Juanita Said:

Teaching or child care jobs on a cruise ship?

We Answered:

I was a youth counselor on norwegian cruise lines for about 2 years. I thoroughly enjoyed my time working on board. Yes you may be working more hours a day than you are used to but the benefits are pretty great. You do work everyday, but not all day. You will have time in ports to look around. In my time on board I've been to Alaska, Bahamas, Mexico, through the Panama canal, Belize, Honduras, Malta, Egypt, Turkey, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Morocco, Las Palmas and many more. The youth program takes kids from 2-17. They are broken into age groups and then depending on the theme for that time is what activities you do.

The living arrangements aren't really that bad. As a youth counselor you are considered part of cruise staff so most of the time you only have one roommate. Your room has bunk beds, a desk, mini fridge, tv, dvd player, and a bathroom and shower. It may not be huge but its fairly comfortable. there is a crew bar that sells cheap beer and wine and some snacks. There is a crew shop on board that you can buy other things you may need and rent movies.

The best way to get into cruise ship jobs is to go online to each of the companies websites. Look under careers or human resources and a lot of them have openings posted. Do not pay any website that claims they can get you a job on a cruise line.

You get paid in us dollars every month. I am not sure what the exchange rate is for you though. I have worked with youth counselors from australia and new zealand.

I hope that this helps you out some.

Good luck

Norma Said:

Want to move to Sydney, what should I do?

We Answered:

We Australian's don't get offended by getting called an Aussie (well not me anyway) but, remember it is pronounced 'Ozzi'.

You will need money, aprox $150AUD onwards for rent, per week.

Don't move to Sydney, Melbourne is where the works are. Sydney is for tourists, sure it is a great place for a visit, but the real Australia is in Melbourne, Victoria.

If you want to move to Australia permanently, or for a long period of time, look into all our cities, they all ave there charms (I still say Melbourne is the best though).

Brisbane is warm most the year, as it is closer to the equator, the city is great, but the mosquitoes is Queensland could kill you (literately). They do have the occasional cyclone every now and then.

Sydney is the face of Australia so it is more of a touristy destination, the Harbour bridge, Opera House, the Tower, the docks and more are great for a holiday, and if you like it, why not live there.

Melbourne is the Arts, Sports, Businesses, Education, etc... centre, most TV shows, movies, and events are here in Melbourne. We get a lot of international students (although there is a racism issue, which there are no excuses for, I think it is horrible and do feel for the victims). We have a saying in Australia, "it's as random as Melbourne's weather" which you could use to describe this sentence.

I don't know much about the other cities, but I hope to get around to all of them soon.

Some other things about Australia:

- we drive on the left.
- the word 'colour' is spelt with a 'u'
- we don't have 1 or 2 cent coins (coins are 5cents, 10c, 20c, 50c, $1, $2. Notes are $5, $10, $20, $50 & $100)
- analogue television is being switched off in 2013, so you are probably best to get a TV with a set top box built in, or by one that plugs in the AV connectors. There are more channels on digital TV anyway. TV signal is Free except for the equipment. All TV here is presented in wide-screen, so you might want to consider a wide-screen TV.
- we don't ride kangaroos, which some people seem to think we do.
- The Simpsons are on channel 10 at 6pm most nights.
- Best news is on our Ad free ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corporation) which is just about everywhere media wise, Television, Radio & Internet. (you can check it out at www.abc.net.au and www.abc.net.au/news
- Bigger is not better, get an economical car.
- Most 'Aussie's' are obsessed with sport. Mostly the cricket, and the AFL or NRL.
- Australia is generally not very religious, sure we are a Christian nation, but it doesn't matter.
- Customs are very scared about the smallest things sneaking in, so don't worry if you get held up at the airport, but don't bring anything suspicious, it is just easier that way.
- You won't find the flag everywhere, which I think is what you have everywhere in the US.

I could go on forever, but my laptop battery is running out... hope you have a good time if you do choose to come!

Mabel Said:

Any school principal jobs in Sydney?

We Answered:

You will not find a job that way - you may have a Ed D but you dont have experience in the Australian school system which is imperitive to becoming a principle. You will need a Master of Education Administration or some experience in a school before you can apply for a position. All positions are advertised INTERNALLY so you have to be a teacher in the state you are interested in (Qld and NSW have different systems) in order to apply for the positions.

Special Education training at university is limited to one university in NSW and another in Qld - their departments only have 2 FT teachers so that doesnt seem likely also.

Apply to be a techer, get registered in the state, get experience in Australian teaching and then apply.

EDIT: Australia is/has mainstreamed special education into standard schools so there are no longer special ed specific schools around.

Jesus Said:

Is science teaching in Australia (Sydney) a good job? Are the schools ok? Are the kids well behaved?

We Answered:

It depends on where exactly in Sydney you want to teach. There is a need for Science and Maths teachers in public secondary schools - but any other teachers in the public schools (particuarly primary) - you'll be on a waiting list....
Much easier to find a job in private education - look on the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper/jobs section to see ads. You can also approach private schools yourself with your CV and relevant qualification - and you might get casual work which could well lead to full time. If you are willing to go somewhere further from the city, or on the outskirts of Sydney, you'll have more opportunity as the demand for teachers is greater. The behaviour of the kids varies from school to school. Not as bad as the kids in London, but not as good as the kids in Japan ;) I don't think you can generalise a whole city's kid's behaviour.
The schools vary wildy suburb to suburb as well, for example the schools in Sydney's eastern suburbs like Bondi and Double Bay are largely private and very expensive. In less 'prime real estate' areas like Mt Druitt, the schools are known to be 'rougher'.
As far as being a 'good' job - do you mean pay wise? It's fine - depending on how many years experience you have, but even first year's pay isn't dire. Enjoy.

Jack Said:

How can I get an English/Drama teaching job near where I live? I live near North Sydney, Sydney, Australia.?

We Answered:

I'd try the online job classifieds. I know Seek.com.au for example lets you search by a range of filters like primary or secondary education. You can use search words like "drama" to get the best results. You can also just look for job on the north side of the harbour.