Why you should complete your 88 days of farm work
Anyone who applies for the working holiday visa for Australia and travels to Australia with it has certainly heard of farm work or so-called specified work.
Basically, you can only apply for the working holiday visa for Australia once in your life. Anyone who has applied for the working holiday visa must travel to Australia within a year before the visa expires. The visa is then valid for 365 days from the day of entry. However, it is possible to extend the visa for a second or third year if you have carried out so-called specified work (in most cases farm work) for at least 88 days during the first year or 179 days during the second year.
But farm work is strenuous, boring and it is absolutely laborious to find a suitable job that is well paid and also counts towards the 88 days of Specified Work. Why should you put yourself through all that stress? It’s much easier to look for a job in a big city like Sydney or on the beach at Byron Bay and work there for a few hours a week in a relaxed manner and spend your free time doing exciting activities instead of sitting in the middle of nowhere where you can do nothing else except working.
You have the chance to spend a second year in Australia
Anyone who has ever traveled to Australia will quickly realize how fascinating this country is and how exciting and adventurous the backpacker life down under can be. This is the main reason why many backpackers decide to complete the 88 days of Specified Work. Another year of experiences in Australia is something you don’t want to miss and you shouldn’t miss either!!!
I did not complete the 88 days of Specified Work in my first year in Australia. Although I was absolutely thrilled about Australia, at that point, when I was just 18 years old, I couldn’t imagine that I would want to spend another year in Australia. It didn’t take long after I returned to Germany and I deeply regretted this decision. I was lucky that due to the Corona pandemic I had the opportunity to apply for the Working Holiday Visa again even without completing the Specified Work.
Even if you can’t imagine returning to Australia right now, complete the 88 days anyway and keep the possibility open. After all, you never know what the next few years might bring! And if you never end up applying for the Second Year Visa, you can always say:
You made an unique experience
Even though you may not be working on a farm for your Second Year Visa, working there can still be rewarding. You’ll be faced with new challenges, you’ll learn to try new things, you’ll meet people who live a life you’ve never heard before, you learn to push your limits and leave your comfort zone. Even though farm work can be strenuous, at the end of the job it is an experience that every backpacker doesn’t want to miss.
It’s not boring at all
Many backpackers from different countries often work together on a farm, which is why working there is probably less boring than you might initially think. Not only do you spend your free time together, but also during work you work together as a team, support each other and there are always moments when you laugh together. Therefore, you don’t have to worry about getting lonely in the middle of nowhere. You also have social contacts your age there.
You get to know the life in the Australian outback
A rural area is a place far away from big cities where hardly any tourists go. Here you will meet many real Australians who can tell you more about life in Australia and also let you participate in it.
You earn a lot of money in a very short time
Once you find the right farm, you can start working and earning money. A lot of money.
On most farms you will work more than 40 hours a week, sometimes even up to 80 hours a week. Often the farms also offer you free accommodation or accommodation for very little money per week. Food is also often provided free of charge. Since you’re stuck in the middle of nowhere, you can’t do anything other than work and not spend any money on activities. You can save all the money you earn for your next trip.
So if you actually work on a farm where you have no expenses and work up to 80 hours a week, with a minimum wage of $26 an hour + 15% tax, you can calculate how much money you will make at least in a week 😉
If you work for such an employer for 3 months, you can then plan your next trip through Australia in a relaxed manner with a few thousand dollars in your bank account.
With a 40-hour job in the city, you won’t be able to save that amount of money in such a short period of time. Due to weekly expenses for your accommodation, food, transportation and other activities, the majority of your income is already spent on other things.
If you are interested in other topics about working in Australia, please take a look at my other blog articles: