Employment in Science and Chemistry

[Guest Paul Holland]

My wife and I have not long been granted a 176 PR visa. We're travelling over (to Sydney) on the 27th Jan 2010 hopefully for good if we've sold our house.

 

We both have a degree in Chemistry and both work in the Chemical Industry in Production and R&D. I've been searching across the forums and it seems that there is very little mention of people looking for employment in these areas?

 

We've not decided on a place to settle and I'm hoping that somebody can point is in the right direction. We want to place ourselves in area where with the best chance of employment in this field.

 

Can anybody give indication on whether SA/Adelaide would be a suitable area? We've seen alot of stuff located around Northern Sydney but the property prices are a little bit daunting.

[ShaunWilson]

I work in this area as a Drilling Fluids Engineer for an oil company. Not saying i can get work for you, but there is plenty in this region of work within the mining/oilfiled sectors. Maybe if you approach some of the big drilling companies, or even some of the fluids companies, they will be able to help. I know we recently took on some PHD chemists to do our R&D. A lot of the drilling industry is based in Perth though.

 

Shaun

[Guest Paul Holland]

Shaun, thanks for the info. So would you advise contacting compainies directly with a covering letter/CV?

[ShaunWilson]

Yeah,

Thats the best way to go about it I would reckon. Look at the drilling companies, and also what they call oilfield services companies. Good luck

 

Shaun

[Guest cbeeb]

i am chemist with mostly pharma experience in quality and instrmentation, there is not a great deal of work in SA for us, Sydney, Tasmania and brisbane seem like the best places to me. the jobs here are few and far between and do not pay great. There is a few small spinoff development companies, hospira in thebarton, mayne(who are now also hospira)are a big pharma that have R&D and a few uni spinoffs,

[Guest Paul Holland]

Cheers cbeeb, I just wanted to see what other options were available to us. I finally got a half decent response from an agency today (techstaff), they gave me some good advice about CVs etc. We'll be in Sydney at the end of Jan so I'll just have to see what's around then.

 

I have noticed that wages are either very good or very poor, there's no middle ground? Where are you working at the moment if you don't mind me asking?

[Guest cbeeb]

A company called intertek as a petroleum chemist, basic analysis and more complex(sometimes), they have labs all over australia, and a more R&D one called probe, i think it is in sydney. They are contract analysis and some are in refineries, try also kelly scientific who helped me alot before i came over,

[Guest Paul Holland]

I'll give Kelly a shout, I used to work as a temp through them for Eli-Lilly. Thanks for the info, I'm trying to get as much done as reasonably possible before we leave.