Hi all,

Trying to decide between two grad offers. My family says CBA while I'm leaning towards Amazon.

1. CBA: around 90k TC in Melb
2. Amazon: around 150k TC in Syd

Which one would you personally take in this market?

Obviously big tech is good to have on resume, and I'm sure would help with looking for better roles in the future. However, I've heard and read many things about Amazon being a sweatshop, and having lots of PIPs and layoffs.

CBA has lower pay and not big tech, but I hear it's pretty stable (at least stabler than Amazon) and the work is chill. It's in Melb so I can keep living with parents.

I'm the first in the family to have a corporate/white-collar job, and our household income has always been <80k, so I'm thinking maybe I don't need that high of a pay and should take the job security and wlb.

Thanks for any advice!

Hello everyone!

Currently considering two grad role offers at the moment and pretty torn on what’s the best decision. I’m graduating SWE this semester and not entirely sure on what area I want to focus on yet but currently leaning backend or data related.

1. Non-bank financial ASX200 company
   - Currently interning in platform engineering here and don’t mind the culture and the people but not the actual work
   - 2 year program with 4 optional rotations
   - Rotations likely to be limited to infrastructure
   - 75k roll off to ~90k

2. APS Digital Grad at a large department (not defence)
   - No idea what work I’d be doing - told first rotation will be decided in January
   - 1 year program with 3 rotations
   - 81k roll off 89k

Primarily torn due to type of work and pay. Concerned about growth stagnation at APS but I don’t particularly want to be stuck in infrastructure either. I’m prone to boredom and hate having nothing to do but I also value WLB.

Any advice is welcome and I appreciated it all.

Thanks!

Anyone heard back from Stake after applying?

Hey all,

I'm a current year 12 student and I'm torn between two options for choosing my uni degree. Both the courses I'm debating between will be from Monash, so university prestige is not really a factor.

CS and Commerce double degree vs Engineering and Commerce

To be honest, I am fine with either degree, but will lean every so slightly towards CS in terms of passion/interest but the ultimate goal is to find a high paying job that is actually attainable. Stability is also really important to me, but I'm hearing different things about this.

1. I know this is such a clichéd question and you are probably tired of hearing it anyway, but I just can't get a definitive answer. Is the CS job market good or bad in the sense that is it possible for me as a graduate in 4-5 years time to find a job, or is this a long-term trend that structurally limits CS job opportunities forever?

2. How well does CS pay (big tech is one side of it, but I'm referring to it in a more general sense) compared to an engineering degree (specifically, electrical or civil engineering)

Any thoughts an advice would help and be greatly appreciated!

Hey everyone, I’m Batkhuyag Dorjsuren BK. I’m a research student at HELI and, like many of you, working towards graduating and figuring out what comes next.

I'm back for the 3rd round of recruitment (hopefully the last). I’m looking for 5–6 more people to chat with for my research about finding entry-level IT work in Australia, including recruitment, employer expectations, development promises and how AI fits into the picture.

I’d love to hear from you if you:

• Are 18+ and currently living in Australia.
• Are an Australian citizen or permanent resident.
• Finished an IT-related degree in Australia within the last three years.
• Have applied for entry-level IT jobs here.

Whether you’ve landed a role, are still sending applications or ended up working outside IT, I’d be interested in hearing your experience. You don’t need to know anything about AI or have a particular opinion on it.

It’s a 45–60-minute interview, online or in person. Participation is voluntary, your responses will be kept confidential, and there’s no payment involved—just my appreciation for your time.

If interested, follow the link below to register.

Expression of Interest – Early-Career IT Graduate Research – Fill out form

Thanks for reading. And if someone you know might be interested, feel free to pass this along!

If you're a student or fresh graduate, I have a genuine question for you.

Imagine you're starting from zero. You want to learn a skill, but you can't afford expensive courses, and every job seems to ask for experience.

You have two options:

A) Take a course to learn the skill you want.

B) Work on a real job or project, paid or unpaid, and learn that skill along the way.

Which would you choose, and why

Sometimes, we don't need another certificate. We just need someone to give us a chance.

AI is great when it helps me get past a bit of code I'm stuck on, but it's frustrating when the time saved just means another task gets added to the list. Sometimes the code it gives you looks fine at first, then you end up spending ages checking it and fixing things that don't quite work. That time seems to get forgotten when people talk about how much faster AI makes developers. I'd rather use AI to make my day a little less stressful, not give myself more work to squeeze in.

If this is what it takes to succeed then SO BE IT , I simply refuse to give up until there's absolutely NOTHING I could do, absolute mathematical possibility of ZERO. Until then, I consider it to be within my reach. Let the ONLY deciding factor between me and the bloke who gets the job at an elite HFT firm or just big tech be this nepotistic construct that plagues the modern tech industry (Referrals, Target schools ( in many cases they were there because of their wealthy parents, again goes to show how deeply anti-meritocratic the system is). If there is any recruiter reading this, then I dare you to give me a chance. And this is for all those people, from no name universities, from unprivileged backgrounds who were not born with a silver spoon, that the only limit is what you set for yourself. Fuck yeah. I say all this with utmost respect, and intellectual humility to change my belief should anyone show how I am thinking wrong. 1000 leetcodes ? 3000+ pages of system design ? Sure no problem mate. Memorizing the whole language reference ( surely a vanity metric, but if other bloke has done it , and it IS the differentiator then no problem , will do sir). Building a real time scaled down version of what happens in an actual firm hardware accelerated orderbook with core logic in cpp. No problem. BRING IT ONNN... Completely self-taught by the way and 20M and about a year to graduate.

from what I’ve learnt / picked up from this subreddit:

1. go to a go8 uni preferably in Sydney or Melbourne (tech hubs)
2. maintain 80+ wam
3. some leadership exp at a student society / elsewhere
4. prior internship experience (at a non tech firm / start up or whatever)
5. leetcode
6. intern at said big tech company and do well enough to get return offer

anything that I’m missing?

edit: and I think the same process applies to hft firms as a dev too but I’m not sure

I can't find any info on levels.fyi and the response from Gemini seems kinda low, is it off base or is it accurate?

From Gemini:

• Consultant / Deliver Consultant (e.g., L5 at Amazon Sydney):
  • Total compensation ranges from $113,000 to $158,500+ AUD per year (base pay roughly $109,000+).
• Senior Consultant:
  • Total compensation typically ranges from $131,000 to $223,000 AUD per year.
• Lead / Principal Consultant:
  • Total compensation scales from $115,000 to $186,000+ AUD (with top-end packages or specialized architecture/delivery roles reaching higher with stock and bonuses)

Just got this rejection/cancellation update for the Heidi Launch Lab SWE internship:

"Unfortunately we are no longer proceeding with this intake. Our engineering and product roadmap for the coming months is still moving, and we want to be sure that anyone joining us gets the scoped projects and mentoring this program was built around."

Did everyone get this, or just certain tracks? Also curious to hear from anyone working in high-growth startups, why axe an intern cohort right after raising huge rounds?

Hi everyone,

I moved to Brisbane, Australia, in December, hoping to build a better future and continue my career in software development. I have around 4–5 years of experience in IT, mainly working with Java, Spring Boot, Node.js, REST APIs and integrations. Most of my experience is in retail POS systems, where I worked on backend development, APIs, payment integrations, promotions and system upgrades.

However, finding a job in Australia has been a completely different experience from what I expected. I have been applying for jobs for months, but getting into the local tech industry has been really challenging. It is honestly discouraging when you have years of experience but still struggle to get an opportunity because you are new to the Australian job market.

I have been trying to understand the local market and the different career paths available here. One thing I keep seeing is forward-deployed engineers, and I am curious about this role. Is it a realistic career path for someone with my background in Java, Spring Boot, Node.js and enterprise integrations? What additional skills would I need to develop to move in that direction?

I would really appreciate honest advice from people already working in Australian tech, especially in Brisbane.

- How did you break into the Australian tech industry if you had overseas experience?

- Is the market for Java/Spring Boot developers still good, or should I focus on other technologies or roles?

- Would roles such as integration engineer, solutions engineer, technical consultant or forward-deployed engineer be worth exploring?

- What is the best way to find opportunities beyond applying on Seek and LinkedIn?

- Looking at the future of tech in Australia, what skills would you invest in if you were in my position?

I am willing to learn, improve my skills and adapt, but I want to make the right decisions rather than keep applying for jobs without a clear direction.

If you have been through something similar, I would genuinely appreciate hearing your experience. Thank you!

My WAM in the CS major itself is probably going to be quite a bit higher than my cumulative WAM for my whole degree. Can I list my major WAM and cumulative WAM separately? How would this be treated in recruiting? I.e. if my overall WAM is around 80 but the CS WAM is >=85. The other major is pretty much unrelated (a humanities subject where getting 85+ is pretty hard with diminishing returns on effort)

I’ve been looking around and found a couple of roles that actually sound much more interesting than what I’m doing now, but they’d probably mean taking a fairly noticeable pay cut.
My current job pays well enough but the work has become pretty repetitive and I don’t see myself getting much more out of it.
Has anyone here taken a pay cut to move into a better role or stack? Did you end up being glad you did it, or did the lower salary start annoying you pretty quickly?

Hi everyone,

I’m planning to pursue a Master's degree in Australia, and I’m currently confused between Information Systems Management and Cybersecurity. I’d appreciate advice from people working in the Australian IT job market, especially those with experience in either field.

My background:

• Around 3 years of experience in SAP PI/PO and SAP CPI.
• Currently working in SAP integration, with experience in enterprise systems and integration technologies.
• Interested in cybersecurity, but I don't have extensive practical experience in the field yet.
• Planning to study in Australia and hopefully secure a relevant job after graduation.

Over the past few days, I’ve been reading Reddit discussions about the Australian IT job market. From what I’ve seen, many people seem to be struggling to find entry-level cybersecurity jobs, and the competition appears quite high. This has made me reconsider whether pursuing a Master's in Cybersecurity would be the right decision.

I’m also considering Information Systems Management because it seems more closely related to my existing SAP experience and enterprise IT background.

I have a few questions:

1. Given my 3 years of SAP PI/PO and CPI experience, which degree would offer better job prospects in Australia: Information Systems Management or Cybersecurity?
2. Would my existing SAP experience help me secure a cybersecurity role, or would I essentially be starting from scratch?
3. If I choose Information Systems Management, would I have better opportunities to continue in SAP CPI, SAP BTP, enterprise integration or related consulting roles?
4. For those who completed either degree in Australia, did it actually help you secure a job?
5. If your primary goal were to secure a job after graduation, which option would you choose in my situation, and why?

I’m genuinely interested in cybersecurity, but I also want to make a practical decision based on employment opportunities rather than choosing a degree based on interest alone.

I’d especially appreciate honest feedback from people who have studied in Australia, international graduates, SAP consultants, and professionals working in cybersecurity or enterprise IT.

Thanks in advance!

I will be attending an in-person assessment centre for the first time so I wanted to get an idea of how I can stand out and do well. I am someone who sometimes doesn't have alot of ideas to contribute during discussions so I am a bit worried about this.

I have an interview scheduled soon for dgr intern and wanted to know for any tips or tricks? :)

Just landed my first DevSecOps role after 2 years in help desk/app support. I want to use this momentum well rather than coast, and I'd appreciate blunt advice from people further along.

Background

Age: 24, Sydney

Role: DevSecOps engineer (new), with 2 years prior in IT support/app support

Income: $115k + super

Certs: none yet

Questions

With no certs yet, which should I get first for the biggest salary impact? AWS/Azure, CKA/CKS, or security certs?

How long should I stay in this role before jumping or contracting?

Long term, where should I aim to pivot? Should I specialise deeper in security, move toward cloud architecture or platform engineering, or head into leadership or management?

Which paths have the highest earning ceiling in Australia?

Is a side hustle or small business worth it at this stage, or should I put all my energy into my main career? If a side gig makes sense, what works well for someone with DevSecOps/IT skills?

Thanks in advance.

I'm really interested in software that's core for cutting-edge scientific or technology development. I've recently completed a CS degree here in Australia, but I've found it difficult to find information on this mathematical software jobs given that this seems to be a (very) small part of the industry.

Things like robotics, DSP, scientific computing, computational biology/neuroscience/etc. all sound really cool but I don't know whether these are realistic career paths. Everyone says that you need a PhD in biology/physics/EE/etc. to do the core mathematical algorithmic development, as well as the implementation and optimisation of the algorithm.

Meanwhile CS/SWE people will just call the API to the algorithm and be instead focused on the overall systems integration & deployment.

But it's the former I want to do. I feel like I'm at a real disadvantage for not double majoring in maths, physics or even biology. Or that I straight up should've studied electrical engineering instead.

I don't know much physics and electronics when it comes to hardware, and math wise I've done up to: vector calculus, linear algebra 2, ODEs, laplace transforms, probability theory and third year mathematical statistics. Haven't taken real analysis, abstract algebra or even HPC, numerical analysis or convex/non-convex optimisation.

I know python and C well, and have taken various systems programming and ML classes that CS majors typically take.

Anyway, for those with these types of jobs, how did you get there? Do I need a masters/PhD? What disciplines should I do them in? What industries actually contain these types of jobs? Will these jobs still exist despite AI? Are the odds of landing a position good? Is the effort involved all worth it? Is the job intellectually stimulating and fulfilling? TC? WLB? etc.

Appreciate any advice or insight given.

Heard that Canva is looking at layoffs pretty soon (potentially November) to reduce costs given softening growth. Anyone heard similar?

Genuine question, high achievers like this could easily accumulate 3x disposable wealth if they just take a L1 visa to the US, I don't see any reason not to do so. Anyone can relate?