Progress in Australia .. and job opportunities?

[miraclebabycaw]

Hi all

Just wondering if there are any Aussies here, and also what is the job situation like for Senior progress developers in Oz...ChUI, webspeed, XML, PDF pretty much it I think....esp around South Australia..I am getting the impression I should be trying to rethink skills. We have applied for Immigration, so are hoping to be over by end next year but job searches are not giving any Progress jobs at all..

Any thoughts/suggestions on what/where one might have a better chance if not Progress. I have a year to study it would seem?

Thanks all

 

[RealHeavyDude]

Personally I don't know much about the job situation for Progress developers in Australia. IMHO, relying on Progress knowledge exclusively limits your job opportunities considerably. Therefore I would suggest anybody in a situation like you to learn additional technologies like Java or .NET ( personally I prefer Java ) in order to be more open. And, as you can access the Progress OpenEdge 10 AppServer from Java or .NET in a natural way ( from the Java or .NET point of view ), you are probably able to use both.

Heavy Regards, RealHeavyDude.

 

[miraclebabycaw]

Thanks RealHeavyDude

I admit I have been very lax in additional training as the company I work for pretty much only uses Progress and I've been too lazy with small kids in the house to do extra training (they are now old enough thankfully to give me time to study). I have been recently exploring doing a MCPD focusing on .NET, Web and Cloud access so I think this will be worthwhile pursuing. My issue is getting experience.

 

[tamhas]

You might contact PSC in Australia directly. The reps sometimes know of companies needing help.

 

[jmac13]

Just out of interest how complicated is the process for immigration and is being IT industry enough for them to let you in
I only ask cause im just considering my options at the moment

Cheers

 

[Tarby777]

Getting in (for permanent residency, at least) is tough and getting tougher. It's all about having suitable qualifications and in-demand skills. If you check the government website, you'll see they're very specific about what they're after... they maintain "critical skills lists" that reflect the areas in which there's a real labour shortage and a high demand: Oracle, Siebel, .NET and so on. Progress was on the list for Western Australia a couple of years ago but I wouldn't bank on it being on it now. You don't have to have something from the critical skills list to get in, but it can be the difference between waiting months and waiting years. It may well be better to try a short-term working visa first, and then try to convert it to a PR visa at the end.

My advice would be to get a good migration agent involved: Peter Chiam at www.ptlabs.com.au is excellent and, as a former IT professional himself, he's well-placed to structure your application for best chance of succuess. I think you can get a free assessment through his website.

HTH
Tarby

 

[jmac13]

Thanks a lot

Great to talk to someone whos got experience of this

thank you very much