Career, Education and Finance

Revision as of 10:06, 12 June 2010

Career

Interviews

Job Seeking Websites

• Seek Independent job site
• MyCareer Fairfax operated job site
• CareerOne News Limited operated job site
• Jobsearch Federal Government operated job site

State Government Job Websites

• Local Council The Australian Local Government Job Directory
• ACT Australian Capital Territory Jobs
• QLD Queensland Jobs
• NSW New South Wales Jobs
• NT Northern Territory Jobs
• SA South Australian Jobs
• TAS Tasmanian Jobs
• VIC Victorian Jobs
• WA Western Australian Jobs

Education

• Higher School Certificate the final examination in secondary school education in New South Wales
• Victorian Certificate of Education given to students who have completed Year 11 and Year 12 of their secondary schooling in the state of Victoria
• Queensland Core Skills(old) Queensland Certificate of Education(new) given to students who have completed Year 11 and Year 12 of their secondary schooling in Queensland

Higher Educational Institutions in Australia

Victoria

• Deakin Univeristy link
• Holmesglen Institute of TAFE link
• Latrobe University link
• University of Melbourne link
• Monash University link
• Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) link
• Swinburne University of Technology link
• William Angliss Institute of TAFE link

Queensland

• Bond University link
• Central Queensland University link
• James Cook University link
• Queensland University of Technology link
• The University Of Queensland link
• University of Southern Queensland link
• University of the Sunshine Coast link
• Griffith University link

Other

• University of Adelaide link
• Australian National University link
• University of New South Wales link
• University of Sydney link
• Curtin University of Technology link
• Edith Cowan University link
• Murdoch University link
• University of Western Australia link
• University of Tasmania link
• University of Technology Sydney link

Microsoft

• MCSE (Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer) link
• MCSA (Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator) link

Cisco

• CCNA (Cisco Certified Network Associate) link
• CCNP (Cisco Certified Network Professional) link
• CCIE (Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert) link

Career Info Sheets

Got some useful info about your career? Add it to one of these info sheets or make a new one! Aimed to provide an insight on what jobs there are in various fields and what work is involved.

• Careers in Photography
• Careers in IT
• Careers in Multimedia
• Supermarket Jobs

Taxation/Accounting/General Financial Advice Section:

This finacial info has been moved from The Pub

I thought this could be a good spot to have a bit of a finative FAQ/DIY area for all the Taxation, Accounting and General Finance Quesions "The Pub" receives.

Websites

A good start would be a list of sites that have most information that anyone may be seeking:

1. General Taxation Adivce for all individuals and other entities, ATO Website

2. ABN Details and Lookup service (free), ABNLookup

3. It is tha laaw, ATO Legal Database

4. Got Shares, want to see what you have been paid? Computershare

5. Another Share Registry, ASXperpetual

6. All Public Company Share Information, Australian Stock eXchange

7. Incorporated companies, clubs, associations, business names registrations, Australian Securities and Investments Commission

8. Australian and NZ Legislation and Case Law database AustLii

<<Anymore just add them - I wouldn't post actual business sites, just government sites>>

Taxation FAQ

Edit this page and add all the questions you've had in regards to taxation (usually Individual deductions etc) and we can all add "correct" answers.

Tax rates 2009-10
$ 0-$ 6,000: NIL
$ 6,001-$35,000: 15%
$35,001-$80,000: 30%
$80,001-$180,000: 38%
$180,001 +  : 45%
Medicare Levy: 1.5%

Tax rates 2008-09
$ 0-$ 6,000: NIL
$ 6,001-$34,000: 15%
$34,001-$80,000: 30%
$80,001-$180,000: 40%
$180,001 +  : 45%
Medicare Levy: 1.5%

Tax rates 2006-07
$ 0-$ 6,000: NIL
$ 6,001-$25,000: 15%
$25,001-$75,000: 30%
$75,001-$150,000: 40%
$150,001 +  : 45%
Medicare Levy: 1.5%

Note

If you earn $6,001 per annum, only $1 would be taxed at %17 and not all of the $6,001. The taxation system is designed so if you pay increases, you always have more take-home money. This is regardless if you are near the edge of the bracket or not.

You pay a medicare levy generally if your income is over $15,902, but it is phased in between $15,903 and about $17,192 and I can't be bothered looking up exactly where it becomes a straight 1.5% of your income. In between $15,902 and $17,192 it is 20 cents for every dollar you earn over $15,902.

Accounting FAQ

Do you have a Business and have a quesion in regards to how you should treat any income/expense/other, post it here and answers will magically appear!

Investing in Precious Metals

Disclaimer: These details are for informational purposes only and are not written to advocate investment in the asset class. Please consult a financial advisor or DYOR before making any investment decisions.

Recent developments in the economic environment has meant an increasing interest in "safe haven" assets. Precious Metals with historical monetary value (Gold/Silver, referred to here as G&S) have benefited by this interest with the expectation by investors that their prices will continue to increase.

One of the most important things to remember when investing in any precious metal related assets in Australia is that their prices are derived directly from US spot prices multiplied by the USDAUD figure. G&S priced in Australian dollars is almost as much a currency play as it is an investment in the metal itself. For example if Australian dollar rises against the US Dollar this can mean the price of G&S can drop without a movement in the internationally quoted US based price. This not only poses a risk for holding the physical and paper products, but also the ASX listed miners who rely on a high Australian based price can have their profits or asset value reduced with fluctuations in the USDAUD.

Here are some of the ways that one can invest in G&S in Australia:

Physical - Bullion/Coins

Many advocates of precious metals suggest physical investment as opposed to other "paper" forms. Different reasons are given for this, though generally it boils down to their expectation that physical demand will eventually be so great that not all paper products will be backed with enough to deliver to those owners that take delivery. "If you don't hold it, you don't own it" is one of the most commonly used quotes to highlight physical ownership.

In most cases physical purchases are made through a bullion dealer. The The Gold-Australia (link) website provides a list of bullion dealers (though may not be completely comprehensive).

Purchasing physical is not necessarily as straight forward as walking in and purchasing a bar or coin, one must first consider whether you want to purchase

Paper

"Paper" precious metals generally refers to any product where you don't physically hold the product. It might be an ETF, warrant, certificate or trading account. The benefits of these

GOLD (ASX) link - Physical Gold ETF

ETPMAG (ASX) link - Physical Silver ETF Also listed on the ASX are ETPMPT (Platinum), ETPMPD (Palladium) & EPTMPM (Basket) PDS

There have been concerns raised about the ETFs by employees in the industry link.

ZAUWBA (ASX) link - Perth Mint Gold Quoted Product

Mining Shares

Links

There are probably hundreds of different precious metal related sites on the internet, listed here are some of those that might be of most use to an Australian investor:

Gold Thread "Gold" thread on the Overclockers Australia Forum

Gold Chat Personal blog of Bron Suchecki (works for Perth Mint)

Silver Stackers Precious metals related forum (predominantly Australian users and content) [