While I was sitting down having coffee yesterday an idea popped into my head. I had been mulling over my options moving forward and I thought it could be possible to convert my Tourist Visa here in Australia to a Working Visa.
It seems Australia has extended the term of Working Visas for a large group of people that chose to stay in the country during this time. As expected, many people went home to be with their families and wait this thing out. This left fewer people to work the menial jobs that the Australian economy relies on We’re talking farmhands, construction, and factory workers.
I did some research and it doesn’t seem like the Tourist Visa can be directly converted into a Working Holiday Visa. I’ll have to apply again for a separate visa. But under normal circumstances the visa application must be submitted when the person is outside of Australia. And it normally takes a month and a half to process.
Obviously right now is not a normal time. So I am going to email the state department here just to see if anything has changed. Perhaps they are in dire need of workers and they are willing to bend the rules.
I am thinking about my ability to make money over the next few months. I have more than enough savings to carry me through this time. But I’d like to have something to do, for financial as well as sanity purposes.
If I come back to the United States I will probably stay with my sister. Thankfully I have that type of safety net. I am very grateful for that. I think it could be possible to work as a seasonal worker over the summer for PwC. But I will have to talk with some of my former colleagues over there.
Due to the economic downturn, they might have put a freeze on bringing in new people. But if I know anything it’s that my former work group is in dire need for knowledgeable help. I think it would be hard for them to turn me down. I won’t know until I have those conversations.
If you told me two months ago that I could be working for PwC again this year I would have told you that you were crazy. But here we are. Strange times indeed.