Should I Move from SA to Interstate for Uni?

Hey OzBargainers, new kid on the block here.

With Year 12 coming to an end, it comes the time to look at where I will be heading for tertiary study.

I have already applied for UNSW, USYD, ANU in NSW, as well as Uni Adelaide and UniSA.

As an South Australian resident, I have had an aim to study in NSW, as I want to do finance/economics and feel like my employment opportunities will be much greater in Sydney with a NSW degree (I want to get a job in Sydney (due to being essentially the Australian Financial Capital) regardless of where I study).

I have had lots of opinions thrown at me, but I feel like none have been really eye-opening, as the opinions I have gotten from friends and family lack any real experience or anecdote, and that makes such opinions no more helpful than my own thinking. Obviously I have considered all the factors, e.g. socially and financially, so I'm looking for essentially if having a UNSW or USYD degree will be more beneficial than having an UniAdelaide one in the finance/economics field if Ii want to gain employment in Sydney, or even Melbourne.

Any input is welcome. Appreciate it :)

Comments

  • +23

    why not start at UniAdelaide and then transfer to a Sydney Uni for third year. just research that credits are transferrable.

    give you time to enjoy it, get in to the swing of uni, you can save money for your move to sydney, you can live at home and not worry about stress of working (working to survive that is - still work P/T but it is not essential) - that way you can really study and get good grades.

    • +1

      I agree with altomic on this one. I think at least starting out, it would make more sense to start studying in Adelaide, if only for the cheaper costs of living. It also gives you an opportunity to see if you really like studying finance, who knows maybe you'll have a change of heart and think about something else, which would be easier to do at home.

    • -4

      Bad idea. It takes a year or 2 to really get use to a place.

      Also if you really want the top end jobs ( ala investment bankers) then your marks matter so best to move from the start and really focus on your studies.

      Also - yes most of the top finance jobs are in sydney and Melbourne. You made a good choice to go to sydney. Stick to it. Ultimately what matters the most is what you think so do what you think is right.

      • +11

        I disagree.
        If you are of sound-mind, it won't take you long to adjust from one major city to another. Even if the difference is as stark as Lil Hobart to Big City Sydney.

        I think the bigger challenge is adjusting from the "carefree" lifestyle of high school, to a mature/self-sustaining lifestyle of a uni student (work part time, cook and clean, live away from home, pay rent etc etc). So it could be a daunting task at first.

        Thus, it might be wiser for OP to start uni in Adelaide with the comfort of no-rent, little chores, free food etc etc. And when they can prove themselves, then transfer to Sydney.

    • +1

      This is a something i never thought of, nor heard. I like the sound of it also. Thanks for the input, ill consider it!

      • -1

        coming from a 3rd year, do this. Most aren't mature yer you'll understand in 1/2 years

    • +1

      I wouldn't want to do this, it means that after settling in at your new uni, you the move towards new uni have to start new friendships, meet new lecturers, get used to the new space. You also have to deal with saying goodbye to the friends you made at Adelaide uni. For me, I would go with one uni and stick with it.

  • +11

    ANU is in the ACT

    • I was gonna say this ahahaha

      • +11

        Yep - lots of ANU's in the ACT.
        They tend to hang out around Parliament House.

    • I was going to say this, but thought maybe ANU had a NSW campus somewhere (ala UNSW Canberra Campus).

    • haha yeah sorry forgot to elaborate on that, put a double degree for Finance and Economics as my last preference on my tertiary application after all the sydney courses, is it worth going to canberra?

      • +1

        Canberra is much more laid back than Sydney, and ANU is one of the most prestigious universities in the country.

        I think the place that you study is less important in job prospects than you are thinking. A degree from SA or ACT will still be very useful in landing employment if you want to live in Sydney.

      • +1

        Economics at ANU is highly regarded. I went there as did my sister, who is now senior partner at one of the biggest accounting firms in Australia so her ANU degree was not a hindrance. She had a work placement at that same firm while she was studying which I think was immensely helpful because she had tons of work experience before graduating. I loved living in Canberra - similar vibe to Adelaide in my opinion, but colder - but also was happy to move to Melbourne when I graduated.

  • +11

    I studied at Flinders and Uni SA for my first degree (mech eng Hons) and then I moved to NSW for University of Sydney to study my masters in electrical engineering. So did similar to what you're asking (but studied in SA first) if there is anything, in particular, you want to ask.

    Personal opinion I think the unis are fairly comparable, more if you're talking about Uni Adel to USYD and UNSW. Keep in mind though the whole "which is the best university" thing is pretty overplayed. Most companies care about the degree you did and the internships, experience (volunteer work etc) as opposed to the actual university you studied at. I'm in a grad program at the moment and the universities people have studied are completely varied.

    The biggest benefit I personally found with USYD (Sydney in general) though is there are so much more opportunities here then when I was in SA, lots of grad programs I could apply too, quite a few places I could get an internship at for my degree that were all close by. I also <3 Sydney and feel at home here. Thats not to say there isn't anything available in Adelaide since I do like it there but yeah if you're looking at getting into a company in Melbourne or Sydney I would say doing a uni here is totally worth it.

    In saying that though, the money I earn now means I can only afford a "studio" which at the same price I'd probably have my own small apartment in Adelaide.

    I also believe (personal belief) some places are less likely to take you on due to your location as opposed to your uni, so a company in Sydney may be a little apprehensive of getting you to come all the way to Sydney for an interview if they're unsure of you compared to someone here.

    Lastly, Sydney is a bigger city compared to Adelaide, this might not apply for you, but I came from country SA originally, and even with 4 years in Adel for my first degree, Sydney felt a bit of a jump for me (especially as I knew absolutely no one here).

    But yeah, anyways, good luck!

    • Thanks for the input, definitely what i was looking for.

  • +7

    I have to observe that a lot of the advice sought by young people on this site is really one dimensional.
    There are huge reasons to choose where to live and study that are irrelevant to Sydney job prospects, especially for somebody thinking about possible careers before even starting a degree.
    Sydney and Melbourne old unis have great social lives, extensive opportunities for non-academic extra curricular activities (e.g. politics, journalism, social justice etc.) and a strong contingent of students living nearby in share accommodation etc.

    Similarly, the ability to live at home with your friends and family around attending a local uni is also worth considering.

    By comparison, the tiny bump up or down you might get from a particular uni crest on your degree is trivial in its impact on your life.

    • -2

      …social justice etc…

      Worst words in the world! I'm triggered! haha

      • +2

        Short hand for stuff like environmental campaigning, trying to change refugee policies, improvements for homelessness etc, not particularly the online feminism stuff the americans call SJW.
        Uni students tend to have substantial time and strong beliefs, so they are often key to organising things like a protest march that doesn't have a traditional constituency.Even the right leaning students tend to be at more extreme points of view too, although I was thinking more of the left when I wrote that. I think it is useful for young people (and older people!) to spend time questioning what their beliefs and values are, and uni campuses have traditionally provided avenues to do that moreso than available to somebody working in an office or studying a vocational certificate.

        • -2

          I think it is useful for young people (and older people!) to spend time questioning what their beliefs and values are, and uni campuses have traditionally provided avenues to do that more so than available to somebody working in an office or studying a vocational certificate.

          I'll admit that I don't hear much about the universities in Australia because I'm not in the "scene" and don't really get to hear much. I just pray that the students in the universities here don't head in the direction of the US. The videos I see on YouTube (my source of entertainment) of the students and their ideologies are quite disturbing. A whole lot of them obviously don't question their beliefs and they are definitely not the type of people who would allow an "open discussion" that doesn't agree with their positions.

          Recently, there was one thing that really bothered me - it was the survey the Australian Human Rights Commission conducted on students experiences of sexual assault and harassment. That results in that report are way too misleading and those skewed results will be/have been splashed across headlines and then used to campaign for changes. It is only when someone looks under the hood that they realise that all is not what it seems (but who actually looks, right?). The questions in the survey looked like they were compiled with an aim to get a high positive response. Representative's came out (more like, forced to) from each uni to "apologise" for these high figures for fear of retributions and boycott if they challenged those figures. If someone was to question the results, I'd be expecting uni students to be the first. But that doesn't seem to be the case - they seem to simply pick up the figures and run with it and then try and shove those figures down everyone's throat. Anyone who doesn't agree will be tagged a "rapist" or will be accused of supporting "rape culture".

        • +2

          @bobbified: Okay.

        • +1

          @bobbified:
          I agree the approach that seems to be gaining traction is troubling. I don't see much value in expanding ideas of harm until everyone can be labelled as a perpetrator or a victim, and I am particularly cranky that giving oxygen to some 'victims' devalues the experience of somebody who has genuinely had a terrible experience.
          That said, the culture in some areas (e.g. the private college dorms at some of the old sandstone universities to take your example) has been ossified and preserves modes of behaviour that are both out of step with modern values, and just unacceptable from the perspective that we are all people with value. "Boys will be boys" was a defence in decades past for a lot of pretty poor behaviour that has now been dialled back, and just because somebody lives in a privileged enclave is no reason they shouldn't be held to similar standards that society expects in a workplace or public place.

          I think though, that people in Australia do tend to be more level headed about these things than what we see in the USA. The Americans tend to be extremists in all things, good, bad or in-between. Aussies tend to be more moderate, and reflect on whether things are actually a good or bad thing, not just on whether they are ideologically pure.
          Witness the gradual pace changes like same sex marriage are occurring. Regardless of whether you support changes, the pace has been such that every view has been heard, rather than the kind of discontinuity that drives change in other places (where, for example, big changes happen overnight due to a court ruling rather than political compromises).

          I'll give you a concrete example. I never voted for John Howard, yet I am proud he championed strong gun laws. And I never voted for Tony Abbott, but seeing food labels appearing that accurately reflect where stuff is made is a notable achievement. I can take heart that even my political opponents generally have the benefit of Australia at heart, even if we disagree on how to get there.
          I don't think that the same bi-partisan respect is very evident in places like America, to their substantial detriment.

        • @mskeggs:
          There's an interesting ad on the ABC about primary school students drawing/writing with their feet under the tutelage of a woman without arms. In one way it's a harmless exercise but in another way, Australian students are falling behind other countries in the basics of science and mathematics due to the social engineering experiments and interference of quasi academics from the arts faculty deciding that EQ is a higher education priority. I'm not against the activity itself, but it falls under extra-curricular activities in my book and it's pretty agenda driven to be taking up regular schooling time with SJW indoctrination. Side by side, I really would be interested to see if the students given the diversity treatment outperform a traditional education. I haven't ever seen it benefit the academics involved in gender and social studies. They are utterly hopeless at maths and the proper sciences themselves. Logically, if diversity was so beneficial, STEM would be suffering from the inside. It's not.

        • +1

          @mskeggs:

          I can't argue with anything you've said!

          I could continue, but this is probably not the right place to - it opens up a whole can of worms! lol.

        • -1

          @Frugal Rock: So you are against people being taught to respect one another and to approach people with empathy and acceptance. Given Australia's level of, partiularly male, suicide and domestic violence it probably isn't a bad idea to teach resilience and respect in schools; particularly when they don't seem to be getting it within some households. You have a lot of assertions up there without actually citing any studies on how including these studies have negatively impacted on STEM studies. There are a lot of things we could take out of the curiculum before we take out those sort of studies. If you asked an employer what they were genuinely looking for in an employee I can guarantee that they would much prefer a well rounded employee who is a self starter and a great team player, who can step up and take control of a situation and ensure the people he/she was working with considered themselves as an active contributer, than someone with the highest marks and no social skills. I studied the full maths/science subjects at school, have two science degrees, including a Digital Technology one, and worked in the IT industry for over 25 years. I was also offered jobs from seven different companies when I completed my second degree and that was because I interviewed so well.

        • -2

          @try2bhelpful:
          70% of voluntourists are female. They think they are making a positive social difference when it has actually caused large levels of child exploitation and psychological harm, to the point that some providers have stopped doing it. The demand, again predominantly from women, has continued and has been funnelled to the shadier providers. Women, more than men, are prepared to pay large amounts of their own money to do actual harm to children, provided there is an ignorant belief of cause and vigil. The facts don't matter. The results don't matter. The victims don't matter. I won't be basing any portion of my decision making on deluded social justice warriors and their irrational, misguided vigils. Do you really think scientists should be following the self righteous and emotional whims of untechnical laypersons? It's an inconvenient truth that your emasculation quotient thinking can and has caused actual harm. The virtue signalling Nobel peace prize and million dollars went to Aung San Suu Kyi, who is presently busy landmining innocent Rohingyas.

          If diversity and inclusion bring so many benefits, why has every single sex discrimation commissioner been female, and why is the office itself not an equal outcome employer while encouraging others to be. Why is every gender studies department in Australia not remotely gender balanced in either academic staff or enrolments, and why are there no scholarships to address the imbalance?

          Regarding asking an employer whether they would choose talent or inclusion, you are really only representing the lower end of the scale and are oblivious to many entire industries. Plenty of roles require actual talent that no amount of trust falling and group pyramids can substitute for. If I recall, you are a non-technical, non-scientist and couldn't program your own DNS if required, so asking a smart person politely for help might be a regular requirement. Team play is a hindrance for the smart person having to cover for your skill gaps.

        • -1

          @Frugal Rock:
          I don't think of things like this (inclusivity) when I see people discuss the "SJW" spectrum of behaviour. I tend to be very much in favour of inclusivity, and things that broaden individual's understanding of other people, whether it be a simple as reading fiction or exercises like understanding how a person with a disability lives - it isn't as if the kids are being disadvantages by being forced to sit their Yr12 exams without the use of their hands etc.

          I think the response people have to these things reveals how they think of education. Broadly, there is the idea that we go to school/uni/tafe to get the skills for a job, or we go to school/uni/tafe to actualise ourselves (develop skills for ongoing learning, become well rounded individuals, socialise, mature etc.).

          If the priority is vocational training, then vast amounts of time in school and higher study is completely wasted. If the priority is developing good people, who can make society a great place, then spending time on non-vocational activities is not wasted.

          To address your point as to whether these kind of inclusivity exercises are a "waste" or not, consider that historically, society tended to shut out large groups of people from participating fully in society, including women, dark skinned people, foreigners, disabled, homosexual and various religions. By limiting access to higher rungs of society to a minority of typically white men, society was poorer for it as it wasted the talents of so many people. There are still plenty of people who hold views that would limit others, so spending some time with young kids to show them how others outside their experience get along in life seems like a good idea to me.
          It surprises me you categorically state STEM isn't suffering from the inside, as I can think of many examples within STEM industry/academia where more inclusivity might be a good idea.

        • @Frugal Rock:
          You appear to be off tilting at some strange windmill which doesn't seem to have anything to do with what was being discussed (an activity showing kids how disabled people cope).
          You also very effectively made the point that if somebody had the same skillset as you, but had additional social skills, they would be much more likely to be hired. I suspect you weren't trying to make the conclusion that obvious, however!

          Cheer up, though! You can celebrate that Tony Abbot thought the ministry for women was so crucial he trusted nobody but himself to run it!

        • @mskeggs:
          You are certainly a learned scholar, majoring in tautology! Is success an indicator of efficacy, or have you rationalised that away?

        • +1

          @Frugal Rock: you seem to have an issue with women and you also seem to have gone of on a tangent with volunteer tourism, not sure why. You obviously have never had any actual experience with senior management if you think they don’t go on in service workshops to cover off strategies to manage employees and effective team creation. However, please go right ahead and expound your theories when you apply for your next job I am sure it will assist the other candidates immenselly. You are very big on name calling, without actually referencing to anything. I could line up a large group of colleagues, and customers, who could attest to both my technical and people management skills, however, the skills you have highlighted above can be managed by any low level competent outsourcer nowadays. I don’t understand why you think they are relevant to anyone who wants to reach any level in a modern Australian company where managing interaction between onshore, offshore and customer resources to deliver system implementations is more important. I have configured DNS entries in the past, but that was many years ago - I have expanded to Project Management and Network Architecture roles since then. Frankly I think your people skills are lacking, given your aggressive responses here. However, keep going the way you are, there are plenty of people who look beyond your narrow, and prejudiced, viewpoints who are the way of the future.

        • @mskeggs: I agree with your comments. society is better off if people are emotionally resilient and work in s undertaken on an inclusive basis. Not sure what some people’s problems are.

        • -2

          @try2bhelpful:
          I hate it when I go 'of' on a tangent like that. 'immenselly'. It just keeps getting better. You are top shelf entertainment.

        • @Frugal Rock: I'm glad you agree you went off on a tangent. I hope you feel so superior for indicating I had a couple of spelling mistakes; where it was obvious what I was pointing out. This, for you, was obviously the most important thing that came out of my measured and reasoned response to your abusive rant.

        • -3

          @try2bhelpful:
          I don't have to feel superior. You don't know the difference between programming a DNS and configuring one.

          "I could line up a large group of colleagues, and customers, who could attest to both my technical and people management skills"

          Textbook professionalism right there. Flawed and obvious brinkmanship or shocking decision making. Hmmm. Toss a coin. You do realise you've just advertised breaching the Privacy Act for an insecure affirmation stunt. Gold.

          Another one of your best moments is advocating for more women in STEM and then saying you'd outsource the actual work. That's the spirit.

        • @Frugal Rock: Ahh, it would appear that I have fallen foul of the technicalities of the expression "programming". However, it is not unusual for people to use the word "programming" a device instead of configuring it, mea culpa. In relation to specifically "programming" a DNS it is not something I have done. My work has been more aligned with designing, configuring and managing the installation of networks across multiple environments and countries.

          So what Privacy Act elements have I breached? Can you please provide me with a link to what breach you think I have done? I have not identified any individuals nor the companies I have worked for, nor did I say I would provide you with their names. I said I could "line them up" as there is a large number of them; not that I would identify them to you. There are many people who have complimented me on my abilities and have requested to either work with me or have me manage their projects for them. That is a fact and no amount of "scoffing" on your part makes it untrue.

          It has been widely reported how technical jobs are currently being outsourced, this is not my preference but it is not something that people can ignore and hope goes away. My issue is that people, including women, need to position themselves to align with where the new jobs will be and those will be managing disparate groups to delivery infrastructure systems for customers (internal and external) rather then concentrating on low level purely technical work. (STEM is no longer the guaranteee of a well paying career it once was and the last thing women need to do is saddle themselves with poorly paid dead end jobs that are likely to be outsourced.) This manager does need to be technical, but they also need to be organised, empathic, emotionally intelligent and have the ability to motivate people to deliver solutions not just a "product". Which gets us back to the original discussion which is about providing children in schools with training in resilience, empathy and respecting others.

        • -3

          @try2bhelpful:
          If it's legal to line up your colleagues and customers on a public forum for a moot stunt, go right ahead. Follow through, as you advertised. Do it. Green light. Go for launch. I look forward to those glowing attestations from diverse backgrounds.

        • @Frugal Rock: you are desperately flogging a dead horse now, aren’t you? Given you think I would be breaching the privacy act you are encouraging me to break the law, although you still haven’t pointed out the relevant sections on how? It is sufficient for my self esteem to know these people are there, and what their opinions are.

          Please address the initial issue, which is around ensuring our students have the best chance for the future by including elements of resilience, respect and empathy as part of their schooling. Apart from the inherent unfairness of bullying behaviour businesses are becoming less and less tolerant of bigotry and bullying by their personnel and people who exhibit such behaviour can find themselves without a job. Many job interviews are now about how a person will work within a team environment as well as their technical abilities. Some include psychological profiling tests to weed out the antisocial. Provided people in a group respect each other and work as a team then people bolster each other’s strengths; a member that belittles people all the time will soon find themselves talking to their manager, no matter how good their technical abilities may be. I don’t need, or want, your approval; what I want is a more inclusive, and productive, society.

        • -3

          @try2bhelpful:
          If you had actual skills or talent, you wouldn't have to defensively resort to your illustrious piggybacking career in HR, I mean senior mangement, no, management without the technical ability to estimate is HR.

          First and foremost, the most prominent forms of diversity branding are cynical marketing exercises. The women's AFL is not about anything more than expanding the advertising audience so Chemist Warehouse and others can increase market share and increase the TV rights negotiating position.

          Behind that, the next most obvious are banks and Joyce's airlines advertising diversity, all the while directly lobbying for government tax cuts tied to convenient diversity targets. Designed by the same accountants and executives who happily retrench aircraft safety engineers.

          The insidious form of diversity is the feminist anti-patriarchy movement, now targeting primary school students. Being born male is not a mental disorder requiring conditioning from primary school with reeducation programs. There have been plenty of horrific and violent crimes by women recently, but Milo Yiannopolous shouldn't be setting school curriculum any more than your idol Clementine Ford, at whose shrine you worship. Boys shouldn't be feminised at primary schools with subversive brainwashing techniques designed by female academics with an agenda. Brainwashing children with a political motive is wrong, and the results of bombarding a generation to hairbrained social experiments is unknown. You don't own the moral high ground and you can't excuse 1000 sins with a noble excuse. If you have an issue with an old boys' network, don't take out your frustrations on kids.

        • +1

          @Frugal Rock: I have made my point and I will leave you to your curious obessions and behaviour. You denigrate me because I have no experience with one specialised part of networking then have, yet another, anti female rant. This latest is particularly telling. I will not be responding to any more of your posts as you do not have views that are worth reading, let alone refuting. Whatever your delusions might hold women are engaging more and more in society and your views are, fortunately, becoming recognised for what they actually are.

        • -1

          @try2bhelpful:
          The point you have made is that self assessed people skills are just a euphemism for not having actual skills. Like visual learning and having a nice personality, it's a way for negative news to be broken to you gently. It's the intellectual last chance saloon for the hard of thinking. If your maths teacher tells you that you're more of a people person, thinking isn't your strong suit. Take the hint. People skills are just phoniness and indirection and work on the feeble minded and suggestible. There are $10 million poker tournaments you could blitz with those people skills of yours and donate the winnings to moral causes, if they actually worked. BP used a dippy corporate communications officer to embellish pumping crude oil into the Gulf of Mexico. Does she put people skills on her resume? You betcha! Politicians kissing babies for staged photo ops. Off the scale people skills right there. Door to door conmen fleecing pensioners. People skills. Why are so many people with people skills in prison for fraud? Why is it more situations involving bad news, fakeness or false promise require people skills? Can you imagine? 'Won the lotto but the person telling me was brash and curt. I'm devastated. No people skills at all.' Bernie Madoff used his charming people skills to part investors from their money, trapezoidal people skills. It was a self assessed people skills expert who coined the term 'alternative facts'.

          Why would you run away in gnashing, frothy frustration if your dazzling people skills had any actual effect? Going back to preach to the already groupthink converted? Lower hanging fruit? You don't even have faith in those powers of persuasion.

          Happy thumb biting. Remember to alternate, and always wear your hi-viz thinking helment to prevent strain or injury. You've been lapsing. Now, let me get back to my sedenion decomposition. Translated into laymoronese, that's maths that you will never understand in three lifetimes.

    • Thanks for the input!

  • I don't work in finance, but does it really matter if you have a NSW degree in order to get a job in Sydney? I guess it might be easier for getting work experience while studying, but not sure if this is done in finance?

    • Yeah work experience while studying is pretty important in finance. Whether the degree matters or not, i have no idea!

      • +1

        Depends on what sort of a job you had in mind.

        If you are a A+ student aiming for the top graduate jobs (which are extremely competitive) then where you get your degree and more importantly your grades matter in finance fields.

        Otherwise no one will care.

  • I grew up in Adelaide. Lived there for 25+ years. If you want a future that includes employment and a career progression, get out now.

    • Please elaborate, I may end up studying at uoa soon.

    • Yeah another thing im worried about, but do i get out before uni or after?

      • +1

        When you don't know what to do go with the biggest 'yes' and don't look back, and don't forget to do the things you enjoy along the way.

    • +3

      Probably best I don't get too critical of Adelaide. One predictable neg already. Whatever your choice, just know you will have to get out quickly once you enter the workforce.

  • +1

    I don't know about Finance in particular but in general the university you went to doesn't make much difference.

    https://grattan.edu.au/report/mapping-australian-higher-educ…

    It would be stupid if it did- are they stupid in Finance?

    • Yeah this is something i considered, so having a degree from UNSW would be no different in terms of employment compared to Adelaide?

  • +3

    If you can financially afford it (parents, scholarships, savings, etc), then why not. If however you're going to be relying on self-funding (work/youth allowance), I would highly reconsider given the exorbitant cost of living in Sydney.

    Social life is really what you make of it, living in one of the old boys club colleges may get you friends (or enemies) quickly, and expose you to a very exclusive section of the Australian community, though perhaps at the expense of relentless hazing. Living off-campus is a bit of a potluck with making friends, similarly the case for people in your classes in my experience, or rather 'semester friends'. The larger sandstone uni's have lots of societies to join, though are rather marred by the pettiness of student politics in a lot of cases (I never joined any at USyd for this reason, coupled with the fact you have to pay $75/y for Union membership to join any).

    I'm currently at USyd, and have previously been at Western Sydney, if you may have any questions.

    • +1

      SA gov scholarship is pretty good, like 3k a semester. Plus lots of scholarships if you're female.
      Female engineer student can make money just going to Uni.

  • +1

    uni is already hard enough without dealing with a major change like moving states,.. go to adelaide, then transfer in the second year imo. yes more jobs in sydney but thats atleast 3 years away.

  • -1

    Don't know about UNSW but the Sydney Uni colleges are full of privileged Tory prats with Neanderthal social values. Imagine spending 4 or 5 years with Tony Abbott and Joe Hockey.

    • +2

      I don't mind if you bash Joe Hockey or Tony Abbott, but pretending that left values are any more advanced or futuristic is comedy, given the NSW Greens are at war with the Australian Greens and the best place to look for NSW Labor members is an anti-corruption tribunal.

      • Treating women with respect is not a left value, or at least it shouldn't be.

        • +1

          The Harvey Weinstein case certainly demonstrates that.

        • -1

          @Frugal Rock:

          Precisely. FOund it funny that all the leftists were treating Hollywood actors like real life heroes-taking their political opinions as gospel and rioting due to it. Little did they know they were worse than trump on the "treating women" part. The left went from praising and parroting Hollywood, to talking about "toxic masculinity". Its just one trend after another really.

      • I mainly remember Elizabeth Broderick for receiving an AO for her efforts to debrand and whitewash the equal opportunity initiative. She wasn't happy with the pesky merit based outcomes of fairness and equal opportunity. It will be interesting to see if her teleological philosophy applies in this case, too.

  • +1

    Main issue is due to finance/economics area being a large % of foreign students is lack of placements, accounting students at UNISA do placements are pizza shops and ridiculous places that hurt their chances.

  • +2

    Really appreciate all the input from you guys..thank you all so much its really useful to get lots of different perspectives.

  • +2

    My advice will be to start there asap. Moving from SA to WA from uni and I am thankful that I moved here when I start in Uni.

    Truth be told, social circles are much harder to establish when working than in Uni. In uni you have more free time to gather, meet new people, and establish a strong social circle. Not that you cant do that when working, but it is much harder to do when you are working in a 8-5 job as well as no long summer holidays where everyone of your peers is free.

    Moreover the people you meet in uni will be in similar age groups and might click/connect with you more than people who are much younger/older in working environments.

    I have a high school class mate who only moved to Perth after his degree, and truth be told, he is hating it here even it is a more lively city than Adelaide simply coz he has next to 0 friends. He contacted me for coffee, where the times we talked in high school can be counted with 1 hand. He was complaining his heart out when we met and said he wanted to go back to Adelaide as there are no friends or family to support him here. Eventually I took him to a few social gatherings and he met new friends but I can see how socially stressed he was when he first came.

    If you can take the financial stress(work part time jobs to make up for the lack of money), studying uni there will be a much better option.

  • +1

    Do a trade instead.

    • Unfortunately he will need to finish his studies in finance and economics before he works out how valuable 3 years of university is.

      • The irony is, if he could answer that question regardless if it was valueable or not, it was valueable as he could work out the answer. If he is still undecide whether or not it was valuable then, you may say it was no value cuz he can't figure that out.

  • My husband and I moved from Melbourne to Sydney for similar reasons, although my husband actually got hired into a Sydney grad program from university in Melbourne, so you might want to find out if that is an option. You don't necessarily have to be physically in Sydney at the time of hiring. I ended up going to USyd while he did the grad program and it's a beautiful university, you'd have a wonderful experience if you went there. UNSW while not as picturesque, is close to some gorgeous beaches and has a great vibe.

    Do you need to do university in Sydney to get a banking job in Sydney? Not necessarily, it may be helpful. Would it be an amazing experience to move to a big big city and go to university there? Absolutely. I'm really glad I did it, the ten years I spent living there were among the best ever. If you get an offer from USyd or UNSW I would say dive in, you'll love it and have a really good time doing it. And if you do, make the most of it, join some clubs related to the jobs you want and try to get positions on their committees, volunteer to do some things too, do some summer internships - yes marks are important but when it comes to grad program time they really like people who've shown a bit of initiative and have done some stuff other than just study and get high marks. Having lived in the city before working for it would be a huge plus, not just for work reasons.

    And if you don't get into the one you want, do all of those things locally anyway and you'll still have a great chance at a job in a big city and it wont hold you back at all.

    As for ANU, I know it's a very well regarded university, in perhaps a slightly less exciting location ;)

  • +2

    As a student that graduated from one of the top high schools in a Victoria and been at Monash University for 3 years, I am a firm believer in that where you study is no where near as important as people make out.

    Sure commerce and business is competitive, but there are hundreds of people graduating from all these universities and from all walks of life. Employers look well beyond what university is on your degree, and it matters little. Put your time and effort into getting your name out, getting involved, expanding your skill set, using the internet and gaining other certification.

    Many people drop extracurricular activities near and after graduating high school, maintain or add them. Add to yourself and be more of person than just a degree.

    There’s much more to life than where you graduated, and good employers will want the people that are clearly motivated, hard working, and make the most of their life.

    • This this this.

  • +3

    Hello,

    Manager at a Big Four Bank here, personally i don't care what Uni you went to, as long as it was a Uni and not a rubbish Private College.

  • +1

    You need a support system whereever you are. Friends or family. Being alone in a city and trying to find your feet can be daunting and lonely. It can take a toll on you that can take focus away from study and work. Plus there are times such as when you are sick when you genuinely need someone who will assist.

  • +2

    I always vote for not going to uni straight out of school. You need to live in the real world before you make choices that will effect your whole life. I say, leave school. Get a job, move out, travel, meet new people, follow your interests. THEN decide what you want to do at uni! Or if you even want to go. Trades pay more than academia these days. I felt it was a huge mistake to join uni asap after school

  • +1

    I agree with what a few people mentioned above maybe do 2 years an SA then head over to NSW.

    P.S something i wish i did try do but didnt was a semester abroad like in the UK or USA etc. I have friends that studied O/S and it is something i did do and regret it looks good on your CV, it is a load of fun and you is something unique to university. - I have a friend that went to Germany for 6 month and 1 that went to Spain for 6 months they both got pretty good grad jobs and a large contributor to that was the studying O/S they both say to this day it was the best 6 months of there life.

    So maybe study in SA for 2 years try do a year O/S (that way you can get some travel out of the way) and then maybe you can head to NSW (because i agree the $$$ is way better)

    Im a physio i work full time plus my own business have 2 investment properties and im getting married next year I havent had a big night out for 2 years
    My advice is simple you are probably like 17-18 years old im 27 now the years go quick i felt like yesterday i had my 1st day of university hitting on loose women partying and living in the moment (i was 17) make the most of it because once you start working full time you will look back and miss the 'good ol days'

    • Thanks so much. Think im going to do the midcourse transfer.

  • Move to Western Australia and study Buddhism.

  • +1

    Hi OP,

    I studied commerce (economics/finance) at UWA for my undergraduate degree. I can safely say if you're planning to work in commerce in Sydney, it doesn't really matter which university you attend as long as it's a Group of 8. Unfortunately, among some firms there is a heavy bias towards people from the G8, not saying you cannot work at them having attended another university, just that it is more difficult.

    I worked over in Sydney with people from the University of Adelaide and a lot of the people I went to university with ended up getting top graduate positions across the eastern states. What's more important than the university you go to, is what you do at university and how well you do.

    Happy to answer any questions you have, when I was your age I was planning on doing a pretty similar thing, glad I stayed in Perth now.

    • Appreciate the input. Thank you so much.

  • +1

    Here's my input. Take it with a grain of salt.

    Going to a better university does not necessarily mean you're going to get a significantly better education, but it does mean you are going to get a larger exposure in business networks, tougher competition/ better career mentality among students which I think is most important in the growth of a career. Networking and understanding career politics will contribute more to your career. The growth of your career will be based on how you position yourself as a professional, the people that you know and trust you. The element of where you study won't truly matter much in this regard. However, getting access to these networks will be easier if you go to a better university but in the end, it is all up to your own initiative to take up the various opportunities to network or not.

    My experiences come from mainly investment banks and consulting firms, and some of these banks and consulting firms I know are elitists. They want the best, and only the best. I am not saying that they exclude people from lower ranked universities but they have an order of preference all things being relatively equal. Where you study could give you the edge for the first few chapters of your career. After that, only your work experience matters.

    If you have the ability and means to go to a better university, why not take that and get the edge? You will have more pathways, easier access to business networks and build yourself better if you position yourself within a good circle within the university. Going to a good university will give you a good head start, but going further than that will be up to your own efforts and initiatives (that no university can teach). My recommendation is to go to the better university - take up the various opportunities and build up your network. Embrace that environment and experience of learning (and having fun) in a very good university. If you can't get into a top university, that's okay too. It is an edge, not an essential building block to a successful career.

    • Loved reading this. Thank you so much.

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