When looking for opportunities to study abroad until a few years ago a handful of countries came to an Indian student’s mind. The United States and the United Kingdom with their prestigious colleges and great institutions of higher learning, many of them with ivy league tag, top the list. However, restrictions on student visa and post qualification opportunities for an internship in the UK and USA suddenly brings up questions in the minds of both the students and their parents.
International students should seriously consider studying in Australia and to enhance their career success. Australia has been recession-free for the past 26 years. Australia’s economic success often goes unnoticed because it is not promoted as much as the UK, USA.
Another attractive reason to study in Australia is the attractive salary for graduates. On an average, a graduate in Australia makes around AUD 60,000 per annum.
With the US administration putting several Visa restrictions in place, Australia’s popularity is continuing to grow quickly.
The most popular courses amongst Indian students are Business, Information Technology, Engineering, Science, and Hospitality. The vocational education sector is also becoming popular with Indian students.
Another plus point is that Indian students find it easy to transfer to the Australian education system due to the similarity in their 10+2+3 education structures.
Even with the Australian economy running smoothly for the past 15 years and opportunities aplenty for international students choosing a university for graduate or post-graduate studies is not easy.
What is it that really interests you, what would you like to achieve, what do you enjoy doing – these are not inane questions but important pointers to your future career. With the jobs as we know them to be today set to change vastly or disappear in the next 5-10 years due to tectonic technological changes, students looking for a satisfying and successful career will have to seriously ponder the road ahead.
In addition to considering academic excellence of a University does also consider the focus it places on the employability of students.
Check out if they have a well-researched and thought through Professional Development Program tailored for international students to enhance their career success. Employability means not just employment and getting a job, but equipping you with the skills, the knowledge, and tools to be able to succeed in your career.
It is normal and expected of students not to know what they want to do. Check out if the Professional Development Program for international students will give international students like you systematic opportunities to experience Australian workplace culture, about the recruitment process and prepare you for a global career – through interactive sessions.
Also, check out how the program will equip you with inputs so that you as an international student “stand out”.
Do enquire if the PDP stresses on networking and sharpening the communication skills of students to boost their employability, besides teaching them about writing resumes.
What career advice can you expect to maximize employment outcomes? Does the University’s placement division organise career fairs and seminars? If yes, how often are recruiters invited to the campus? Do the invitees to the career workshops include international alumni who have been successful.
Aayushi Pandey, an alumnus of School of Business of UNSW who has joined the representative office in New Delhi, is full of praise for the PDP.
“When I thought of a job experience UNSW gave me the opportunity with a start-up. This introduced me to workplace culture in Australia in addition to giving me valuable job experience that I put on my resume.
“In the first session we were told how important networking is, and they helped me build a network with the alumni, and also network with employers. This helped me expand my network for employability,” says Aayushi.
For her current position, she messaged UNSW hiring managers via LinkedIn and was offered a job quickly after a series of interviews.
Did You Know:
● UNSW is 26th in the World in Employer Reputation. QS University Rankings 2017/18.
● The UNSW Professional Development Program for International Students was nominated for an
Australian Financial Review Higher Education Award in 2016.
● The Australian Job Market is set for growing 7.8% for the next 5 years.
* Blair Slater is a Senior Careers Consultant for International students at UNSW Careers and Employment
About University of New South Wales, Sydney
UNSW, Australia’s global university ranked among the top 50 Universities in the world offers programs in engineering, business, law, architecture, art, and design, medicine and science.
Located in Sydney, a safe and student-friendly city, UNSW is home to more than 52,000 students from nearly 130 countries. UNSW has been attracting a growing number of bright Indian students for undergraduate and post-graduate studies.
As one of the world's leading research and teaching universities, UNSW's cutting-edge research and innovation facilitated by 3000 faculty is known for acceptance and successful commercialisation.
For more details, please visit: www.UNSW.edu.au
