Medical physics postdocs in Australia

[tommythecat]

Hi everyone,

I'm coming to the end of a PhD in medical physics (ultrasound), due to complete in October 2011. My degree was in Physics with Medical Physics, and I also have an MSc in Radiation Physics with Medical Applications.

I'm looking to move to Australia, from the UK, shortly after my PhD ends, and would like some advice from the forum!

Whilst I am holding out for a sponsored position, whereby an employer tells the Australian government that they'll give me a job, this may not happen. Another option is to get a 'general skilled migration' visa, which entails some assessment by a professional body.

My problem is this - the assessment guidelines I have read (ACPSEM and AIR) request some clinical experience of the kind associated with, say, training/working in the NHS as a medical physicist. I have some clinical experience from research conducted in my PhD, but not to the same level as that.

So, does anyone on the forum have any advice on how a medical physics postdoc could go about getting over to Australia from the UK?

Apologies for the long post!

tommythecat

 

[Choppy]

I don't have a whole lot of experience in immigration issues, but the first thing I would do is figure out where the jobs are, and initiate contact with the relevant people doing the hiring. Chances are they will have some experience with bringing people in from outside and have a specific set of criteria that you need to satisfy.

I highly doubt, for example, that you would be able to find someone with a couple of years of clinical experience willing to take on a post-doc role - two years of direct clinical experience in medical physics, particularly when coupled with certification will generally qualify you to make several times the annual salary of a post-doc.