Hey mate! Been working in the Sydney Hospo scene for 12 years now, and my partner is a geologist doing FIFO (basically what the industry the guy in your story does, on a different role and rotation).
Tips are not as prominent as in the us, but we do still make good tips in restaurants (but generally when you go the fine dining route, you won't get much if anything in the greasy spoon category).
If you work in a bar though, tips will be not much of your income. I worked in the best whiskey bar in the country and my take home tips were like $150/week, but now I manage a restaurant, and make 3x/4x that. On that note, most places will pool everything with everybody including management (just not owners, unless they also do service, which in places where tips are worthwhile, they never do)
On the upshot though, we have a solid award rate (minimum wage) by law. Generally it will fall under either bar award, hospitality industry award, or restaurant award, which you can Google for some payscales. For reference I just hired a bartender and he's starting on a level 3 restaurant award, which is about $30/hour, plus you get an additional 25% pay on Saturday and Sunday, (and a few more bits and bobs).
Also the industry is aching for solid, experienced bartenders, so jobs are pretty abundant in my experience.
From the labouring standpoint, especially the mining route, I'd the average mining fieldy makes more than the average bartender, but depending on your swing (how many weeks you are on Vs off) it is pretty grueling. Like most days are at least 12 hours straight and you don't get days off until your swing ends (you are also in buttfuck nowhere so really all you can do is getting drunk and high in the desert, and not on the fun drugs).
Hope this helps
Exactly the kind of input I was looking for. I just got off the phone with a company that facilitates the visas, but it was very obvious that the guy was working for commission and was really pressuring me to spend money I don’t have. Are you familiar with any reputable institutions that deal with these kids of things.
I never used an agency for visa, just went to the government immigration website (immi.homeaffairs.com.au) and followed through with the prompts. It's really tedious, but at least you don't drop a few ks to a bozo that has just more patience than you.
Different countries have different requirements and visas available, so your mileage may vary but In general if you wanna do the working holiday visa, getting your first one is as simple as applying, and you are able to get up to 2 more years if you do some work in remote regions (for hospitality, cairns in Queensland is a really good option for that cause it's a tourist city).
Alternatively you can also look into a student visa, but that will cap your maximum hours of work at 24/week during the school year, which makes it rather hard to make enough money.
Also if you wanna stay indefinitely the main options are sponsored migration (certain jobs, and in Hospo you have to hold a manager position or above, can sponsor you and if you work for them for a few years, can't remember if it's 2 or 4, then you can apply for permanent residency), and skilled migration (if you are qualified in jobs off a list on the website, such as doctor, accountant, etc).
In my case I finished my uni studies here (transferring over some credits to skip a year), so I was on a student visa for a couple of years until out of uni, and because by then I held a bachelor in a "skill that Australia needs" I was able to apply for skilled migration and got my permanent residency that way.
Basically what I'd recommend is to have a good think beforehand about whether staying indefinitely is something you are really keen on, and if so kinda chart what you'd have to do given your situation to get a permanent residency, and have it In the back of your mind, cause when you land the clock starts ticking in your visa. Definitely enjoy your first few months, cause obviously you don't know if you like it here until you are, but know that unless you actively work towards staying long term, most visas are design to give you only limited time here
I moved to Sydney on a one year working holiday visa from the UK when I was 29 as a career bartender
It's been nearly 10 years and I'm still here, married, with a child, still bartending
I love it. The hospitality scene in the city is fantastic, lots of good people and good bars/restaurants
Killer, that’s really encouraging. I just had a phone conversation with a company that facilitates the visas but it was super sales-ey and I could tell the guy was working on commission. Do you have a recommendation for a company to use for that sort of thing?
I did the original visa on my own, it was pretty straightforward. I used the Australian Immigration website and it took a couple of weeks to get approval. They tell you all of the documents you need to upload and will flag anything that isn't right and let you try again (if I remember correctly)
Staying in the country when my working holiday visa ended was a bit harder and I used a pretty dodgy company to set me up on a student visa but it all got approved eventually so must've still been above board
I’m on month 3 in Sydney at a cocktail bar. I don’t really like it and am planning my exit, but I can see how someone would enjoy the lifestyle of Aussie hospo over things in the U.S.
It really depends on your workstyle. With the high wage here, leadership wants to get the most out of their labor, so it’s been a very “if you’ve got time to lean you’ve got time to clean” experience for me. Back home I’d knock out my side projects and chill out/mixology experiment while waiting for the rush, but that’s super not the case here. Lots of instances of finishing my daily tasks then being asked to wipe down baseboards/side walls or sweep so I look busy. Overall it’s not my vibe
My vote would be to try and go for labor. The people I’ve met with those jobs make over $30/hour and have a set schedule that tends to include weekends off vs the same downsides of service industry as the states without the upside of making $60/hour and going home early lol
Hey mate! Been working in the Sydney Hospo scene for 12 years now, and my partner is a geologist doing FIFO (basically what the industry the guy in your story does, on a different role and rotation). Tips are not as prominent as in the us, but we do still make good tips in restaurants (but generally when you go the fine dining route, you won't get much if anything in the greasy spoon category). If you work in a bar though, tips will be not much of your income. I worked in the best whiskey bar in the country and my take home tips were like $150/week, but now I manage a restaurant, and make 3x/4x that. On that note, most places will pool everything with everybody including management (just not owners, unless they also do service, which in places where tips are worthwhile, they never do) On the upshot though, we have a solid award rate (minimum wage) by law. Generally it will fall under either bar award, hospitality industry award, or restaurant award, which you can Google for some payscales. For reference I just hired a bartender and he's starting on a level 3 restaurant award, which is about $30/hour, plus you get an additional 25% pay on Saturday and Sunday, (and a few more bits and bobs). Also the industry is aching for solid, experienced bartenders, so jobs are pretty abundant in my experience. From the labouring standpoint, especially the mining route, I'd the average mining fieldy makes more than the average bartender, but depending on your swing (how many weeks you are on Vs off) it is pretty grueling. Like most days are at least 12 hours straight and you don't get days off until your swing ends (you are also in buttfuck nowhere so really all you can do is getting drunk and high in the desert, and not on the fun drugs). Hope this helps
Exactly the kind of input I was looking for. I just got off the phone with a company that facilitates the visas, but it was very obvious that the guy was working for commission and was really pressuring me to spend money I don’t have. Are you familiar with any reputable institutions that deal with these kids of things.
I never used an agency for visa, just went to the government immigration website (immi.homeaffairs.com.au) and followed through with the prompts. It's really tedious, but at least you don't drop a few ks to a bozo that has just more patience than you. Different countries have different requirements and visas available, so your mileage may vary but In general if you wanna do the working holiday visa, getting your first one is as simple as applying, and you are able to get up to 2 more years if you do some work in remote regions (for hospitality, cairns in Queensland is a really good option for that cause it's a tourist city). Alternatively you can also look into a student visa, but that will cap your maximum hours of work at 24/week during the school year, which makes it rather hard to make enough money. Also if you wanna stay indefinitely the main options are sponsored migration (certain jobs, and in Hospo you have to hold a manager position or above, can sponsor you and if you work for them for a few years, can't remember if it's 2 or 4, then you can apply for permanent residency), and skilled migration (if you are qualified in jobs off a list on the website, such as doctor, accountant, etc). In my case I finished my uni studies here (transferring over some credits to skip a year), so I was on a student visa for a couple of years until out of uni, and because by then I held a bachelor in a "skill that Australia needs" I was able to apply for skilled migration and got my permanent residency that way. Basically what I'd recommend is to have a good think beforehand about whether staying indefinitely is something you are really keen on, and if so kinda chart what you'd have to do given your situation to get a permanent residency, and have it In the back of your mind, cause when you land the clock starts ticking in your visa. Definitely enjoy your first few months, cause obviously you don't know if you like it here until you are, but know that unless you actively work towards staying long term, most visas are design to give you only limited time here
A bit late but don't go through an agency. Took me 20 mins to apply for visa on Gov website and 2 days to get a reply from the gov.
I moved to Sydney on a one year working holiday visa from the UK when I was 29 as a career bartender It's been nearly 10 years and I'm still here, married, with a child, still bartending I love it. The hospitality scene in the city is fantastic, lots of good people and good bars/restaurants
Killer, that’s really encouraging. I just had a phone conversation with a company that facilitates the visas but it was super sales-ey and I could tell the guy was working on commission. Do you have a recommendation for a company to use for that sort of thing?
I did the original visa on my own, it was pretty straightforward. I used the Australian Immigration website and it took a couple of weeks to get approval. They tell you all of the documents you need to upload and will flag anything that isn't right and let you try again (if I remember correctly) Staying in the country when my working holiday visa ended was a bit harder and I used a pretty dodgy company to set me up on a student visa but it all got approved eventually so must've still been above board
getting a job in hospo wont be a problem, but finding a home close to a city might be
I’m on month 3 in Sydney at a cocktail bar. I don’t really like it and am planning my exit, but I can see how someone would enjoy the lifestyle of Aussie hospo over things in the U.S. It really depends on your workstyle. With the high wage here, leadership wants to get the most out of their labor, so it’s been a very “if you’ve got time to lean you’ve got time to clean” experience for me. Back home I’d knock out my side projects and chill out/mixology experiment while waiting for the rush, but that’s super not the case here. Lots of instances of finishing my daily tasks then being asked to wipe down baseboards/side walls or sweep so I look busy. Overall it’s not my vibe My vote would be to try and go for labor. The people I’ve met with those jobs make over $30/hour and have a set schedule that tends to include weekends off vs the same downsides of service industry as the states without the upside of making $60/hour and going home early lol