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sandrino
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« on: February 01, 2011, 12:18:28 PM » |
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Hi all,
Any thoughts on living and working in Auckland? Thinking of applying for a job at UAuckland, and know that the uni is pretty good, the city is lovely, and houses are pricey. Anything else to factor in? Oh yeah, it's a bit of a trek back to North America (where we are now... R1 in a cold place). I worked for a time in Western Australia, so I know a bit about issues of isolation, travel distances, etc.
Is the university on an upward trajectory? Wages look pretty good for senior faculty (I think professor is NZ$130k or something lower end) although I think the 'professor' title is more along UK lines, and not bestowed lightly.
Thanks
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wet_blanket
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« Reply #1 on: February 01, 2011, 02:41:25 PM » |
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Sounds like you've done your homework. The University of Auckland is one of NZ's best, especially if you're in the bio/med sciences.
You're right that "professor" is not bestowed lightly; think of Lecturer=Assistant Prof, Senior Lecturer= Associate Prof, and Assoc Prof and Prof=Full Prof.
One consideration is how long you think you might stay in NZ. An academic salary, at any level, is certainly liveable, even though cost of living is high in NZ and especially in Auckland. If you see yourself moving on, you need to be aware of the volatility of the NZ dollar. Right now, I think it's worth about 78 US cents. Late 2008, it was at 80c cents, then dropped below 60c. In the early 2000s, it was struggling to break US 50c. So if you're doing any kind of longterm saving and plan to leave, you need to be careful so as to protect the value of your savings.
If you lived in Australia, you've probably won't experience much culture shock. It's different, but not as different as from the US.
The other thing to watch out for is governemnt spending in higher ed. There were murmurings about a year ago of cuts, especially in areas where students didn't end up with jobs immediately after graduation, but I haven't been following it closely. This is an election year, so the topic may come up again.
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Wet Blanket will find success. The spreadsheet is the way...
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marfa
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« Reply #2 on: February 02, 2011, 11:47:07 AM » |
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A friend just moved to NZ and has been shocked by the prices. And this is saying something because hu has always been a pretty big spender.
As mentioned above, watch your finances!
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"It is hard to be bipartisan when the other party is dominated by crazy people. " DvF
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sandrino
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« Reply #3 on: February 21, 2011, 07:35:24 PM » |
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OK, decided not to apply, partly due to comments here, and from an "expat exposed" website, and partly due to Flight of the Conchords, which I'm almost finished watching on DVD. Seems like a great place to visit, but not sure I want to make the big move with family and all.
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wet_blanket
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« Reply #4 on: February 21, 2011, 09:25:58 PM » |
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OK, decided not to apply, partly due to comments here, and from an "expat exposed" website, and partly due to Flight of the Conchords, which I'm almost finished watching on DVD. Seems like a great place to visit, but not sure I want to make the big move with family and all.
Please tell me you're joking about Flight of the Conchords being part of your reasoning? Nothing they say about New Zealand is true; they're playing up for their NZ audience the urban legend about Americans' ignorance. |
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Wet Blanket will find success. The spreadsheet is the way...
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sandrino
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« Reply #5 on: February 22, 2011, 09:26:52 AM » |
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I think FotC provides insight into New Zealanders' self-perception, and particularly their perception about how the world sees them. I get Flight of the Conchords, I get that it's a spoof, but it's not that "nothing they say about NZ is true," it's that they're playing up the stereotypes that New Zealanders believe typify their own country: "your clothes are from the '70s" "no, they're not, they're from New Zealand." + the whole NZ-Aussie relationship. (And I don't think Americans' ignorance is urban legend, since most Americans don't know anything about NZ.)
What I hoped to get from this forum was insight into working at U of Auckland, but the silence is telling. I regularly check on postings about England and Australia (both places I've worked), and they get at least some representation on these fora, but NZ, nothing. Check out the expat exposed forum for comment from disaffected Brits (mostly) who have moved to NZ... on that forum you get a sense of some of the issues faced by those moving there.
On a more sombre note, yikes, that earthquake is Christchurch is horrible.
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tariqulmasud
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« Reply #6 on: March 31, 2011, 08:25:50 AM » |
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I am thinking to go nz for my higher study. I know its a very beautiful place in the world also. But i don't now about working opportunities and living facilities. Can anyone tell me about that?
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totoro
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« Reply #7 on: April 04, 2011, 06:09:12 AM » |
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Salaries are lower than in Australia... I applied for a professor position in Auckland but they rejected me after just one week...
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avaya
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« Reply #8 on: May 11, 2011, 02:33:12 AM » |
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Wish I had seen this earlier. I can tell you all about Auckland, as I'm at the University of Auckland.
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Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted. -- Albert Einstein
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ariodante
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« Reply #9 on: May 24, 2011, 06:35:21 PM » |
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Could you, then, outline the major aspects of your experience? Salaries, research experience, preparedness and industry of the students, quality of colleagues etc. ... Many thanks indeed.
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