PHOTO: Bus driver Edwin Kusuma (left) pictured with his mother Swandayani (right), in Sydney. (Supplied: Edwin Kusuma)
The story has been told in various ways before.
A new migrant to Australia — already well-qualified with experience in prestigious jobs at home — has to contend with low-paying, insecure work as their qualifications do not exactly match up with Australian standards.
For those who have experienced this, it is a blunt reality, considering years of study and financial investment have at first not appeared to pay dividends.
But for a contingent of other migrants, the opportunity to throw off the shackles of white-collar work — and its high-pressure environment — is something to be relished.
Edwin and Rita Kusuma are some of these people.
They are a married couple from Indonesia who swapped office work for bus driving when they moved to Sydney from Jakarta.
A new migrant to Australia — already well-qualified with experience in prestigious jobs at home — has to contend with low-paying, insecure work as their qualifications do not exactly match up with Australian standards.
For those who have experienced this, it is a blunt reality, considering years of study and financial investment have at first not appeared to pay dividends.
But for a contingent of other migrants, the opportunity to throw off the shackles of white-collar work — and its high-pressure environment — is something to be relished.
Edwin and Rita Kusuma are some of these people.
They are a married couple from Indonesia who swapped office work for bus driving when they moved to Sydney from Jakarta.
PHOTO: Ms Kusuma told the ABC you do not need academic smarts to live a "decent life". (Supplied: Rita Kusuma)
Previously, Mr Kusuma worked as an IT officer at Bank Indonesia for eight years, while Ms Kusuma was the head of finance for an electricity distribution company.
For Ms Kusuma, earning a living as one of Sydney's bus drivers gave her the freedom a white-collar job did not — this work was flexible, and gave her more opportunities to spend time with family.
She told the ABC's Indonesian service bus driving meant she did not have to manage piling office assignments, or was expected to work overtime without pay.
"[These] things make us think work is fun," Ms Kusuma said.
But when news of her career switch in Australia reached home, things did not exactly go well with her family in Jakarta.
Some family members were "disparaging" about her choice, she says, with one relative alleging she had brought "embarrassment" to her ancestors.
She added that because having a high-profile job title in Indonesia gave people pride, job prestige becomes something to strive for.
FOR FULL STORY CLICK THE LINK BELOW:
www.abc.net.au/news/2019-10-29/australian-migrants-managing-career-switches-and-familial-shame/11594532
For Ms Kusuma, earning a living as one of Sydney's bus drivers gave her the freedom a white-collar job did not — this work was flexible, and gave her more opportunities to spend time with family.
She told the ABC's Indonesian service bus driving meant she did not have to manage piling office assignments, or was expected to work overtime without pay.
"[These] things make us think work is fun," Ms Kusuma said.
But when news of her career switch in Australia reached home, things did not exactly go well with her family in Jakarta.
Some family members were "disparaging" about her choice, she says, with one relative alleging she had brought "embarrassment" to her ancestors.
She added that because having a high-profile job title in Indonesia gave people pride, job prestige becomes something to strive for.
FOR FULL STORY CLICK THE LINK BELOW:
www.abc.net.au/news/2019-10-29/australian-migrants-managing-career-switches-and-familial-shame/11594532
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