10 highest paying jobs in Australia every international student should know

Choose the right degree and you could be set to get one of the highest paying jobs in Australia. Graduates of Australian universities can stay between two to four years after completing their studies. You can travel, work or study in Australia during your stay under the Temporary Graduate visa (subclass 485) Post-Study Work stream.

Australia is a great place to study, work and live — if you have enough funds. You’ll need around 4,780.02 Australian dollars in Sydney and A$4,000 in Melbourne, according to Number.com’s Cost of Living Plus Rent Index. A meal in an inexpensive restaurant is A$20, a cappuccino is A$4.73 and a one-month transport pass is A$152. With the hike in beer tax, a pint of beer could end up being priced at A$15 too. In short, it’s not cheap.

To make the most of your time in Australia, it’s best to aim for a graduate role that pays enough or at least matches the average salary of A$5,966.96. Scrimping and saving while working a low-wage job is admirable but may not be the best option in the long run. It’s better to plan ahead by getting the right qualification which will put you on the right path toward a better-paying job in the future.

If you seek a future in Australia, check out the top 10 highest paying jobs in Australia based on employer demand below:

Role	Salary
Construction managers	$130,000 – $210,000
Civil engineering professionals	$80,000 – $130,000
Early childhood (pre-primary school) teachers	$70,000 – $80,000
Registered nurses	$75,000 – $85,000
ICT business and systems analysts	$90,000 – $130,000
Software and applications programmers	$90,000 – $110,000
Electricians	$70,000 – $110,000
Chefs	$60,000 – $70,000
Child carers	$50,000 – $60,000
Aged and disabled carers	$50,000 – $60,000

The list was released by the Australian Prime Minister as the Albanese government prepares to hold a Jobs and Skills Summit. It is based on the Skills Priority List, data on job vacancies and projected growth in employment over the next five years.

Australia is facing a national shortage of workers. There are around 470,000 people formally unemployed compared to nearly half a million job advertisements. Part of the solution lies in attracting more skilled migrants and making it easier for them to be permanent residents, a Deloitte report found.

The Albanese government is also boosting the Technical and Further Education sector. “My government is focused on growing our vocational and training sector, delivering 465,000 fee-free TAFE places to help address skills shortages, and upgrading key TAFE infrastructure,” said Anthony Albanese, as reported by SBS.  “We also have a strong focus on opening up more opportunities for apprentices and traineeships, giving people on the job work experience.”

Highest paying jobs in Australia go to specialists

The list above differs from what was earlier released by the Australian Taxation Office’s Taxation Statistics for 2019-20. In ATO’s list, the top earners — such as surgeons and anaesthetists — are in roles with a limited number of people to do the job.

The annual salary for a surgeon is reportedly A$406,068 on average, nearly six times what the average Aussie earns a year (A$69,400) in taxable income and almost 2.5 times more than what chief executives get.

If you’re a woman, the stats aren’t in your favour, either. Women are paid close to 1.4 times lesser than men, an average of A$52,798 per year compared to A$74,559.