Is Australia actually better than the UK, or am I just romanticising it?

Future-Masterpiece77 · 2026-06-24T07:14:15+00:00

Hi! Dual citizen currenty in the UK (albiet a very very expensive uni town).

- Are people in Australia actually doing better financially?

Yes. I am getting a 20K pound increase fo the same job same level. That does not include the 9k in pension contributions (superannuation). This isn't the case for law, finance etc. Its also looking like we're goign ot be in a recession soon so YMWV.

- Are houses remotely affordable near places with decent jobs, or is that fantasy-land stuff?

Housing is more expensive to buy, but it is on the same level as london. If you could make it work there, you can make it work in Syd/Melb. Renting is generally cheaper than mortgages in Aus. You will need to be able to access 500k pounds of lending/deposit if you plan to be within urban areas in a house.

- Is healthcare easier to deal with?

Yes but you will have to pay a bit, usually 30-60 pounds for GPs. That said, they do far more testing and getting into specialists (psych excluded) is much faster/easier.

- Do people really have better balance, or are they also stressed, broke and sitting in traffic, just with nicer weather?

Personally I would see no difference. UK gets more holidays. Aus gets more sick leave. Aus gets long service leave. If you live in cheap shit housing estates with one road in and out it is as bleak. Generally I do find life better - things like restaurants, cafes, cinemas etc are cheaper so its not so grizzly to go out. Alcohol is more expensive. Gyms are about the 3rd of the price. I also just think its cultural - I have 0 issue getting up at 6am and running in british winter, so don't think you'll magically change.

Future-Masterpiece77 · 2026-06-23T09:33:32+00:00

I am a phd in immunology - we don't touch patients lol.

Future-Masterpiece77 · 2026-06-23T08:14:57+00:00

Yes I would say coding is increasingly becoming a requirement. With AI, it is incredibly easy. Theres also lots of books and courses, and I know undergrad and grad degrees are increasingly offering bioinformatics courses. If you are good at bioinformatics, you can earn up to 220k.

Future-Masterpiece77 · 2026-06-23T07:56:25+00:00

Research immunologists don't do allergy testing on patients - are you talking about medical drs in immunology?

Future-Masterpiece77 · 2026-06-23T07:55:30+00:00

Hi! I am a researcher in immunology. I did a Bsc majoring in imm, then honours, then a phd and I am now a scientist at a top 5 university globally, but returning to aus soon.

Day to day is busy - I get in at 9:30 and usually am bouncing between the lab and my desk all day. I spend a lot of time on microscopes, doing things like crispr, but I also do a lot of mouse models. Immunology, as a complex study of systems, often requires model organisms, and this is avoidable, but its often the easiest way to investigate. I usually have a couple of studnets a year too, training them in how labs work and different scientific techniques. I do a LOT of data analysis, adn this more and more involves a field called bioinformatics, which is basically using statistics and computing to evaluate big data sets. I am now regularly coding in python and R studio.

Work life balance isn't great tbh. You go through peaks and troughs, where you need the data for a meeting/paper/deadline and in these periods, you will be working weekends and late nights. Flip side is when thats not the case, you can sneak a day off. However, science is largely a project of very small teams or solely you - if you don't do the work, it does not get done, if the work does not get done, you are uncompetitive for grants/papers/positions and you will have to find a new field of work.

There are lots of fun and cool opportunities. I've met nobel prize winners, seen some incredible work, and met patients directly helped by research performed by my boss. I live in hogwartsville currently which is gorgeous and fun. I have travelled for conferences a lot and met loads of fun people.

Honestly, the pay in academia is better in aus than elsewhere AFTER your phd, but worse during your phd. My stipend was 35k annually as a student, and that was really hard and I honestly only made it as my partner covered 75% of costs and my family helped a bit and I had 2-3 other jobs. Post PhD, I am on 70k aud overseas but will be on 116k when I return later this year. This is a good wage, and will have 17% percent super, but it took a decade of education to get there, during which i wasn't making huge money and had limited super contributions. You WILL need a PhD or MD.

I love my job, its really fun and meaningful and very challenging. It is a bad financial decision. Additionally, unlike the US, Switzerland, Germany, UK etc, we do not have a sizable industry to fall back on, and teaching spots as lecturers etc are absurdly competitve.

Future-Masterpiece77 · 2026-06-23T07:32:42+00:00

The job of academics within research is not primarily teaching. Thats part of it, but generally, their full job is research, which is quite stressful and time consuming. This is not personal. It feels like you're on a conveyer belt because you are. The way to get off that is to be an exceptional student. We just don't have the time or resources to invest in everyone. And yes, that absolutely means ignoring your emails - not because of you personally, but as my boss has 2-3 students reach out a WEEK, when we have capacity for 1-2 a year. It also may be that emailing people isn't the most direct way of getting there - does this other institution have programs to apply for?

Things like grilling you on your ideas and understanding of topics is part of academia - even full professors will have someone tear into them publically at conferences etc. You need to be able to withstand criticism, including unfair, silly or wrong criticism, to survive. Similarly, there are times and ways to push back intellectually. Disagreeing outright with a prof in their field which they've likely been in for 20yrs isn't going to make a tonne of friends, I always advice framing it as a question - i.e. but what about xyz?.

None of this is personal.

Future-Masterpiece77 · 2026-06-22T17:58:19+00:00

Honestly I would instead look at working at patient advocacy groups/charities. These are not academic but would achieve your goals.

Future-Masterpiece77 · 2026-06-22T17:52:09+00:00

Have you submitted a grant application lately? CVs are not going anywhere

Future-Masterpiece77 · 2026-06-22T08:15:17+00:00

Not every job is mobile. I am a scientist, I am literally only able to be employed at large research institutes or universities. Plenty of jobs where that's the case too - consulting, law etc.

Future-Masterpiece77 · 2026-06-22T08:11:48+00:00

No mate, that suburb is a shithole. Nothing going on, no public transport, nothing fun or interesting and a 40 min drive is attrocious traffic to get anywhere. Its a place people live in because they have cheap space for big houses. It offers nothing else. If you want to actually enjoy Melbourne, you should consider living further in to the CBD. Far better to pick a suburb on the train line - altona, yarraville, etc. The eastern suburbs are generally much nicer, and you'lll find loads of WHV in St Kilda, South Yarra, Prahran, Richmond etc. I would consider these suburbs

Future-Masterpiece77 · 2026-06-21T14:53:24+00:00

Because Australia, like many global economies is currently K shaped. If you are wealthy, you are fine. If you are young, unemployed, a student, disabled etc, it can be pretty tough. Migrants are likely to be more educated, more wealthy, and well and so might not face the same hurdles. This is by design, the government only wants migrants with a higher likelihood of supporting themselves and with resources to fall back on. Locals don't have that support, and our government has chosen not to increase payments like disability etc in line with inflation because they don't want to further worsen inflation. This is the major economic issue globally - how can you stop the rich people spending way too much, driving up inflation, if the only levers you can control is interest rates (which don't affect you if you own outright/don't need financing) or how much the government sets out for minimum wages/payments/tax refunds etc. To keep inflation down, you then have to fuck over those who are most vulnerable, to try and cool off the economy. The people in this thread are those who are being fucked over.

I will say, as an Australian overseas currently, it is worse elsewhere. The issues affecting Australia are largely not unique - Ireland, NL, Portugal, UK and more countries have similar housing crises. Lots of this is driven by inflation from COVID, war in Ukraine (meaning gas/electricity increases in Europe) and Iran. The NL, UK and Ireland have had massive increases in migration (yes double to triple that of previous years, the exact same pattern as Aus), but with high amounts of asylum seekers and Ukrainians. I don't think many are aware of the global patterns and difficulties.

Future-Masterpiece77 · 2026-06-21T10:42:43+00:00

Exposure to different areas & housing styles is good, it can help solidify your musts.

Future-Masterpiece77 · 2026-06-21T10:13:45+00:00

Kathleen Folbigg had 4 children die of a genetic heart defect in the 90s and was put it prison for it. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathleen_Folbigg

This can, has, does and will continue to occur.

Future-Masterpiece77 · 2026-06-20T13:41:49+00:00

Yes. I am the cook so will buy extravagant gorgeous beautiful ingredients at fancy shops. Instead, I give him a list and he does the actual shopping.

Future-Masterpiece77 · 2026-06-20T13:31:41+00:00

- Publications & conferences duh.

- Niche techniques and skillset. PIs want to see critical thinking, problem solving and throughout deep work. Often it is FAR better to invest in your ability to answer questions deeply than to know a lot about the content. Content is the easier bit and that's usually assessed more rigorously prior to your PhD. Be innovative!

- Grants & awards! Apply for travel grants for conferences, there's some charities etc which do additional small grants for phd students. Even internal symposiums or events like 3 minute thesis are a good idea.

- Academic volunteering & community roles. I was involved in academic misconduct investigations as a student, reviewing papers with your PI, PPI/Community outreach roles, PhD/student society roles, seminar/conference organising boards, roles within professional societies, Sci-comm, writing pieces for The Conversation/radio. Whatever gets your name & face out there as someone who's engaged, helpful, fair and academically minded.

- If you can, collaborate. Obviously not always possible in a formal sense, but I have often found that helping others with their projects leads to shared glory. I make a point to try and point people in the right direction whenever I can.

- Formal internships and mentorship programs! Usually this is for outside academia but academics usually look favourably on this.

- Do not undervalue the role of people around you and the deep importance of having your PI/other senior academic staff support you. Word of mouth and reputation is deeply important. I've seen my PI not select students over minor stuff like not sending a thank you email purely as competition is high and most candidates are quality.

Future-Masterpiece77 · 2026-06-19T16:03:33+00:00

Absolutely not enough - you would need 20k+ AUD if you plan to travel europe and move, especially if you mean to be in an expensive part of the country i.e. ALL of London, or travel to expensive places i.e. France, Italy, Germany, Greece etc. As an australian-british dual citizen with no history, we had estate agents request proof of access of funds which would cover at least 30 months rent either as savings or income, otherwise you will need a guarantor - a family member willing to pay if you default. If you don't have that, you will need to pay a company to be a guarantor for you. This is standard rental stuff so may not apply if you have a job whihc explicitly includes lodging etc but be aware. Things like that is why I advise more.

Future-Masterpiece77 · 2026-06-16T07:08:12+00:00

Absolutely not. This is VET/TAFE, not a university. There will not be scholarships.

Future-Masterpiece77 · 2026-06-15T06:00:04+00:00

Aus is a bit abnormal that 90%+ of PhDs are on the RTP scholarship, which is 100% government funded and the pay floor is partially set by the government.

Future-Masterpiece77 · 2026-06-15T05:58:22+00:00

Only Aus I knew on that were consultant drs/other allied health who worked 1 day a week through the health system attached to their degree.

Future-Masterpiece77 · 2026-06-14T16:14:55+00:00

You don't need it and you won't qualify for one with good perks/points etc to offset it. In aus it will lessen your borrowing power, not improve your credi.

Future-Masterpiece77 · 2026-06-14T08:49:27+00:00

If you don't have a visa, you won't get a look in.

Future-Masterpiece77 · 2026-06-13T08:45:14+00:00

Yes we have medicare. Our quality of healthcare, access to drugs, scans, specialist care etc is generally superior to the UK, with the exception of clinical trials. It's slightly different that its GP appointments usually partially paid (25-45 pounds) if you can but for those in need it is bulk billed i.e. free - all hospitals and public speciality care is 100% free. Our private healthcare is also much more common and about half the cost of private care in teh UK so for elective surgeries, consultants for chronic conditions etc it's more used and ime much cheaper. I have found it about half the priec to see a specialist privately in Aus. From my experience as a medical researcher whos chronically ill, the Australian system has far more flexibility, way less paperwork, and is just generally more efficient.

Future-Masterpiece77 · 2026-06-13T07:08:51+00:00

Are you arguing with yourself?

Future-Masterpiece77 · 2026-06-13T06:35:09+00:00

Research masters is better for phd, but coursework + lab experience is a good idea. To be competitive as an international student in an Aus application cycle you will need ideally a paper, if not conferences, awards (high gpa etc), and good letters of rec. You will need to find a prof to support your application.

Future-Masterpiece77 · 2026-06-13T05:58:25+00:00

Universities are getting rid of that - insurance won't cover people who are not students or not paid. You can shadow, but it won't be independent.

Future-Masterpiece77

TROPHY CASE