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[pastafarian]

Hi Folks,

I'm a European person living and working with tenure in the US.  I love it here, and have a good job, but an opening for Lecturer/Senior Lecturer just came up at the University of Sydney.  The details provided are pretty scarce, fairly general, and it seems like a straight online application, rather like UK jobs. 

So I'm intrigued but would really appreciate some advice.  Is the University of Sydney reckoned to be a good, R-1 level of place?  What do they like in their applications (vs US/Western European norms)?  Are there people out there who made a similar switch, and how did it agree with them?  I love Aussie culture but have never been -- is Sydney a liveable place on a 93,000 + ish Au$ salary?

Thanks!

[psychobubble]

That question would be hard to answer without knowing whether you are single, married, married with children, etc.  And do you have any debt that is based on US dollars?  Remember that if you have any bills in US dollars (student loans, credit cards, medical bills) paying them will take a bigger chunk of your 93,000 Aussie dollars than you might realize.

[frenchgirl]

My family is from Oz and I still have relatives in Sydney. The city is great, the uni. is excellent (duh) but I wouldn't want to relocate there from the US unless you intended to remain in Oz for a LONG time and didn't want to go back and forth between continents very often. You would need to really like Australia and to appreciate the unique culture, which in many ways reminds me of a slightly more sophisticated version of Texas culture. (Think sports, sunshine, meat, and alcohol).

Traveling to and from Sydney is very, very expensive and increasing by the year. Property prices are outrageous, rent is high, food costs are high, gas is expensive. I love Sydney, personally, but I wouldn't want to live there for these as well as other reasons. Sydney has some great and lively areas and beautiful surrounds but after a while it feels like a pretty small city. If you like to get in a plane or train and be somewhere totally different in less than 2 hrs, Oz is not for you. This is one of the reasons why I have not moved back. That and the fact that there are virtually no academic jobs there for outsiders. The place really is a closed shop; even those who have moved to the US and then moved back to Oz have always had connections. It is rare to swoop in from outside and take a job from a local, unless you are well connected or truly up and coming.

Also, if you are someone who would still want to visit friends/relations and attend numerous conferences in the US or Europe/the UK, you will find that this becomes much more difficult, time consuming, and expensive.
By all means apply if you're interested, but it seems very unwise if you have never even been to Sydney to consider relocating there on a whim.

[highway61]

Plenty of "outsiders" come get jobs at the U of Sydney.

House prices are really high but probably on par with major US cities or London. Well, cheaper than London.

Caricatures of Aussie culture as all beer and sports are caricatures. The Sydney Theatre Co. is turning into a major world force; great concerts year round; Art Gallery of NSW and Museum of Contemporary Art = excellent. It's just that there's that harbour too ... ahhh ...

The U of Sydney is a top R1 research university.

It's not that hard to get on a plane and go to the US or UK or Europe. Most Aussie academics end up doing it every year or two. You just learn to watch all the movies and accept all the wine they offer and the 13 hours to SF or LA disappears in a snap.

It's really easy to fly round to other places in Australia. The Adelaide to Brisbane circuit is like the DC to Boston one, just flying rather than driving the 1.5-2 hours between every city. Perth is LA.

Practical advice re the application: you must address each criterion separately. Bullet points are your friends. If it's not obvious that you're addressing each bullet point then HR can axe you. Also check on that Lecturer/Sr Lecturer thing. Sometimes they advertise that way but can only hire at Lecturer (=level B; = assistant prof in the US). Sydney U is attractive enough that often folks will take a demotion from level C to level B for one of those posts, then go for promotion later on; but obviously it's preferable to go right in at level C if you have the experience.

Good luck!

[mingus]

I have worked in Sydney as an academic and generally agree with "frenchgirl"---the place is horribly expensive except, and the remoteness of Australia will eventually get to you---, except for the hiring bit: the more serious universities have learned their lesson and will generally go by merit.