Dear readers,
It’s not often that I travel a well developed nation. Maybe I can call Down Under as my first time. If I think about it: one year on a single visa that allows me to work and travel. Or travel and work? With an incredible backpacking infrastructure Australia is defenitely a country that offers to grab your chances and follow career goals or dreams.
For me the experience in Australia was so far not any different from any other backpacker. We seem to travel the same route and see the same things. Despite that I think that I have a different opinion on what and how I experience most things during my work and holiday.
Working
In the beginning it was not that easy to get a job. Maybe it was the bad time of the year, maybe it was bad luck, or maybe I didn’t apply for it good enough. The only thing I know is that at least I found something in the end. It seems that almost every single restaurant, pub, hostel, etc, survives on backpackers. The good thing is that they’re used to them. Getting and getting rid of a job is easy...
At he same going for that dream job and keeping that is much harder. It takes a lot of effort, but from my own experience this is worthwhile. It is after my first contact 14 months ago with the professor in Perth that I was invited to discuss a PhD topic. Indeed this just happened only a week ago!
Yes, I’ve had this idea for years, but did not communicate with anyone nor was I clearly looking for it. When I arrived in Perth I saw with my own eyes the terrible state of the wetlands and aquifiers. This is it… this is a chance. After thoroughly researching the universities and research institutes the Centre for Water Research (CWR) came clearly on top of my own list. It is a very well known intitute with some of the best people working there. I’m happy to be able to get a step further in realizing something I’ve always wanted: protecting the environment. I will write more about about my progress at the institute next time.