There’s the possibility I’ll be moving back to Canberra for work, but not to actually live there. Last week I expanded my options for finding work by applying for contracts in Sydney and Canberra, on top of contracts in Melbourne. Let me tell you, the level of interest in my availability for Canberra contracts (as a Business Analyst) is 100% compared to 0% in Melbourne and Sydney.
It seems that my area of expertise and experience is ideal for Canberra, but not for anywhere else. Both Melbourne and Sydney predominantly prefer their BA’s to have banking and insurance experience, whereas Canberra is predominantly about ICT (information and communications technology) programs for the Australian Federal Government. I seem to have established myself into a niche area of business analysis.
Last year I was working in Sydney for a while, and I commuted back and forth between Sydney and Canberra each week. While living in Canberra I was ‘living away from home’ in Sydney, and was able to claim 100% of all my accommodation costs as well as get a food allowance.
While living in Melbourne, if I get a contract in Sydney or Canberra, I’ll be doing the same thing. My residence will be in Melbourne, while I’m working in Canberra or Sydney (probably Canberra, realistically), and I’ll commute back to Melbourne every two to three weeks.
What’s important is finding a job to pay the bills right now, and that hasn’t been working very well in Melbourne, so it’s become important to branch out.
Last year was a very bad time for contracting in Canberra, because of politics. Now that the new budget has been released by the new government, more programs and projects have been given the green light, so available contracts are rising again. It’s a good time to be contracting in Canberra.
It’s fascinating to me how the world turns; how some things change and other things stay the same.
Thanks for reading! Please add your own thoughts below.
Don't forget to subscribe for new posts sent to you by email!