reiter@harvard.UUCP (Ehud Reiter) (02/17/86)
I spent last year (9/84 - 8/85) traveling around the world, and the previous two years working in Ireland, and would be glad to advise anyone on either traveling or working abroad. I don't know much about the Australian Working Holiday Visa, but here are a few general points about people with high-tech (eg computer) skills working abroad: 1) If the reason you want to work abroad is money, not the experience, you're probably better off spending some more time working at home and living as cheap as possible - you'll accumulate money much faster that way. 2) With computer skills, if you're willing to stay a bit longer you could quite possibly get a general work permit. The procedure depends on the country, but generally you have to get somebody in the destination country to sponsor you, to say that they need you and can't get a local to do the job. Sometimes local consulates can help, sometimes they can't. I arranged my job in Ireland through my undergraduate college placement bureau, so that's worth a try. The minimum period is often one year, but in some cases may be as short as 6 months. 3) Depending on your background, you may be able to claim citizenship and thus the right to work. For instance, anyone with a grandparent born in Ireland is entitled to Irish citizenship. 4) Jobs are almost always available on the spot if you just show up in a country. These jobs are usually menial and "under-the-table", but this isn't always the case. I knew one guy, for instance, who was offered a programming job on the spot while hitchhiking through Botswana (I didn't even know they had computers in Botswana ...). 5) There are a few books out on "working your way around the world", which might be worth looking at, although they're not always very applicable to someone trying to get computer oriented jobs. Whatever you decide, do something. Traveling and working abroad are both fantastic experiences, and everything will work out somehow. Ehud Reiter ...!seismo!harvard!reiter reiter@harvard.harvard.edu.ARPA reiter@harvunxh.BITNET P.S. My favorite countries were Iceland, Tanzania, Nepal, and New Zealand - and, of course, Ireland.