move soon or later.

By seeing this thread many are from Oil & Gas domain but mine is in product design. if you have any idea on the current trends on this domain means please let me know.

I am working as a Senior Mechanical Design Engineer with total 7+ years of experience. 

Last 2+ years in Electro Mechanical (sensor) product design

Previous 3 years I was working in Sensor Bearings Design & development

Initial 2 years in Automotive Powertrain component design, drafting.

Please advice me on the current market and opportunity / possibility for my profile.

May be people who are currently in Australia (either searching or landed a job) may provide clear idea.

I am planning to land by next year Feb 2016. Your input's may help me to decide on it.


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## NikolayS (Aug 26, 2015)

Thank you guys for the replies. Can't say that I'm happy about what I've heard , but that that is how the thing are, so I have to deal with it.
What worries me is that I might not be able to find any jobs at all. I'm ready to start my carrier from zero, but will I be given a chance? 
We will have around 35k-40k of saving. It should be enough to survive for 6months. But then what? There are no signs of any market recovery really. Considering the oil prices, there will be no chances for us to get our jobs back if we decide to come back to Norway. 

*2 spiritstallion*
Could you advise where have you gotten your Cert III? Is it possible to gain any meaningful Cert III pertaining to engineering from overseas?
I have checked the Forklift certs. Seems like it is possible to get it within few days for 550 AUD.
Any hints on HVAC certs which can be obtained remotely?
If the market will be as depressing as now, I might consider postponing the trip from February to August. 

What do you, guys, think about working towards RPEQ qualification? Is it realistic to obtain it been abroad, does it give any value in entering the market?


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## saleh91 (Dec 7, 2014)

I'm a 24 year old HVAC design Engineer and just moved to Sydney 2 week ago on a 18month working visa. It seems that the market is generally down with an unstable OZ dollar and the country getting close to a recession...

Let me put it this way, I was planing to come here to get any engineering job or 12month (even for minimum wage) in order to get my missing 5 points for visa 189. I was anticipating that this place is like the gulf region and if you are willing to get paid less than what you are worth, then it would be really easy to get a job, however I'm starting to think that is is not the case here.. basically there are just not enough jobs to go around + they are very open to skilled immigration, which leads to believing that there is a shortage of skilled works, but doesn't seem to be entirely true.

Well reading this thread and other treads got me thinking... should I stay in this place and blow off my savings..? or should I just cut my loses short and quit now and go back to my job in Saudi Arabia..?

Spiritstallion... It seems that you have been here long enough to have a realistic insight on the whole thing.. so what is your input?


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## cdpothen (Aug 4, 2012)

Hi Saleh,

I have absolutely no clue about HVAC or the engineering industry but reading the below two lines, I felt i had to respond. Since you have an option of going back to your job in Saudi, I would recommend doing that than take a risk here and spend your savings and get frustrated. You can always try again when the market improves. 

" Well reading this thread and other treads got me thinking... should I stay in this place and blow off my savings..? or should I just cut my loses short and quit now and go back to my job in Saudi Arabia..? "



saleh91 said:


> I'm a 24 year old HVAC design Engineer and just moved to Sydney 2 week ago on a 18month working visa. It seems that the market is generally down with an unstable OZ dollar and the country getting close to a recession...
> 
> Let me put it this way, I was planing to come here to get any engineering job or 12month (even for minimum wage) in order to get my missing 5 points for visa 189. I was anticipating that this place is like the gulf region and if you are willing to get paid less than what you are worth, then it would be really easy to get a job, however I'm starting to think that is is not the case here.. basically there are just not enough jobs to go around + they are very open to skilled immigration, which leads to believing that there is a shortage of skilled works, but doesn't seem to be entirely true.
> 
> ...


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## thehero (Jul 13, 2015)

Anyone knows what the job market is like for Electrical Engineers? Recently got my 189 and still debating whether to quit my job and move permanently, or to go and activate my visa, come back to my job and wait maybe a year or two....


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## OmSaad (Mar 6, 2014)

Hello everyone
A mechanical engineer here with 6 years of experience in sales (engineering sales) 3 years in HVAC and 3 years in power and control cables 
We have landed in Melbourne last year and loved it, together with my wife we decided to settle there in mid-November 2015
During this year I have done quit bit of search and study, below are my ideas and thoughts as points for easier discussion 

1-	Why Melbourne? we have friends there and they helped us a lot during our 2 weeks stay, so I would imagine they will be very helpful during the first year + Melbourne has calm and rush free tempo as oppose to Sydney + the number of job vacancies found online for Melbourne and Sydney are the highest among the rest of Australia + public transportation is very convenient, we could save on car for the few months at least.

2-	I spent around 7 months applying for jobs from Dubai , however as everyone else I got the standard rejection ,but I also received a handful of “ you were not selected for an interview because you are offshore” , I took that as a good sign to at least set for interviews while there 

3-	My application although im a mechanical engineer was for sales positions, technical sales rep. , basically my current experience, I never applied for design or project engineering.

4-	I have noticed that for the Australian market in general there is no major project awarding , job market at current stage is focused on service , sales , trade jobs 

5-	A friend of mine ( mechanical engineer with 7 years of project engineering experience ) found a job after 6 months of search , he’s in Adelaide , of all the tips he provided me with , the clearest one was “be patient it’s going to take time” 

6-	My first year budget is AUD 60k, is this enough?

7-	continuing study is also an option , especially if the 1st year went dry with no jobs , looking at commonwealth supported places for a good master’s degree


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## saleh91 (Dec 7, 2014)

Well just felt like I should share with you guys that today I got a job offer in an HVAC company. The pay was basically minimum wage with a promise to increase in one month if my work is good. I have 1.5 years of experience in HVAC and I'm on an 18 month working visa (476). I have been in Sydney since 2 weeks.


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## cyberkidpk (Sep 9, 2013)

saleh91 said:


> Well just felt like I should share with you guys that today I got a job offer in an HVAC company. The pay was basically minimum wage with a promise to increase in one month if my work is good. I have 1.5 years of experience in HVAC and I'm on an 18 month working visa (476). I have been in Sydney since 2 weeks.


Congrats mate


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## OmSaad (Mar 6, 2014)

saleh91 said:


> Well just felt like I should share with you guys that today I got a job offer in an HVAC company. The pay was basically minimum wage with a promise to increase in one month if my work is good. I have 1.5 years of experience in HVAC and I'm on an 18 month working visa (476). I have been in Sydney since 2 weeks.


congratulations Saleh , wish you all the best


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## thehero (Jul 13, 2015)

Congrats!






saleh91 said:


> Well just felt like I should share with you guys that today I got a job offer in an HVAC company. The pay was basically minimum wage with a promise to increase in one month if my work is good. I have 1.5 years of experience in HVAC and I'm on an 18 month working visa (476). I have been in Sydney since 2 weeks.


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## swapnil1706 (Aug 18, 2015)

tosss said:


> I am exactly in the same situation as you are. 5 years of experience as a mechanical project engineer in oil and gas.
> I've been searching for a job from overseas for 6 months now without success.
> Let me know how it goes


Seems jobs in Oil and Gas industry is spiraling down, I in process of applying under 189 Class and I am Chemical Engineer. Currently i m in UAE in Project Management of EPC with +14 years experience, guys can you share me your experience on the Job availability for Chemical Project Engineer and which place I should be target for settling . 

Looking forward for all your valuable advice


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## Moamen (Sep 1, 2013)

Mechanical engineers who landed there already, please update us with your experience so far for job hunting and the market.


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## dineshngct (Jul 23, 2014)

Hi Saleh,

Congrats!

I am a Mechanical Design Engineer, having 7+ years of experience in Electro Mechanical products design. I am planning to land in Aus by next year Feb.

I hope by this time you might be aware of current market opportunities for Mechanical Design jobs. Kindly put up your views on the Job profiles in demand for Mechanical domain



saleh91 said:


> Well just felt like I should share with you guys that today I got a job offer in an HVAC company. The pay was basically minimum wage with a promise to increase in one month if my work is good. I have 1.5 years of experience in HVAC and I'm on an 18 month working visa (476). I have been in Sydney since 2 weeks.


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## yasmeenaaa (Apr 7, 2015)

hi guys we landed in australia since 3 weeks and trying to find hvac job without success, any advise or help pls


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## spiritstallion (Apr 26, 2014)

To update this thread with some feedback, Engineering here is heavily bad when it comes to oil and gas. EVEN other specialities are affected because there are many without a Job.

So i got a job and relocated to sydney last November, i was contracted to work in a big company (CSR) in 5 months i lost the job or in other words i left. (by 1/4/2016) I was working as a pack mule, as usual, the role was advertised without asking for engineering degree. They needed SAP experience which i had, they wanted me to do the purchasing of the entire production line+ adding it to sap system and work to replace the maintenace planner (150++ work orders each week) that i should print, process and review and add to the MEX CMMS application (surely beside being aware of whats going in the factory) Beside this and 10s of minor issues in shutdowns, I was asked Mainly to create a SAP master data in order for all the store system (1000s of items) so long story short, i was a burnt card to my contractor, why? the operator wanted to hire me since the start so by any means i found its a war and you get judged easily without any help.
No meaningful structure for engineering and most of what was going on was basically "work place politics" sorrowfully i did not care from the start.
Now i am jobless again for 2 months but much positive and ready to work in anything, to be honest the most horrible jobs will give you a salary equivalent to those "so called engineering" roles.


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## samage (Jul 9, 2015)

spiritstallion said:


> To update this thread with some feedback, Engineering here is heavily bad when it comes to oil and gas. EVEN other specialities are affected because there are many without a Job.
> 
> So i got a job and relocated to sydney last November, i was contracted to work in a big company (CSR) in 5 months i lost the job or in other words i left. (by 1/4/2016) I was working as a pack mule, as usual, the role was advertised without asking for engineering degree. They needed SAP experience which i had, they wanted me to do the purchasing of the entire production line+ adding it to sap system and work to replace the maintenace planner (150++ work orders each week) that i should print, process and review and add to the MEX CMMS application (surely beside being aware of whats going in the factory) Beside this and 10s of minor issues in shutdowns, I was asked Mainly to create a SAP master data in order for all the store system (1000s of items) so long story short, i was a burnt card to my contractor, why? the operator wanted to hire me since the start so by any means i found its a war and you get judged easily without any help.
> No meaningful structure for engineering and most of what was going on was basically "work place politics" sorrowfully i did not care from the start.
> Now i am jobless again for 2 months but much positive and ready to work in anything, to be honest the most horrible jobs will give you a salary equivalent to those "so called engineering" roles.


Dear,

I really appreciate your realistic feedback but by reading your emails seems like Australia has gone back in age of stones. All destroyed and now people live in forests. I am not dreaming and difficulties are there but you have to stay positive my friend and fight with the things to settle. People travelling to australia, NZ, Canda etc need atleast one year to settle either get field job or odd job but time is required.

I got the PR and planning to travell in september 2016 Inshallah and face all the difficluties and try to settle. I am also planning to bring atleast 8month expenses initially...


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## OmSaad (Mar 6, 2014)

samage said:


> spiritstallion said:
> 
> 
> > To update this thread with some feedback, Engineering here is heavily bad when it comes to oil and gas. EVEN other specialities are affected because there are many without a Job.
> ...



Hello, wish you all the best, hit me up if you need anything, moved here in November 2015, all going well


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## samage (Jul 9, 2015)

OmSaad said:


> Hello, wish you all the best, hit me up if you need anything, moved here in November 2015, all going well


Thanks OmSaad, At least things moving good for you. Give me your whats up please.


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## shivkaundal (Aug 8, 2013)

Hello Everyone,

How it is in the field of Mechanical Designing? 

Thanks


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