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Thread: Ideal profession to have for good employability in NZ

  1. #1
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    Feb 2012
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    Default Ideal profession to have for good employability in NZ

    Hi there,

    my story may be a bit unusual; I have lived in New Zealand for six years, and left about a year ago in search of work. The problem with me is that I am a car designer (as in, transportation designer, one of those guys who spend their working lives scraping around on lifesized clay models of car bodies, sketching and drawing with markers and tape, building 3D computer models of cars, etc.). I trained in the US and Germany, and hold a master's degree in it. I have a bachelor's degree in industrial design - basically the same thing for creating furniture, household appliances, etc. So, totally the kind of R&D work for serial production purposes you'd easily get into in places like Germany, Japan, the US, and China - which is precisely where I find myself jetting around these days, doing contract work.

    But I simply can't forget my pretty little life in New Zealand, way back when; I taught at tertiary level then, so, was a university lecturer in design. I've been trying to get back into NZ that way, but so far, no luck - it seems that there's no hope these days without a PhD for that kind of job now, and there may be one every other year.

    Now I'm thinking I may just need to go back to school if I want to live in NZ. I've been looking at all sorts of things on careers.gov.nz and found it great; I could totally see myself becoming a plumber or something, getting certifications as I go. But what I worry about is that this may not work out for me for reasons I may not see right now - like, I'm really not your typical "Kiwi Bloke", and I wonder if I may need to be one to succee in a field like this? How important is it to "be just the right kind of guy", fitting the stereotypes? I remember that I even came across as a bit too tender and introvert as a lecturer, not to imagine how things may be in a real "guy's field" like that.

    But maybe I've got it wrong? What should I do to heighten my employability in NZ, I wonder? I have no family, and no obligations. When I turn up, it'll be a case of "some Kraut sleeping in the back of an old Ford Falcon station wagon, looking for work, ready to go anywhere." I have no idea what to do with my qualifications. I probably have enough skills to be useful to all sorts of people, but how to market that? What to do with it? After all, I hope sleeping in an old Falcon won't be my lifestyle for long.

    Any ideas?

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Jun 2011
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    You seems very skilled in design and sculpture. Have you tried applying to the various film workshops in wellington. The best company, i feel, is weta workshop, that's a long shot but no harm applying...

  3. #3
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    Yes, thanks, that was my first point of call; I've actually been registered with Weta for two years now, but so far, I haven't even had a single email from them. They have this amazing database though, and I imagine it would make sense for anyone in my field to register with them. The problem is probably that there is simply not that much going in New Zealand with regards to design; it's different in Shanghai, where I can basically walk into four different design projects a day, designing anything from lamps to car radios to scooters, but I guess that lack of industry is simply what makes NZ also so appealing. I think I may be in for complete re-training if I want to live there.

  4. #4
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    Default


    But I simply can't forget my pretty little life in New Zealand



  5. #5
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    And it was so very pretty. I have put the fifteen thousand best photos of my years in New Zealand on my flickr website, and when I watch them, wherever I am, I get sentimental. There's nothing like waking up at three in the night in some bug infested place in India, because the street dogs are making such a racket, feeling hungover from life in general, and opening the website on the trusty laptop to find all those beautiful sights again. Those are the times when I catch myself thinking "what are you doing outside of that?" But of course, the answer is "earning a living". That's the bit I've been finding pretty damn hard in NZ.

  6. #6
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    Well, seems like your heart is in NZ. Have you started the immigration process?

  7. #7
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    Manchester UK-Chch NZ
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    If you have skills in drafting, If I was you I would look into civil engineeering drafting at consulting civil engineer companies (positions may not necessarily be advertised). This is as highly regarded as a civil engineering degree albeit less pay and I believe there is plenty of roading work going on in new zealand. But I'm not sure as I have never been to new zealand. If you want to try it download a trial version of AutoCAD civil 3D, make a [ground] surface and try creating a road or pipeline in 3D?. The design element of it is relatively simple, in the UK we use the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (free to download), and this basically states minimum road widths/cross-falls to ensure drainage, minimum curvatures termed horizontal/vertical allignments to ensure you can see vehicles coming the other way and the odd junction. If you cannot meet the requiremnts you make a cutting and form an embankment with the fill....simples. I have some example roadworks drawings if you are interested. I would do this myself but I can't justify spending 6 months learning the software.

    Thanks
    Last edited by markgrange; 10th February 2012 at 11:11 PM.

  8. #8
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    Could you not set yourself as a consultant or whatever in your field? With technology these days, for sure you can do a lot of work remotely? Have a nice house in NZ, fly out as and when the need arises.

  9. #9
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    That is my longterm plan now. I've just turned 40, have everything ahead of me. Somewhere out there, between China, India, Europe, the US, and Brazil, there are my necessary NZD 500.000 to start up my bed and breakfast in the Marlborough Sound when I'm sixty. I'll be out and about until those have accumulated, gladly sooner than later, and then start phase 2 of the plan. That's when it'll be time to invest in a kitty litter box again, too - looking forward to having a cat again, or five, that can go after the possums.

    @ previous posters: Yes, actually, I have permanent residence, and have already spent six years in NZ and left again - no work for me, unfortunately. The drafting angle is an interesting one to consider- would be kind of logical, also 3D modeling for architecture firms, maybe. Thanks.
    Last edited by BathtubViking; 18th February 2012 at 09:07 PM.

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