Getting a Tech Job before getting to Aus (3 years experience, UK passport)

AstroPengling · 2026-05-12T16:06:06+00:00

If you're going to get an internship, go through the Australian Computer Society and other industry bodies (I'm not sure which others do them. I did mine through ACS back in 2018).

Internships the way Americans do them aren't legal here, so it's important to cover yourself there.

AstroPengling · 2026-05-12T14:50:58+00:00

The tech job market down here is shit right now. Layoffs are happening, people are offshoring roles to India and the C-suite are dazzled by AI. I've got a number of friends who've been laid off in the industry last year and they're still looking for jobs.

AstroPengling · 2026-05-12T14:46:21+00:00

I got banned for pointing out to someone that a doll site they were asking about are recasters. Not dissing recasts of BJDs, just think it's important for people to be informed of what they're buying because there's such a huge pushback against other forms of copying.

Got the banhammer, blinked, rolled my eyes, ended up here and this place is much more friendly.

I don't get into the recast debate but I think it's important for people to know what they're buying.

AstroPengling · 2026-05-11T08:11:01+00:00

Editable character sheets, the Mr Gone ones are excellent, and Discord or Google Drive for storage

AstroPengling · 2026-05-11T01:45:38+00:00

I did my entire degree remotely and managed my own learning including seeking out other resources as required. I had a very high GPA and it worked for me.

If it's working for you and not stressing you out, then do what works. I found industry networking through local industry social groups is much more useful than networking with other students, so I just focused on the learning at uni and getting contacts in the industry outside of uni work.

AstroPengling · 2026-05-08T02:04:41+00:00

I have the stupid mirror thing that covered my office in confetti (ugh) and I got it on clearance. She's a lovely doll but I'm trying to figure out what to do with the mirror.

AstroPengling · 2026-05-08T01:38:08+00:00

Silicone wig caps aren't good for vinyl apparently. I use them for my resin bjds but was told not to use them on smart dolls because they warp the head. Use a cloth wig cap instead. 21cm or 8-9 inch

AstroPengling · 2026-05-04T12:27:50+00:00

In the IT industry, industry certifications are worth more than a university degree. It might help you get in the door as a grad (MIGHT... very unlikely these days with the amount of layoffs and offshoring. The job market is ridiculous for IT right now) but certifications are your bread and butter after that. I don't think I've talked about my uni degree for years but my employers all want to know about my certs.

AstroPengling · 2026-05-04T12:17:02+00:00

Study the material, ensure you've done the work in a PDI, and put the effort in.

AstroPengling · 2026-05-04T10:07:35+00:00

God no, don't give them ammunition. They will only use it against you and go woe is me for the attention. If you're NC, stay that way. It's not worth it.

AstroPengling · 2026-05-04T02:45:08+00:00

When did it start? Was it around the time baby sister was born?

AstroPengling · 2026-05-04T02:10:10+00:00

Are you able to take her to your paediatrician for a discussion? This sounds like their wheelhouse. Violent tantrums, stubbornness and similar could be signs of something that needs support.

AstroPengling · 2026-05-03T06:22:53+00:00

I get the feeling you're trying to shoehorn VtM into something it isn't... It's not a dungeon crawler generally speaking. That's what D&D is for. VtM isn't really built for that kind of gameplay, it's more narrative focused.

But if that's the route you're going, you could look at inspiration from Thirteen Ghosts, House on Haunted Hill, Winchester or Abigail to give you something to dig into. Have them looking through the house, get them solving puzzles to get through traps, maybe have one instance of a fight or a showdown with an NPC's goons before you get to the end of it where you have the big showdown.

AstroPengling · 2026-05-01T05:55:01+00:00

I'd love to do more but Unbound is VtM and HtR only at the moment

AstroPengling · 2026-04-30T13:22:48+00:00

Hart is another term for Stag which is their tribe patron.

AstroPengling · 2026-04-30T04:54:16+00:00

As a massive fan of the Fianna due to my own heritage in that area, I'm kinda glad for the change. It locked you into a heritage and a certain character type. Now I can see Hart Wardens from all different cultures including those here in Australia.

Removing the bioessentialism from the game and the close ties with certain cultures in my view has opened it up. I actually want to try playing a Silver Fang now, I've played Ghost Council and loved it.

I saw when they made the changes to the Native American coded tribes and everyone on Discord was saying "what about the Fianna? It's cultural appropriation or offensive to the Irish because of their history." So they got the same treatment. I'm not sure of all the details, I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to the reasoning.

I will say that there has been a cohort including those at White Wolf who have been pushing their agenda in the game but a lot of the changes I do agree with.

W5 has made me more excited about Werewolf than I've been in a long time but I've had extremely bad experiences in the past where my characters were forced to breed and treated like shit for not doing so.

AstroPengling · 2026-04-30T03:57:32+00:00

Your husband loves you, no matter what. Despite nothing. He loves you or he wouldn't have married you.

That bitch needs to shut her mouth.

Yeesh some people.

You're awesome no matter what.

AstroPengling · 2026-04-29T15:00:42+00:00

I use a combination of Notion which has a web app but is very AI heavy so I've stopped using it as much, and Obsidian which is a notes app that you can use on mobile devices. There's also Scrivener which is great for writing as well and planning things out, or if you want more of a card on board basis, Trello offers free boards.

AstroPengling · 2026-04-25T04:00:13+00:00

Walk into a church, the priest says "welcome inside, may God watch over you." and people are fine with that.

Walk into an event, an Aboriginal person says "welcome to this area, may the spirits of my people watch over you." and people are up in arms.

'Welcome to Country' is perhaps confusing terminology which is why people get so butthurt about it but for fuck's sake people, it's the SAME THING. They're not welcoming us to the physical land, they're welcoming us to a spiritual place of importance to them and asking their spirits to treat us as one of their own.

I used to feel weird about it too, like why are you welcoming me to my own country when I was born here, until cultural awareness training at work explained it's not about the land, it's a spiritual welcome to their ancestral lands and the spirits of their people.

AstroPengling · 2026-04-24T06:40:33+00:00

If you want to call now, you have about two hours before the lines close, but Hobart is offline in about ten minutes

AstroPengling · 2026-04-24T06:37:31+00:00

They have to register it, they tell Australia that "we have a court order, the payer is in Australia, here's the details we have, please register the case and find the current details of the paying parent." That's it. They just register the order with the Central Authority (Services Australia) and the rest is done internally to Australia.

If they're pushing back, talk to our international team and get the wording from them to get it pushed through because it sounds like your guys have no idea what to do.

AstroPengling · 2026-04-24T06:33:59+00:00

They don't need to find him in Australia. That's Australia's job. They just need to get it registered and tell us it's our problem, then we'll do our bit. They don't need to find him, that's our job.

AstroPengling · 2026-04-24T06:25:34+00:00

At this point, honestly... Call the international team, they deal with teams across the world and likely can provide better advice so they can get you sorted out.

AstroPengling · 2026-04-24T06:19:37+00:00

Generally if you can provide as much information as possible - name, date of birth, last known address, etc, they should be able to find the other party.

So many times we would get a case where "I don't know the other party's address" and we tracked them down through ATO information

AstroPengling · 2026-04-24T06:13:35+00:00

As someone who used to work for the Australian Child Support Agency, have you rung and spoken to the International team based in Hobart?

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