As more and more new immigrants come to Australia, many people have to face a demotion of their careers in Australia.
New immigrants to Australia tend to have good jobs at home, professional and well-paid, according to Australian media ABC News.
However, after they really emigrated to Australia, most new immigrants had to fight low-income, insecure jobs because their professional qualifications did not fully meet Australian standards.
For those who have experienced this, this is a cold reality, given that years of study and investment do not seem to pay off.
But for some immigrants, it is gratifying to get rid of the shackles of white-collar work and its high-pressure environment.
"Chief Financial Officer to Bus Driver"
Among them are Edwin Gunawan and Rita Kusuma, a couple from Indonesia.
Prior to that, Mr. Kusuma worked as a IT engineer at (Bank Indonesia), an Indonesian bank, for eight years, while Ms. Gunawan was the treasurer of a distribution company.
Now, couples who move from Jakarta to Sydney have moved their workplaces from their offices to the cab.
For Kusuma, as a public bus driver in Sydney, the job gives her the freedom she doesn`t have in a white-collar job, which is flexible and gives her more opportunities to get along with her family.
She told ABC, about the bus driver`s job, which means she doesn`t have to manage office work or is expected to work overtime for free.
But when she learned that she had changed careers in Australia, her family was not doing so well in Jakarta.
She said some family members "despised" her choice, and one relative, accusation, said she had brought "shame" to her ancestors.
She added that because in Indonesia, having a professional position can give people pride, so job reputation has become something to fight for.
Lan Anh Hoang, a senior lecturer in development research at the University of Melbourne, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), `s "dissatisfaction" with someone`s career, in part because of the view of some Asian societies that someone`s success affects the family as a whole.
"their families may not benefit from any economic benefits from the success of their relatives in Australia, but it is an improvement in status and brings honor and prestige to the family," she said.
Jobs that are thought to lead to economic stability, such as engineering, accounting or business, are preferred, she explained.
"there are very few businessmen who can be millionaires and those who are at the top of society," she said.
"Road engineer becomes baker."
Roydeh Lingkum also had to dispel criticism from his family about his career shift.
The 29-year-old Melbourne van, a former road maintenance director in Saba, Malaysia, has many employees.
Lingkum told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that he chose to "care" about negative comments from Malaysian families and focus on the growth of new jobs.
"as long as I`m independent, I really don`t care what people say."
"my curiosity about Australian jobs and opportunities makes me stop thinking about professional prestige."
He added that not many people outside his family had criticized his career change because it was considered unprestigious in Malaysia and high in salary in Australia.
While some immigrants may be satisfied with the low-skilled jobs they have found in Australia, countless migrants have had to lower their skills to find paid jobs in Australia.
"career demotion" after coming to Australia
Lina Cabaero is the coordinator of (AWatW), an Asian women`s work organization.
The organization is a non-profit organization that advocates improving the working conditions of Australian female Asian immigrants.
She told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that many people in her organization had to give up their skills when they emigrated to Australia.
"that`s what I call demotion," she points out.
She said an AWatW member was a Chinese doctor who spoke Russian and Mandarin, but because of her low English proficiency, she eventually became an outcontractor in the clothing industry.
Another member, Sophie, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation that she was a machine designer in China, but because of language barriers, she became a factory processor and then a hotel cleaner after arriving in Australia.
She explained that although she had never worked in a blue-collar position in China, she had "no choice" because she was supporting her family.
Ms. Cabaero added that Australia`s government "did not really grasp" the skills of people who emigrate to Australia to obtain the right of abode on a spouse or family visa.
"is the reputation of work worth sacrificing family time?"
But for those who do not engage in the careers they train, the prospect of starting work from bottom to top may have a long-term impact, and especially will have a long-term impact on future generations of immigrants in Australia.
The results of the 2017 / 18 Australian Multicultural Youth Census conducted by the University of Melbourne surveyed about 1920 multicultural Australian youth between the ages of 15 and 25.
It turned out that if parents were still in low-skilled jobs, the social mobility of immigrants was worrisome.
"because my parents are not very regular here, they don`t know anyone, and because they both do relatively" low-level "jobs, such as factory workers and part-time hospitality workers, it`s hard to know how to work or where to work," one interviewee said.
Another interviewee said their immigration background put their job prospects at a "disadvantage" compared with their peers who have stronger ties to the Australian community.
