Should you study in Australia or not? My insights

MLBS · March 2019

G'day guys. I've been receiving lots of messages lately kung ok ba ang mag student visa, and I want to share my insights. This is a very big decision that me and my friends are undergoing so I would like to give you our opinions.

1. Your first consideration should be your situation after mo mag aral. Will you be able to get PR after your course here? Or uuwi ka lang din sa pinas, wasting time and money? Hindi sure pathway ang student (take it from me, tagal na rin ako nagbabasa sa forum) and without a concrete plan, uwi rin sa pinas ang ending nyo. Dapat after you study, you can get a positive assessment in an occupation in the MLTSSL for you to be able to apply for PR. So make sure na yung study nyo is something that is in line with one of the occupations there.
2. Bachelors ba o masters ang dapat mo itake? Depende yan sa inyo, pero pag points lang ang usapan, even a diploma course would give you +5 pts. As long as you complete the Australian study requirement, +5 pts lang maibibigay nun regardless kung diploma o masters ang tinapos mo. Obvious naman sa fees kung ano ang pinakapractical option
3. Check the points test for skilled visas. May way ka ba makakakuha ng points especially on work experiece and english? Those might be better options than studying. Kung hindi pa maxed out points nyo sa english, mas ok na pagtyagaan nyo PTE kesa sa pag student. Personally, student visa is the NUCLEAR option, meaning na gagawin mo lang sya pag wala ka na ibang options.

To share my case (most people know this na hehe) I was a recent grad of engg last 2017 lang. I read a lot about migrating here to aus. So 2017, I applied for assessment sa EA and got a positive outcome. Also maxed out all points I could get (age 25, english 20, education 15) pero since wala pa ako work exp and 24 palang ako, pinakasagad na I can get is 60. So obviously di yan kaya mainvite, lalo na ngayong na ang dami nang rules na naghigpit dito sa Oz. Waited for an invite for more than a year before I decided to go on a student visa.

I chose a cheap course na mejj inline sa engg para di na rin sayang oras ko dito (work health and safety). So after 2 yrs, I could get 5 points sa au study. Also, I will be turning 25 next year, so another 5 pts. Balak ko rin itake naati dito so another 5 hehe. So target ko is to go from 60 to 75 pts in 2 yrs. Of course this is all in theory, lot of changes can happen in that time.

Lastly, make sure that you can get a POSITIVE ASSESSMENT pag nag aral ka dito. Ako kasi, matagal nang may assessment so I dont need to study masters or bachelors kasi qualified na yung degree ko sa pinas. If yung tinapos nyo sa pinas is wala sa MLTSSL, then make sure yung aaralin nyo dito is kasama sa list na yan. Positive assessment ang #1 requirement to be able to apply for PR. For nurses, you need to undergo bridging/conversion course para ma assess. For IT professionals, need ng 2 yrs work exp afaik to be assessed e. I can only speak for engineering, kasi kami lang yata ang natatanging occupation na hindi nagrerequire ng work exp to be assessed (correct me if im wrong guys).

Hopefully this clears things up. Medyo nabusy na rin ako dito sa Perth kaya I'm not that active dito unlike before, pero I want to pay things forward. Sana this thread has cleared up some things in your mind and helped you decide better. All the best!

bulbasaur · March 2019

Pag kumuha ka ng Bachelors or Masters aside sa +5 points, meron ka pang option na mag-take ng professional year. +5 points na naman. Downside is always the cost. Pero pag nag professional year, bibigyan ka ng placement (apprenticeship).

bulbasaur · March 2019

From my comment up above, kailangan ung course na kuhain mo relevant sa SOL list tsaka satisfies Aus study requirements. Thanks

ajdee · March 2019

@bjsbelonio Clarify ko lang. You can't take PY while on SV. 485 and 476 holders lang ang pwede, afaik. And currently, Accountants, ICT, and engineers lang ang pwede mag avail nito.

Yung relevance ng course, sa GTE yun tinitignan for SV application and pag apply ng 485 visa. Pero to claim 5 points for Aus study, any diploma or above ang pwede basta 2 years (and listed sa CRICOS).

Correct me if I'm wrong. Thanks!

bulbasaur · March 2019

@ajdee Yes, you can take professional year as soon as you complete your studies sa mga nabanggit mo na courses, plus you will need to get post-study work visa (which you can get if you satisfy Australian study requirements) and to satisfy din ung time limit nung professional year. They will not allow you to take pro year if you have less than a year remaining in your visa.

Yes ung relevance of courses ay sa GTE din and also dapat ung course na papasukin mo or ung target mo ay mapapasama ka sa SOL(Skilled occupations lists), afterwards.

Ang student visa ay stepping stone lang sa pagiging PR, tbh. Unless mahilig lang mag-aral talaga. Pero wag mong sasabihin un sa GTE. Kunyare mag-aaral ka lang talaga.

bulbasaur · March 2019

I'd like to add some things that might change a reader's mind about studying for full 2 years whether doctorate, master, or bachelor/diploma. It gives you the chance to get a post-study work visa. (Allows you to live, study, work for 4 years from a PHD/ 2 years from a Masters degree/ 18 months from a Bachelor's/Diploma).

In my opinion, reason why employers would not want to hire a student visa holder is that their allowed working hours are limited. They rather hire someone who could work round the clock. Chances are with the student visas, you can get part time jobs that are quite unrelated from what you been studying for or worse none at all.

So having a post-study work visa increases the chance of getting employed, and it gives you enough time to plan for your future: to earn more points from an Australian work experience, etc., and who knows, maybe you can get yourself a sponsorship.

And also, studying and getting an Australian accredited qualification eradicates the need to be assessed (a CDR in the case of EA). An Australian qualification simplifies your registration to any occupational assessing organization.

Note: All of these are from my experiences.

MLBS · March 2019

@bjsbelonio thanks for the insights bro! Also would like to add something.

Yung point breakdown na pinost ko is the FASTEST way of getting points in just 2 yrs. No considerations sa grad visa, I expect na rekta kayo apply sa PR after ng studies. Kasi nakikita nyo naman, sobrang bilis na magpalit ng rules dito. 65 dati naiinvite last 2017, tapos naging 70-75 na ngayong 2018/19. My worry is even if people can get a graduate work visa, by the time na matapos yun baka iniba na naman nila rules. So in my perspective, wag na kayo magpadalos dalos. Australia is getting harder to penetrate, and a lot has changed in less than 2 yrs.

bulbasaur · March 2019

@MLBS Correct. It's true that immigration changes their requirements quite fast, yes, fair enough. Studying may not be the best option to do that and can also be a dead-end if not done right. I'm just pointing out some options after they've gone through studying since the thread title says "should you study or not". What doors can be opened if a person decides to take a student visa path to be a PR.

In your case, you already took the assessment before you came in. In most cases, students may only get their assessments after completion of their course if they opt to get an Australian qualification. And in some, they took courses that will not lead to any relevant occupation to become a PR. The processing time of assessment after graduation or the school giving out diplomas can be slow which means it can be a bottle neck for PR processing. So a post-study work visa can be a solution if a person wants to stay for a bit. Most graduates who took a post-study work visa, processes their PR application, or gets a job, or is given a sponsorship, or does a pro year during the span of the duration and would usually not wait until the end of it. Post-study visa is alot cheaper than getting another course and would rather do it than going home, sit on the couch and wait for an EOI.

Ok. Just to be clear also in your post, you mentioned that a person can get 5 points regardless if he/she took masters or bachelors.

From my understanding, a doctorate degree will get a person 20, masters will give 15 and a diploma/trade qualification 10 points, given that he/she gets a degree from an Australian educational institution or from another that is recognized standard (can be offshore), while an award or qualification recognized by an assessing body for a nominated occupation gets a person 10 points.

Studying in a degree/diploma/or trade that meets the Australian study requirement (a course that is good for 92 weeks) will give you 5 points regardless.

Aze · April 2019

Hi guys.. Need your honest advice. I am interested to apply for a SV.. Im 39, I.T. By degree but a teacher by profession..
What course should i take as SV. I haveplans for darwin city.
Uni or college would suffice for pathway?
How expensive is to study there?
Planning to get KOKOS as agency..
I have 2 kids, can i bring them?
Please enlighten me.. Thanks a bunch.

Ashes · June 2019

Hi @MLBS .

Im a newbie here and a graduate of Engg (Chem Engg). I just need an advise. I have 1yr experience and 25 y/o. I wanted to apply for a student visa. Any course would you recommend under SOL if I purse the SV?

Thanks! ☺️