From tending bars to cooking up pies, hospitality work is a great way to keep topping up the travel funds while not having to get too serious. KATIE BARTON investigates…
Making the most of a Working Holiday visa can be a delicate operation. On the one hand, you want to get enough silly waterproof notes in your pocket to be able to afford what you want to while you’re Down Under.
But on the other hand, you don’t want to find you’ve suddenly resumed the wage slave’s life that you thought you’d left behind. It’s still a holiday after all, albeit a damn cool one.
In other words, the best travelling jobs are not necessarily those that pay top dollar, but the ones that let you have a laugh, gain a few experiences and meet a load of like-minded people. If that sounds more like you, then hospitality jobs are where you need to be heading.
Whether it’s tending bars, clearing tables, cheffing or cleaning rooms, there’s plenty of jobs on offer, and if you do decide to get serious and move into management, there’s often good sponsorship opportunities.
But before you walk into a pub with your resume, make sure you’ve got your Responsible Service of Alcohol Certificate (check out http://www.workbehindabar.com.au for courses). That’s a qualification most people will need before they can work with alcohol. It only takes a day. But beware, it normally only applies to the state you get it in.
Wages are around $19 per hour for waiters and kitchenhands, or $24 at weekends. Chefs can earn $24 during the week, or up to $29 an hour at weekends if they are fully qualified.
A great opportunity coming up is to try and land a job at an Aussie ski resort. The season runs from June to October, but resorts in the Victorian Alps and Snowy Mountains, such as Thredbo and Perisher Valley, will be hiring soon.
