Travel and Work from Australia to India

How do I work my way from Australia to India

Hello,

Starting a vagabond journey off in Australia is a good move. As an Australian friend of mine once said, “Australia is meant to be the easiest country in the world to find work in.” To back up this statement is the fact that if you are under 30 years old, do not have any dependents, and are from one of a rather extensive list of countries you may be eligible for a Working Holiday Visa. These are usually year long visas and allow you to work for up to six months with any single employer.

Australian Working Holiday Visa

If you are not eligible for an Australian Working Holiday Visa it is still my impression that this will be a good place to look for under the table or volunteer work. A volunteer job when traveling that takes care of all of your living expenses is often almost as good as getting paid a local wage. There are plenty of farming volunteer jobs available in Australia that are just an internet search away from getting the contact information for. About working under the table in Australia, I have heard various opinions. It is my impression that if you are out in the countryside, it would not be too difficult to find paying work without a visa. Look for work in bars, on farms, in hotels, any place that seems like it could be able to hire a worker without papers. Ask around, post your intentions on Couchsurfing message boards, make friends, talk to everyone — word of mouth is often the best way to land an under the table job when traveling.

But if your money is really tight, just pick up a bicycle and go off into the Australian countryside in search of work. Most of the country has really spread out population centers, but if you stick around the east, it seems as if a bicycle could be the perfect mode of cheap transportation. Hitch hiking is also a viable way to get around Australia.

Remember that $20 saved is as good as $20 made. This will be your mantra.

From Australia, your best shot for finding work will probably be teaching English. A critical component of finding these jobs easily is having a university degree, and from your question I am unsure if you possess one. No worries, if you do, then finding work as an English teacher will be easier; if not, then it is still possible. Either way I highly recommend taking the best Teaching English as a Foreign Language certificate course you can find. I took mine online, and the certification is viewed the same as if I took it in a “classroom,” but, as you have time, I recommend taking a real course. This will be clutch as you search for work in Asia.

It is my experience that most schools who hire English teachers would like them to stay for at least 6 months, if not an entire year. I would plot finding one these jobs carefully, as you often need to make some sort of commitment to land work as an English teacher that will pay enough to allow you to cache some money to go traveling on with. Look at Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, or even Taiwan for English teaching jobs that you could pick up enroute on your trip. Plan your arrival in a country that you want to teach in with regard to when its university semesters begin.

You can tell what countries in Asia are hot on the trail of English teachers by going to Dave’s ESL Café

Beyond Southeast Asia, I would recommend just traveling on the money you have already made into India. It is cheap to travel there — cheaper if you stay away from tourist places (any town you have ever heard of). If you have a strong managerial background, then you may be able to land work in an outsourced center for a USA company, but I have no idea why you would want to do this. I say, when you get to India, enjoy riding the trains and the fact that you worked your way across the south of Asia.

Helpful resources about finding work when traveling

• Work abroad and travel employment
• How to find grunt work when traveling
• Teaching English and writing jobs abroad
• WOOFing in Europe
• How to find work in Europe
• Travelogue work file
• Work at hotel in Guatemala
• Work in youth hostels
• Travel and work on farms

Walk Slow,

Wade

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Original question about how to work from Australia to India

I donated to your site, but I didn’t know how to attach my question to it. Anyway, very cool site, and I really dig what you got going on. Here is my question, and I apologize for it being so long winded. I’m starting to get into my late twenties, and starting next summer, I have a rare opportunity in my life. No obligations. So next summer/fall, I wanted to do a year abroad. I’ve been looking into a year trip that starts in Australia and ends up in India. I would need to work along the way, as I don’t have a years worth of disposable cash. As I look into the trip, I am less confident that it is at all possible because of visa/work restrictions. I would love some advice, and maybe some pointers to where I should be looking, people I can talk to, etc.

Some brief thoughts: I don’t mind shoveling shit if it means being able experience that side of the planet. I’m young and my skin is still tough. Also, since when did borders and work visas become such a pain in the butt? I have to imagine a trip like this wasn’t so hard 50 years ago. What’s going on?

Thanks for the advice.