Introduction
Information technology/computer science have always been one of the hottest disciplines in higher education, especially with the development of some new areas such as AI and big data. According to Payscale’s research, IT master degree graduates are leading the graduate income, making on average $100,000 AUD per year. There are numerous job openings in major countries in this related field. Nowadays, choosing IT programs has become a popular study option for university students.
The IT industry in Australia also has extremely high potential. Australian Computer Society has predicted that there will be hundreds of thousands of positions vacant waiting for graduates to fill up by 2024 and beyond. In Australia, IT graduates will receive a relatively high income while some IT occupations are also on the Australian skilled migration list. These skills and experience will then provide students with a stable permanent residency pathway.
PR Pathway
To be eligible for any Australian skilled migration visa, students need to achieve a relevant skill assessment first. There are several key points for candidates to pursue an IT skill assessment:
1. An IT related qualification – For students coming to Australia for their bachelor or master degrees, they need to make sure at least 8 course units are IT related. Otherwise, they may not pass the skills assessment for the academic requirement.
2. 1-year post qualification work experience – highly relevant to student’s nominated occupation. Alternatively, students can choose to study a Professional Year (PY) program.
Visa options
1. Skilled independent (189)
Eligible occupations: Analyst programmer/Computer Network and Systems Engineer/Developer programmer/ICT business analyst/Software engineer/Systems analyst.
Developer programmer & software engineer are currently on priority list.
The invitation of this visa will be made based on candidate’s point test result and the general needs of the occupation throughout the nation.
2. State nomination (190/491)
Eligible occupations: all the occupations above in 189 category plus many IT occupations on the short-term list such as database administrator, network analyst, web developer etc.
Requirements for these 2 visa categories are different in each state or territory in Australia.
Please contact our Registered Migration Agents for detailed counselling!
3. Employer nomination (186/482/494)
Candidates with relevant IT qualifications, appropriate length of work experience and an eligible employer can consider this visa option. Visa options in this category require higher work experience in nominated IT occupation (at least 2-3 years).
Course Options
- Advanced Diploma of Engineering Technology
- Associate Degree in Engineering
- Bachelor of Engineering (Civil Engineering) (Honours)
- Master of Engineering
- PhD
Career outcomes
Australian IT graduates can seek employment opportunities throughout the world. We will share the career outcomes for some IT occupations:
1. Software and application programmers:
Weekly income: $2000 Future growth: Very strong
2. ICT business analyst
Weekly income: $2274 Future growth: Strong
3. Computer network and system engineers
Weekly income: $2020 Future growth: Strong
4. ICT security
Weekly income: $1932 Future growth: Moderate
Why study IT in Australia?
1. Australian universities have a strong reputation for their teaching quality and career outcomes. According to QS ranking 2021, 5 Australian universities sit in world’s top 50 and 7 sit in the top 100. In the specific discipline ranking system, there are also 7 universities listed among the world’s top 100.
2. Australian universities will normally have 2 or 3 intakes each year which makes it more flexible for international students to commence their program based on their individual situation.
3. Students with non-IT related backgrounds are welcomed by most of the Master of IT programs at Australian universities. The tailor-made course structures will allow students to start from the beginning until they are fully job-ready.
4. By studying 2 years or more in a higher education IT degree, students will be eligible for a 2-4-year Post Study Working Visa. Graduates are able to utilize these visa opportunities to get more work experience or prepare for their future migration options.
5. The Australian skilled migration occupation list covers most of the IT occupations with some of them even on the priority list under the current Covid-19 situation. Students doing IT degrees in Australia can select the units freely and work in their interested field whilst maintaining migration opportunities.
University recommendation
1. The University of Queensland
Bachelor of Information Technology
Course length: 3 years
Tuition fee: $45120/year
Master of Information Technology
Course length: 2 years
Tuition fee: $45120/year
2. Monash University
Bachelor of Information Technology
Course length: 3 years
Tuition fee: $42800/year
Master of Information Technology
Course length: 2 years
Tuition fee: $42800/year
3. The University of New South Wales
Bachelor of Science (Computer Science)
Course length: 3 years
Tuition fee: $47760/year
Master of Information Technology
Course length: 2 years
Tuition fee: $47280/year
4. Charles Sturt University Study Centre
Master of IT (12 Subjects)
Course length: 2 years
Tuition fee: $24912/year
(Scholarships Available)