How to Study & Work in Australia Without Spending a Fortune

Most people think that Studying in Australia is expensive. Now, Little that they know that its actually very affordable if you considered the fact that the Australian Government is allowing the Student Visa holders to work 40 hours per fortnight and Unlimited during holidays.

And there are a lot of affordable courses available through out Australia especially in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide and Perth.

Being low cost course, it doesnt mean that its lack of quality. All the courses that being provided are governed by ASQA [Australian Skills Quailty Authority] to have a certain level of quality and for the student visa, they all have to be registered and have the CRICOS code.

Below are some of the Case Studies from our students in each respective cities:


Melbourne

MELBOURNE

Lianne Yap - Malaysia

Lianne arrived in Melbourne last year from Malaysia and currently enrolled in Certificate IV in Kitchen Management.

Her initial cost were:

  • Application fee : $200
  • Material fee : $1,500, but she chose to source her own equipment
  • Course fee : $2,250/ 3 months
  • Visa fee : $710+ $11 credit card surcharge
  • OSHC : $680+ per year (Medical Insurance - Compulsory)

 

After the completion of the Certificate III in Commercial Cookery, she landed a job as helper in the kitchen. This adds up to her professional experience in the resume, as she is allowed to work up to 48 hours per fortnight. Her study itself is only 2 days/ week, which leaves her plenty of free time for the rest of the week.

She sets aside a budget for weekly living cost :

Rent: $250/ week
Food: $200/ week
Miscellaneous: $50

Lianne is planning to apply for residency after the completion of her course, since chef is listed in the Australian skilled occupation list. Things are looking bright in her favor, and she is keep a positive attitude towards her future career.

Sydney

 

SYDNEY

Monica Cook - United States

Monica has been studying Diploma of Leaderships and Management in Sydney CBD for about 7 months now, she is quite happy with her current lifestyle and the fact that being able to choose the right course to further her career is just an icing on top.

Her initial costs were:

  • Application fee: $200
  • Course fee: $1,350/ 3 months
  • Material fee: $50
  • Visa fee: $550 + $8 credit card surcharge
  • OSHC: $500+ per year (Medical Insurance - Compulsory)

 

She is currently working in a Bar on Kent St. Sydney CBD as a waitress and being paid $22 an hour (minimum wages for casual staff). She works around her schedule with the school and working about 20 hours per week (thats about $440 per week) And during her school holidays, she is working about 40 - 45 hours per week to save up for her holidays and her shiny new MacBook Pro. Her College has 5 months worth of holidays per year which is divided into 5 weeks of holidays every 3 months. The schedule for the school is also quite flexible, she could attend 1-1.5 Days/ Nights per week plus an Online course/ assignment.

Her weekly costs are:

Rent: $180/ week
Food: $80/ week (occasional cooking)
Miscellaneous: $100

Monica has been working very hard and her employers has offered her for sponsorships towards the end of her Study as a Customer Service Manager for a new Bar that they are going to open in early 2017. She also manage to save herself a bit of money to have a bit of fun by going to Gold Coast with all the theme parks during summer vacation, Melbourne for sight seeing and shopping, Snorkling in Great Barrier Reef, Sydney Beaches (Bondi, Manly, Coogee, etc) thats just few bus stops away and much much more.

Brisbane

BRISBANE

Nick Hansamut - Thailand

Nick is very passionate about bodybuilding and wishes to work in fitness centre. But in order to work as gym trainer here, he needs at least a qualification to match Australian standard. A certificate III in Fitness is the pathway to start his career in fitness field, and he has completed 1 term with 2 terms remaining.

His initial application cost was:

  • Application fee: $200
  • Course fee: $1,690/ 3 months
  • Material fee: $300/ qualification
  • Enrolment fee : $95
  • Visa fee: $550 + $8 credit card surcharge
  • OSHC: $500+ per year (Medical Insurance - Compulsory)

 

The fitness course incorporates half practical and half theory, with only 2-day-class per week. As someone who is enthusiastic about fitness and health in general, this is the perfect course option.
Apart from his allowance, Nick works part time as well to accommodate his weekly expenses:

Rent: $165/ week
Food: $120/ week
Miscellaneous: $50

Once Nick has completed Diploma of Sports and Recreational Management which can be packaged in his study, he can meet the industry standard and apply as a fitness centre manager as listed in CSOL as well, combined with his dedication and experience in the field.

Perth

PERTH

Sandra Ika - Indonesia

Ever since she was young, Sandra has always been getting along well with children younger than her and grew a natural instinct to understand kids. This led her to pursue an education in Early Childhood Education and Care in Perth, Australia. The tuition fee is quite reasonable, and she gets to experience studying in other country as well.

This is what she paid to enrol into the course and apply for student visa :

  • Application fee : $230
  • Material fee : $ 400/ qualification
  • Course fee : $1,950/ 3 months
  • Visa fee : $550 + $8 credit card surcharge
  • OSHC : $500+ per year (Medical Insurance - Compulsory)

 

To finance her weekly expenses, Sandra works part-time at the same time, which is capped to 40 hours per fortnight. The earned salary is used to support her living and cover her tuition fee payment as well.

Rent: $160/ week
Food: $120/ week
Miscellaneous: $50

The total course duration for Sandra to obtain the Diploma is 2 years, and afterwards she can opt to transfer the credits to the higher education.