PR

PR stands for Permanent Residency and for many students it is really hard to get this. As you need really really good English. Ie: a band of 7.5. With Permanent residency you can work more hours and you might be eligible for concessions.
You also need to hold down a career that is most in demand and that you have studied at University. YOu'll need a letter from University as well as the transcript of results. This can be really hard as many jobs are going in the big companies at the moment. Most of the careers in demand are engineers and doctors. There is a doctor shortage at the moment.
You also need to be a high achiever at university and not be at risk of exclusion.
But RMIT University has many careers fairs in place that attracts many students local and international. Some companies recruit international students and are willing to sponsor them.
With some of the TAFE courses being cut it will be harder to get PR here as internationals need to meet the skills requirements. TAFE is the only way for some students to gain some skills in order for this requirement to be met.
You need to complete one round of study in Australia before you can apply. It has to be 24 months or more of study and you should apply in the last six months of your studies as applications can take a while.

It is getting even harder to gain PR (Permanent Residency) as you either need to be sponsored by an Australian employer or have gotten really good marks and a good IELTS score to get this (Independent Skilled Migration). As well as working in Regional Australia for a period of time.

According to the Age (1/10/12) "Time for bosses to adopt a more worldly view" gaining sponsorship is quite hard and rigourous as no one wants to give International students sponsorship. Not even RMIT. Most employers would want somebody with Permanent Residency.

It is hard for students to find decent jobs in Melbourne as it has been for years.

But for an International student to gain that they have to have 65 points. These are based on good English, working in a rural area, completing a degree for the skills in need. For the English skills students need to achieve a band of 8 in IELTS for all the components. This is really hard for locals such as myself hence this would be even harder for international students.

It is an offense to live here and work illegally. To live here illegally without a visa would mean that you would be kicked out of the country and the employer might face fines of up to $13000 per worker.

Two Bob by Katherine

Two Bob is a relatively new cafe in Clifton hill near Queens parade. It is in an old building. Here it is a big and airy cafe and has had a few positive reviews.
They are kid friendly as well as pram friendly. I loved the big communual tables and the lovely table decorations. They do get busy over the weekend as any other cafe in Clifton Hill and Melbourne/
The staff there are really friendly and they didn't mind me taking photos and asking about their menu. Nor did they mind all the questions about the menu.

Most of the things on the specials board are vegetarian which is great. And they also have organic drinks and wine. Yay Another wine place.
The bathrooms are down the back and they are small. But at least they are not outside.
What really intrigued me was the hotcake special ($14.50). I was told it was a summer special and that their specials change once in a while. Although it looked really small it tasted great and freshly made. I really loved this.
I loved the fresh strawberries and the subtle hints of meringue. Lovely.
They are also known for their good coffee and this did not disappoint. This long black ($3.5) was done by Coffee Supreme and it was great. I love coffees by Coffee Supreme.
I think I'd back to try out their cakes and vegan burger. I'd love for Big Fil to try out this cafe.

Pho Dzung

After my disappointing meal at Mekong in the city, I was really inspired to find a new place preferably in the city.
This place was cleaner than Mekong, but I would have liked to be a lot cleaner. 11 other bloggers have blogged about this place.

My server, unlike the others has a really poor grasp of English and watched over me like a hawk. He was an older guy. He just plonked me at my table and said when I asked him which was the best pho he said "You choose". The other younger guy was much better to me and the couple that came in.
I have been to a few of these pho places before and I know what pho is all about. Pho is a Vietnamese noodle soup with lots and lots of fillings. It's like the chinese noodle soup but a big bigger and you can add in as little or as much mint, vegetables and condiments as you like. I have tried a medium bowl before and I know I couldn't finish it. Hnece I went for the smaller bowls.
I had my usual special beef combination pho ($8.80 for a small) which was better than the disappointing dinner at Mekong. The soup was a tad bit salty but not overly so. This time the noodles were cooked and unbroken. This time there was brown sauce and lots of spring onions and fresh vegetables. But no pickled onions which I love with my soup. The tripe was a little too chewy but I loved the giblet.
I also had the Vietnamese white coffee ($3.50). It traditionally is with condensed milk and instant coffee. It wasn't too bad, but my server could have told me to stir all the milk in. I found it was really sweet at the end.
I think I'd prefer to come here more often and maybe with my pho loving friend from Mekong. I know he'll love this as much as I do.

Cafe Giraffe by Katherine

Cafe Giraffe is so close to my workplace in the city yet I had not checked it out until about now. About 11 or more reviewers have been here and said that it was really good for students.

The cafe is run by Asians but it was quite cute and kitchy and good for families. It's not always likely that a cafe has board games and is in the city. Also a really quirky touch is the wishing tree where complements are written.

The Asians are students who don't speak a lot of good English.

Good WI-FI though.

They have a huge selection of desserts and meals for under $10.50

The food here is lovely. Although it is cheap its is good. My noodles were $7.50 (normally $10 but they had a $7.50 Special for all food). If you order food like I did, the coffee is just $2 extra (normally $3).

The noodles here were fresh and the gyoza was the best that I have ever had. It was crispy and crunchy the way it should be.

My long black was just meh, but my friend enjoyed his coffee. He also loved the look of my food and loved my gyoza (He tried a piece).

Its a lovely place to visit and enjoy a good book and a cup of tea. Now I can see why so many people rave about the place.

Free breakfast at Carlton

Students there is free breakfast once every week at RMIT Carlton campus. It is for all students and it's organised by RMIT student Union.
There's crossaints, muffins, bagels you name it.
The Student Union loves you and is there for all students.