theflailingtrail

I certainly could have been more prepared. So learn from my struggles!

Get the right work experience

The work holiday life here is not what it used to be. Jobs are getting harder and harder to get, even for locals. So! Beef up your resume in the right way and you’ll be a lot more comfortable than I’ve been. Unless you’re already a specialized worker in fields so in demand that they wouldn’t mind your 6 month limitation, there are a couple of things you want to already be trained in before you arrive.

1. It may sound silly depending on where you’re from, but having insane barista skills will get you far here. Australia takes coffee VERY seriously, and establishments require a high level of skill in this area.
2. Restaurant skills in any and all areas, especially serving and bartending. There seems to be an endless supply of hospitality work, especially in resorts and hotels. But they want you to walk in trained and ready to go!
3. Fork lift operator license. Less in demand, but that’s a great door to have open here.
4. Get really comfy driving manual. You can certainly find automatic cars, but out of all 12 people on the farm that were trying to buy cars, we were the only ones who found one, and we were one of 70 that had messaged the guy. We only got it because we showed up first. And you should know at least something about cars because we’ve met way too many people who got pretty well scammed into buying a car that needed 10k or more put into before it could get anywhere. It won’t be like this everywhere, but our area of residence was notorious for sham car safeties. Also, there’s a LOT of jobs that require you to be able to drive manual. You really can’t go wrong here.
5. Put a lot of effort into choosing where you land, and bring a lot more money there than you expect. It can be hard to find work, hard to find a place to live, and without a vehicle, transit can also be really hard (and dangerous in some places, and those stories I think I will leave off of the blog). We had the wrong idea flying to Perth. It isn’t a WRONG place to start, but we went for the wrong reasons and so it was wrong for us. Go to the place that will support you, and the bucket list places will follow. Starting at an unsustainable bucket list place will have you flying home before you get to see the rest.
6. Pack warm clothes. You think you’ll just be hot all the time, but always travel with  sweater and a light puffy no matter where you go. If you don’t use it, great, but it really sucks getting cold. The farm we lived on in subtropical Queensland was often -1° at night, with an outdoor bathroom, and no heating. We did not have jackets.
7. Learn the actual stats about the wildlife and what to do in emergencies in general. You’ll come in worried about things that don’t matter, and won’t know about the things that do. Totally normal for traveling! But there’s a lot of confusion about dangers in Australia, and emergency services don’t always work the way you’re used to. My mistake, was being afraid of snakes and spiders (which have never been an issue), and unaware of normal street violence that I never experienced back home (but was victim to many times here). Like everywhere else, you go in blind and there will be awesomeness but also unhappy surprises. More importantly, learning about what makes you nervous can help dull your nerves because you’ll feel prepared!
8. If you have the funds and you have a crazy long flight, take the opportunity to see one or two fun things on the way over. If you’re lucky enough to get good work here, you’ll have easy access to Indonesia, New Zealand, Fiji, and many Australians frequent Thailand and Japan. And that’s just the tip of the iceberg! But because things don’t always work out, and because you simply can and would be great, pick a cool spot to have a long layover. Singapore airport for example offers free tours into Singapore (must book in advance, we didn’t know, we were sad), and you can do a LOT in Bangkok for a day. You get it. We stayed in Laos for a month. You have options.
9. Prepare in advance for the bank and phone companies you want to be with so you can seamlessly transition into Australia without losing connection to your funds or support system. Luckily, this was an area we were prepared in. I would have been a mess not being able to call my parents from the airport or access my home bank without wifi.
10. Learn to feed yourself a cheap balanced diet. Things here can be expensive, your funds may or may not do well for you, and there’s a chance your share house provides you with a mini fridge to share amongst four people (that was a very long 6 months…) Learn to shop, learn to cook. Even our 25 year old roommates haven’t figured it out yet and it’s their biggest stress. And in this category, I will also add, get so comfortable with chores that they don’t feel so energy sapping and miserable. You’ll need to cook a lot, clean right away, and not lose your mind because of it. Many hostels will actually fine you if you leave a dish out. And many share houses will kick you out (we lost 3 roommates to landlords wanting a perfect house).

This is absolutely a weird list, but some of these things, no matter how small, can absolutely make or break how you feel about your experience.

I’d wish you luck, but you don’t need it! You’ve got this, and you’re going to have a blast.