What Its Like To Teach In Australia

We love assisting qualified teachers make the move to Australia. We recently asked one of our past clients, Peter Simpson to describe what its like to teach in Australia as a secondary school chemistry teacher living outside of Perth, Western Australia.

Why I wanted to find out what its like to Teach in Australia

My wife and I seriously wanted to improve our work life balance, so my wife, son and I decided to emigrate to Australia. My wife and I met in Australia when on Working Holiday and ever since we’d been really looking forward to getting back there. We just knew it was the place for us and that it was the only way to give our son the best start in life.

Find Out If You’re Eligible to Emigrate to Australia as a Teacher with a Free Visa Assessment

I started the process by contacting different states in Australia just to see what teaching offers were available and I got some really good feedback: one was a two year teaching job which came with the amazing added benefits of accommodation, but it was in the bush, miles and miles away from anywhere which is why I suspect the offer was so good.

Unfortunately though, it was simply too remote for us and I decided to go for a secondary School Chemistry teaching post in Victoria.

The only issue I really came up against was Australian Visas. The job in the outback would have been on a TSS Employer Sponsored Visa but any of the roles that seemed to tick all the boxes required me to apply for my own Permanent Residency first. I was later to discover that these were called the 189 and 190 visa classes.

Most potential employers would ask if I had a visa already, even before they would take my application seriously. It was like they wanted to talk with me about opportunities at their school yet they seemed somehow wary that I was simply another person wanting an employer to sponsor me

Chemistry teaching though is in such demand here that I was granted our Permanent Residency within 6 months of making an Expression of Interest and the School held the post open for me.

I can’t emphasize enough how detailed the Visa application was so you will need to set aside quite some time to get this done. Many people use migration consultants who are Australian Immigration experts and I can really see the benefits of having someone take care of all the paperwork for you.

Find Out If You’re Eligible to Emigrate to Australia as a Teacher with a Free Visa Assessment

I now work in an amazing private school (Australia has many more private schools) with a total of 650 mixed pupils. My first day was really nerve-racking as I had to do cover work, which could have involved anything from English to History, or climbing to Aussie rules football! I love it. All of it!

A usual day starts with staff briefing and registration. I teach five lessons per day, each one lasting around 55 minutes with another form group at the end of the day.

What its like to Teach in Australia: A Teachers Perspective

The best thing about teaching here is that the children and young adults are extremely respectful of their teachers, they are well behaved with a hard work ethic and have high aspirations. If I did have to specify a downside it would be that the School terms are long (11 weeks) because it’s a Private School and also because of this there are lots of reports, exams and meetings.

What its like to Teach in Australia: Salary

The pay is fantastic. I’m currently earning around $144,000 Australian Dollars a year per and I’m also due to get a 12% increase and a one-off payment because of my specialist position.

When this is combined with a vastly lower cost of living it makes for an all-round win! We are currently buying around six acres of land overlooking a valley, and having a brand new house built, obviously with a swimming pool!

If the idea of (almost) year round sunshine, improved standard of living, better teaching environment, friendly colleagues, increased earnings, thousands of miles of beaches, and amazing wildlife appeals to you then come to Australia as teach.

Finally, what is the most important thing I have learnt? That’s an easy one! That we will never come back! I urge you to give it a go, it will most likely be the best thing you’ve ever done.

My top tips for emigrating to Australia as a teacher:

Work as a supply teacher (known as CRT in Australia) first to get to know different schools.
If you would like to speak to a teaching Australia migration expert then I recommend Lets’ Go!

Take time to decide where you really want to live and have fun exploring different regions

I hope you’ve enjoyed finding out what its like to teach in Australia and I look forward to seeing you Down Under soon.

Find out first hand what its like to teach in Australia by emigrating Down Under with the dedicated Teaching Australia team at Lets Go Global

The post What Its Like To Teach In Australia appeared first on Lets Go Global Australia Immigration.