AUS $ VS SA RAND & other questions

[lorraio01cen]

Hiya All!
:welcome2:
We're currently in South Africa, looking at moving to Oz. Obviously there are no domestic help etc.
- What do working mothers do with their babies - i.e are there "good" daycare centres etc. Are they expensive?
- How's the traffic to and from CBD?
- Would anyone know what the South African owned brewery in Oz is called?
- What are avg salaries for women working admin/analyst jobs? Or what would you consider a good living salary?
- How's the work/life balance in say a city like Perth/Sydney?

I still have a 101 other questions, but let's start there!
Thx a mil!

[OneTime]

No problems, fire away with the questions, happy to try and help.

- Mothers - Childcare is huge in Aus, and there are plenty of good agencies. it's quite expensive, like anywhere. Prices - it varies, but we're looking at somewhere between $45 and $70 a day including nappies and food. You do get a tax rebate on childcare as a family - somewhere around 50% I think... (the government looks after working families here!)

- Traffic - Do you mean in Perth? I'm not too sure, but like anywhere, traffic is getting worse these days. That being said, I believe the commute to work in Perth is not bad. They also have an excellent train system that runs along the middle of the freeway.

- Brewery - No idea about the brewery - will try to find out

- Average salaries, again very hard to generalise because it varies by area. I'd say in Melbourne/Sydney you're looking at between $38k to $60k per year for admin work. Less in Perth, Brisbane, Adelaide, etc. When you say Analyst, can you specify?

- Work life balance - as in most big cities, it's not great because people are working longer hours and travelling further to work. That being said, "work/life balance" is starting to become a bit of a buzz word in Australia and a lot of companies are starting to realise the importance of happy workers. I'd say the work/life in Perth is far better than Sydney purely because Sydney is more of a metropoitan city, Perth is quieter and smaller with less emphasis on corporate careers.

[lorraio01cen]

Thx OneTime! In a nutshell, by Analyst I mean setting up of sales targets, incentive criteria etc etc as well as the tracking thereof. Also, identifying gaps in certain segments, markets, brand/pack combinations, pricing etc. Here in South Africa (in the Breweries) we have sales co-ordinators and Sales & Market Analysts who do this (and much more). SAB is the 2nd largest Brewery in the world, so everything you are taught is world class! :notworthy:

[OneTime]

Okay, so you're looking at titles such as commercial analyst, sales analyst, product or market analyst (or co-ordinator).

I had a quick search on SEEK, they're obviously higher paid than admin-related roles, and you're looking in the region of $50,000 to $70,000 for non-leadership roles, depending on experience and scope of the role, and then higher for supervisory and managerial. From what I read it seems to be a growing sector.

I'd suggest doing a quick search on SEEK or MyCareer and using keywords to look up more specific functions that you're used to doing - that way you can get a good indication of the terminology and salary ranges.

Not sure if you know about this, but thought it worth mentioning - if a role says $60,000 package, it means that your Superannuation (pension) is included in that salary, so you'd be earning more like $54,000 before deductions. If a job description says $60,000 + Super, then you're looking at a base of $60,000 gross, then your pension is paid on top. Superannuation (pension) is usually paid by your employer (even if you're a temp) at a rate of around 9 or 10 percent.

[lorraio01cen]

Thx!!!! You're a star! Speak to ya soon again! :bounce

[Nyala]

Just to back that up, everything depends on the area you choose to live in. The big cities are generally a bit more expensive than the the rural areas, except for petrol. But then the salaries are higher to compensate. For example, OT has shown you avarage salaries for Admin in Melbourne/Sydney but in my area (rural) $27K - $32K is a good salary for full-time admin work. (There I go again, promoting the rural life...lol) Also, depending on your combined financial income, you can claim a family tax benefit which helps toward child-care payments.

[lorraio01cen]

Thx for the input Nyala. It's quite difficult for me to understand what a good liveable salary is in Australia, not knowing what food costs etc are. I hear of a lot of people in Perth earning $65k per annum and not being able to afford a standard 3 bedroom house. Quite scary. Living costs seem a bit high or am I missing something? What would tradesmen earn (mechanics, electricians, plumbers etc)?

[OneTime]

Have you seen my cost of living guide? Here it is. http://www.greattrek.net/forum/showthread.php?t=3739

Although it's a couple of months old now, and region specific to outer Melbourne suburbs, it could still help as a guide.

You're right, it is very hard to figure out what sort of a lifestyle you're going to have on what you earn. We've been here for a year and a half and we still don't know because we're only starting to pay for certain things (including a mortgage, rates, etc) in the next couple of months.

Some people get by as a family on $65,000 and are pefectly happy (provided they got into the property market at the right time, or they rent) and some people need $120k to live comfortably.

I would say that on a single salary of $65,000, it would be tough living to own your own home, but if both parents are working, and you're looking at more like $100,000 up combined, you'll be fine.

With tradesmen, it's hard to say how much they earn because there's usually basic salary (around $50k to $65k?) and then they get deals, hours, penalty rates, overtime, etc on top of that. It's like that with most trades - no 2 electricians strictly earns the same because it depends on who they work for or what hours they do.

I know tradespeople who do the basic hours for $65k. I also know tradespeople who work 3 days a week, 12 hours a day and earn $100k plus because of penalty and overtime rates.

What it boils down to is - if tradespeople in Aus are prepared to do the hours, they will very comfortably be able to feed and house a family on the one salary - in my opinion.

[LongJohnny]

I would say that if both wife and husband contribute to an annual salary of about $80K - $90K they should be quite comfortable depending in lifestyles, etc


LJ