work experience during education

[soheil]

hi
i need help with something what is the work experience met date? is it before or after the graduation ? i`m working as network engineer for 6 years and 4 years of it is during bachelor degree .

thank you

[JandM]

In most cases, it is counted from after qualification, as INZ have the pattern in mind of qualification leading to knowledge which can then be used in work experience in a skilled job. But some people have been able to make a case for counting work from before or during their studies, if they could show that they were working at a high level then. (This is quite often the case with IT, because development is happening so quickly, with people working it out for themselves.)

Sorry not to be able to give you a clear-cut answer. It is going to depend on what evidence you can show of what happened in your own case.

[soheil]

thank you for your quick response !
so what do you suggest ? should i risk it ? i have bachelor degree in IT and my work experience is all about IT ...

[JandM]

Look at SM11 here http://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/6954.htm, which has all the rules about work experience. That will give you the best basis to judge your chances.

[soheil]

there is not a thing about work experience obtained during studying !! i dont know should i consider full assessment ?

[JandM]

No, it doesn't mention 'during studying', but the point is that if the experience can be shown to be at a high skill level and contributing to your present status, it will sometimes be allowed to count. It's a matter of arguing your case to INZ.

If when you say 'assessment', you're thinking of NZQA, that is all about qualifications, not what your work experience was, or wasn't. In this situation, you'll have to put forward your own evidence, and arguments. See SM11.10 a iii, and SM11.10.5 a and b, here. http://www.immigration.govt.nz/opsmanual/30570.htm

Do you need the extra points from the extra years of experience to make up your 140 for EOI?

[soheil]

Thank you for your reply , unfortunately i need the point from work experience ,because i just got my bachelor degree this year and all my work experienced was obtained during study, i also have CCNP and MCSE certification ,,,in SM11.10 and SM11.10.5 i think thats my case...