[rajvardhanraje]

I have been following this thread for a long time. There have been valuable advice from many BHPians. Some of the posts by senior members are very balanced and informative, all based on their real life experiences. On the other hand I also do see a lot of biased posts bashing the other side, some getting enraged at anything bad written about a the country they live in, dismissing it as hearsay. I am documenting my experiences on this thread, based on the 4 nations abroad that I lived in, later eventually settling back in India.

Each one of these experiences were vastly different from the others. While what I did would not be termed as ‘emigration’ in the literal sense, they were more of deputations abroad for long term projects. My work profile back is primarily Industrial Automation for the manufacturing and process industry.

1. Qatar: This was my first international onsite deputation more than a decade back, and I was located in Doha. This was in the early 2010s.
   
   • Demography: Based on the stats I read, 93% of the population were expats. The locals largely owned stakes in the businesses and were very affluent. Literally half of the population was Indian (most from Kerala), and the other large regional groups were Filipino, Nepalis, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, and Sri Lankans. Europeans and Americans were present, albeit in relatively less numbers.
     
   • Language: Hindi and Malayalam were dominant. Good Hindi is spoken by expats from the Indian subcontinent, so 90% of the times, there was no barrier for communication.
     
   • Work: Now the key point to note here, is that most of the expats staying here come primarily for the economic opportunities. We worked 5 days a week with Thursday/Friday acting as the weekend. Due to the nature of the project, work wasn’t hectic for my team. The company car would pick us up early morning at 7 and drop us back at 4”30 after which got time for ourselves. In terms of hierarchy in the organization, the top echelon always consisted of Europeans/Americans as CXOs and local Arabs as part of the management. The mid echelon largely consisted of Indians, and the lower echelon of workers consisted of people from the Indian subcontinent. Work culture was good enough for the white collar workers. No one typically hesitated to work beyond designated work hours, as there was nothing much to do post work. The only interactions we had with the local Arabs was during steerco meetings. I wouldn’t consider the work culture too different from India. Not much to complain on this front.
   • Income: Opportunities to earn here were immense. Get into the right role with the right skillset and earnings can be quite healthy. Considering the lack of taxation and not much to do in discretionary spending, one does end up saving a good amount of money.
     
   • Culture and life: Not much to say here. Everyone comes here to work and earn. There are very few who emigrate here with families. The locals are completely isolated from expats and live a different life. With lavish houses and landcruisers, they have their own way of life. For us, it was just work, food and rest. Not many avenues for entertainment, the most we could do is go to a mall and shop, eat, watch a movie. Indian food is available everywhere and quite cheap. I did not face any racist incidents during my tenure here, and would largely attribute it to the demographic distribution and low percentage of locals. Law and order was very stringent and crime rate is quite low.
     
   • Weather: Summers are absolutely brutal. From July to September, it is impossible to step outside even at night. At residences, even the kitchen is air conditioned and it needs to remain on 24 hours a day. It is common for people to keep their cars on with air conditioning on full blast for an hour or two if they have to attend say a meeting at client location. Winters are pleasant and get chilly sometimes in December.
     
   • Cars: This is the land of landcruisers. The locals being affluent, could be seen driving around in their LC200, GMC Yukon XL Denali, Nissan Patrol, etc. White collars would buy more of Camry, Accord, Altima. And blue collars travelled in Toyota Hilux and Nissan Navara. Completely Japanese dominated market.
     
   • Verdict: Unless one is constrained with lack of good economic opportunities in India, in my opinion I do not see much advantages emigrating here. Preferable for bachelors, not for families in my opinion.
   
   
2. New Zealand: This was my second international onsite deputation, and I was located in Hamilton. This was in the mid 2010s.
   • Demography: New Zealand is a multicultural society with a lot of Asians, predominantly Indians and Chinese. The native population consists of mainly whites and a less percentage of Maoris who are the actual natives.
     
   • Language: With English being the official language, communication was never an issue.
     
   • Work: This is the place where I first got to know of the term ‘work life balance’. It has a very relaxed and laid back culture. Opportunities are limited and my end client was a leading dairy. Work would typically start morning around 9 and end at 5. No one was expected to work beyond designated working hours, though occasionally we would do it. Timelines for projects were relaxed and realistic. Even work at the plant never felt hectic. There was no sense of hierarchy while working. Everyone including the blue collar workers were treated with respect. Coffee breaks would include everyone across the ladder interacting freely without any sense of entitlement. This is something I appreciate. The downside, there are very limited opportunities to grow. It was very common for people to stay at the same position for over a decade. Employees were largely content with their position and most were not the ‘ambitious’ type. It could get boring for those who look for rapid progressions.
     
   • Income: I will get straight to the point. Do not migrate here if earning money is the key aim. Being more on the socialist side, disparity in income is low. If a couple moves here and both work, life will be comfortable, but do not expect big savings. Cost of living is on the higher side. The income is decent enough though to eventually acquire a house, a car and education for kids.
     
   • Culture and life: As I mentioned above, the culture is very relaxed and laid back. Work is not the key motivator. People love to explore life outside of work. Trekking, hiking, travelling is the way of life. It is very common to see families driving their sedans and towing small trailers to a camping site. There is a considerably large Indian community here, and Indian festivals like Diwali are celebrated. Locals can be friendly enough to mix up, though most Indians living there do end up spending time more within the community, including me. Sports is a very big part of the culture. Rugby takes top spot, with cricket being secondary.
     
   • Weather: Being on the northern island, weather was pleasant. Summers did get warm, but nowhere close to the summers we face here. Winters were on the colder side but manageable, without snow. The country is full of greenery and pollution levels are low. In terms of nature, it is stunning. One can find everything from dense greenery, beaches, mountains, thermal lakes, etc. Road trips across the country were truly amazing.
     
   • Cars: Cars are expensive with fuel being costly and taxes on the higher side. Most end up buying used Japanese cars (both sedans and hatches). It is nowhere comparable to the US or gulf. Cars like the Toyota Yaris hatch dominate.
     
   • Verdict: Choose to emigrate here if you intend to have slow paced laid back life with nature, low pollution and good balance between work and family. Economic opportunities are few with low savings. Do not consider this with money as the key motivator.
   
   
3. Indonesia: This was my third international onsite deputation, and I was located in Lampung which is a mid sized city on the Sumatra island. Not much to write here as this was a short stint.
   
   • Demography: The city I was located in consists only of locals, and I was literally one of the handful foreigners here. The capital Jakarta, does have a few expats. There is a big demographic divide based on income, education and other local factors.
     
   • Language: This was a major issue at Lampung. While some could manage basic English, most were not conversant and only spoke the local or national language. By then google translate had come in, so I heavily relied on it for my interactions. The national language does have some Sanskrit words, so that helped a bit.
     
   • Work: Work culture is very much identical to what we have in India. Everything felt similar right from hierarchy, salaries, white and blue collar divide. The locals were hard working individuals and it was common to stretch beyond designated working hours.
     
   • Income: The local currency is valued quite low. Incomes compared to India are low, but spending was proportionally low as well.
     
   • Culture and life: The culture is a bit on the conservative side as compared to other south east asian countries. The youngsters seems to be a bit more liberal though in terms of lifestyle. The typical movie, restaurant, mall culture does exist. I did find a lot of similarities with India in terms of family values. Food was excellent and cheap. The variety and choice of fish is exceptional. This is something I truly enjoyed. The place I was in, is not a tourist destination so there wasn’t much to explore.
     
   • Weather: Completely tropical weather. Lots of greenery all around with same weather throughout the year. Felt like the typical coastal weather in India.
     
   • Cars: The market is completely dominated by the Japanese cars. Toyota leads the sales. Based on the economic strata, cars vary from hatchbacks, to sedans to MPVs. Road conditions are on the bad side, and its common to find potholes.
     
   • Verdict: This is not a place for Indians to emigrate. I just happened to be there due to my project.
   
   
4. Netherlands: This was my fourth international onsite deputation, and the longest. A lot to write here. I was located in a town called Veghel near Eindhoven. I was here in the late 2010s.
   
   • Demography: The town I was located in, is a province called Noord Brabant. It consists only of locals, and I could find few migrants here. Other larger cities like Amsterdam, Eindhoven are very multicultural though where people across the globe stayed, right from Asia, Americas, Africa and other European countries.
     
   • Language: Language will be a factor depending on where one stays in the Netherlands. A city like Amsterdam, English will work everywhere due to the demography and tourist influx. The town that I was in, it’s a small place not on the tourist map. So Dutch was the primary language followed here. In office, everyone across all ages spoke good English. Outside, it was a minor issue. One interesting thing I noted here, was that the younger population spoke fluent English, and the some of older population (above 50) spoke limited or no English. After some digging around, my local colleague mentioned that back in the days, German was taught in schools as the second language, but for the past couple of decades more people opted for English as the second language. As a result, the older ones spoke good German and the younger ones were not too conversant with German. Again, Dutch and German both being Germanic languages does play a role. I was the only Indian or foreigner in the office. While everyone typically interacted with, spoke English with me, I initially had to catch up a lot on the conversations amongst themselves being in Dutch. Starting learning Dutch and it helped later. In shops or restaurants in the city, the menu was in Dutch, but with google translate, it wasn’t much of an issue.
     
   • Work: This was the most balanced work culture I came across in all countries I worked in. While not as laid back as New Zealand, nowhere as aggressive as home. Literally everyone worked for 8 hours a day and none on weekends. By 7:30 am, the whole office would be full and empty by 4:30. One thing I observed is that the Dutch are quite particular about work. For the 8 hours they work, they won’t spend time on social media, or long coffee/smoke breaks. Heck, even they had lunch on the desk in front of the workstation. Once 8 hours are done, they would pack up and leave. Quite the contrast as compared to home, where we spend 10 hours in office and work for maybe 7 hours. Hierarchy would never be felt during interactions with the bosses. One big difference is that one can continue to be in a purely technical role throughout the career till retirement. And this is for service based companies, I can understand if its for product companies. Age is not a factor in designation. We had 50 and 60 year old engineer reporting to 35 year old project managers. And somehow the whole system worked without prejudice. On larger projects, the younger manager would actually consult the older engineers before committing anything to the client. Timelines and deadlines for work were very realistic. Managers would not overcommit to clients not pressurize subordinates to meet deadlines. As a result, work was not stressful at all. Working beyond designated hours is rare. It needs some special approvals for the employer and something they typically avoid. It was common for employees to go on month long vacations, being fully isolated from work, not responding to mails or attending calls. Employees also availed leaves for things like gardening or home stuff. This was something new for me. Work and family were typically isolated with less instances of colleagues meeting outside work.
     
   • Income: If earning money is the key aim, this won’t be the best option. Cost of living is high. Being socialist in nature, disparity in income is low. The income difference in white and blue collar workers is not huge. Even at the employer, the salary difference between say a 30 year old and a 50 year old engineer would not be too high. We even had younger managers earning lesser than older engineers. That being said, salaries are not comparable to the US. Savings are not high, but with a couple working, life will be comfortable enough to afford housing, car, education for kids. Career progression is slower than India and it is quite common for people to refuse promotions as the upside in income is not that much. The local population seems content with what they earn, couple with the government benefits like healthcare and retirement pensions. Choose to come here not for the balanced life, not money.
     
   • Culture and life: This was the most liberal country I lived in. As I mentioned above, work life balance comes above everything else. Culture also varies depending on the part of the country one lives in. Travelling is something that comes naturally to the Dutch. Road trips, family vacations is something that everyone indulges in. Indian diaspora is present in good numbers, so one can easily find Indian stores, restaurants. Festivals like Diwali are also celebrated at particular locations with Indian population. Local culture is very different as compared to Asia, especially in the family aspects. Marriage, kids work out in a different way, similar to other western countries. Mixing up with locals is something that most of us would find a bit difficult. So most end up creating their own friend circles amongst fellow Indians. The best part is the location and access/proximity to other European countries. This coupled with the Schengen visa, travelling is a breeze. One could drive or fly over a long weekend to explore some of the best tourist places in Europe. Even Netherlands has some excellent tourist locations. Amsterdam was a 1.5 hour drive, a place I would frequently visit on weekends.
     
   • Weather: Summers are a bit hot. Though the temperature goes up to 26 or 27 only, feels hotter. The good thing is that daylight is present for about 16 hours. So travelling is something done best in summer. Winters are very cold for the average Indian. It snows with dark gloomy days, and hardly 8 hours of sunlight. Feels quite depressing for us, being accustomed to sunshine all year long. Lots of greenery all around with fresh air and low pollution.
     
   • Cars: Before I come to cars, I want to talk about bicycles. Biking is the way of life here. Everyone across all ages could be seen biking, even 70 year olds. There are dedicated cycle tracks across the country which makes things easier. Every family has a dedicated bicycle per individual. I believe that’s certainly a factor in the Dutch being fit. Even CXOs can be seen biking to work, and changing into formals once in the office. Coming to cars now. The Germans dominate here. People prefer to buy station wagons or large hatches due the practicality. SUVs were less common when I was there, could have changed though due to the crossover domination globally. The Dutch still love their manuals and I could see everything from Mercs, BMWs and Audis with manual transmission. Back then, diesel was more common. As a first car, most ended up buying used ones. Car parking charges in the city are expensive.
     
   • Verdict: My advice, migrate here for the balanced life, clean air and tourism. If money is the motivator, this won’t be the right place.

My opinion on emigration: This is a very personal choice for an individual and would vary a lot from person to person. Each country has good and bad things. It all boils down to what one has as priorities, what matters more and what one can neglect. Every individual views things though their own lens and has his or her own perceptions and bias. Some paint foreign countries as utopia and India as dystopia, some vice-versa, which is not the case. Do what’s best for you. The life experiences I got from staying in different countries are valuable, not in terms of pure work but in terms of knowing how things and people are in different geographies.


Why I chose not to emigrate permanently: I had the opportunities to emigrate to Qatar, New Zealand and Netherlands, whose experiences I have documented. In my case, I was very clear that I wanted to experience life abroad but not settle. Did give it some second thoughts during my stint in Netherlands. It all ended up to the point of me being a part of the society there. While I did good in terms of work experiences, I could not assimilate as a part of the western society. Whether its in terms of culture, demographics, language, the feeling of an outsider always persisted. My friend circle was restricted to the Indian populace there. Missing out on festivals, family get togethers felt bad. Most of my immediate family being in India made a big difference here. Talking about racism, while I did not face any outright incidents, the feeling of being an outsider always persisted. Interacting with locals (some, not all), I could feel a sense of superiority in them, and that coupled with the occasional comments on our culture/country, the facial expressions conveyed the message. On the other hand, my colleague emigrated permanently as for him he was able to assimilate as a part of the local culture, and the subtle racism was something he could neglect. I rather decided to come back and am very content with my decision.

[CornerCarver]

Very well presented with all the necessary facts. I vouch for what is mentioned for Qatar. This goes well for the whole Middle East region too.
As for emigration, Qatar and other middle eastern nations don't count in, including Dubai.

We cannot emigrate to these lands.

Yes, we can work and live with families, get the kids educated in Indian schools and go on paid annual vacations but that's about that.
Hardly any one gets a permanent residency in here and one fine day, either by choice or compulsion, we have to leave these places.
With the local populace being preferred especially for the mid level managerial jobs, staying here on long term is a distant dream.
Gone are the days when expats from India would live for 30 to 40 years in Middle East.
To emigrate, currently Canada is the easiest option, initial struggles notwithstanding.
Also, Emigrating to European nations, AUS/NZ, North America is viable on a long term basis with a view to get a PR/ Passport and securing a future for kids.

[Drexler]

Originally Posted by hifisharu

Hey Drexler,

I'm unable to write a private message to you, hence this message here. I'm in the Munich area, Dachau to be specific and work for BMW, Rolls Royce in the Design/ Styling sector. Do give me a shout out, we can meet up and get to know each other.

Hello, thankyou so much for your offer. I would really like to arrange a meet. I am currently staying in Stuttgart and
working as an intern in Dr. Ing. h.c.F. Porsche AG in a similar field but I frequently travel to Ingolstadt. Maybe we can plan to meet in München. Please feel free to reach out to me at drexler1789@gmail.com (Apologies for the weird email address, I primarily use it for open web interactions!)


Thankyou to other BHPians who gave me valuable advice. I am immensely grateful to all the BHPians who took the time out of their lives to guide me through my decision.

Update: I am currently living in Stuttgart (Home to Automotive OEMs like Mercedes and Porsche) while also pursuing my Masters Degree. I am also working as an Intern in Porsche AG as a Simulation Intern in Vehicle Safety as stated above. The experience so far has been more than amazing! Would love to share my experience without breaching the data privacy / confidentiality agreements at a later date. PS: I get to drive Porsche 911s! Stuttgart is a amazing city but not as good as München in my view .


Now the Automotive Industry in Germany has posed some different challenges for me. As I complete my Masters, current German Automotive Industry has decided to undergo a major recession and have been cutting down on projects left and right. This led to major cutting down in workforces across all OEMs as well as Tier 1 suppliers (reference).
It has become difficult for young engineers like me who want to enter into the Automotive Industry in Germany right now even after the fact that I am very much proficient in German as well as have a good experience of 3-4 years in this field. Would love to gain valuable insights from experienced engineers as well as experts in the field during these difficult times.

PS: I am sorry for replying after a very long time. I have been reflecting on what I want in my career and had been working for the same. Emotionally I am doing much better as well.

Thankyou and Servus! (a bavarian greeting)
Yash

MODs: Please feel free to remove any data that is not relevant to the topic.

[John316_WRC]

About 2 weeks back, in Hyderabad I was driving with my sister in law, mother in law and my wife who is 6 months pregnant. A Pulsar rider overtaking a TSRTC bus in a blind right turn came right in front of me.

I had the presence of mind of slowing down and moved to the left to let him pass. What he did next was park his pulsar in front of my car. Get down and abuse me continuously. When I tried to avoid confrontation he grabbed my door and tried opening it. I was the only male in the car with 3 ladies. He saw that and took full advantage.

Continuously abusing me, by God's grace I realised what was happening. He grabbed my door handle and tried to open my door, (basically he wanted a fight) and I locked my car and waited for him to leave.

Why am I paying taxes?
Where are the traffic cops?
What kind of driving culture are we promoting in india?
I quietly left the place, knowing the well being of my family and my pregnant wife was more important than any strangers "dada giri".

I am deeply saddened. My mother-in-law was in tears. I have been consoling her ever since.

I have driven a car in many countries and have lived in the gulf from 2009-2019 (10 years) and I have never faced such harrasment.

I'm truly shaken and worried about the child coming into this world. Yes India is my homeland but danger is always lurking around the corner.

Honestly at what point do our lawmakers take notice? Deeply hurt by this incident.

[hothatchaway]

Originally Posted by John316_WRC

About 2 weeks back, in Hyderabad I was driving with my

Honestly at what point do our lawmakers take notice? Deeply hurt by this incident.

Glad that you and your family are fine. Surprised this happened in Hyderabad. While driving discipline is bad, I have found motorists there to be chilled out compared to Delhi or Kolkata

[ronford]

Originally Posted by Drexler

I am currently staying in Stuttgart and
working as an intern in Dr. Ing. h.c.F. Porsche AG in a similar field but I frequently travel to Ingolstadt.

Hey, I am near Stuttgart too. PM me.

[sunishsamuel]

Originally Posted by John316_WRC

About 2 weeks back, in Hyderabad I was driving with my sister in law, mother in law and my wife who is 6 months pregnant. A Pulsar rider overtaking a TSRTC bus in a blind right turn came right in front of me.

........(basically he wanted a fight) and I locked my car and waited for him to leave.

..........................
Honestly at what point do our lawmakers take notice? Deeply hurt by this incident.

Road rage is unfortunately not confined to any single location. Even when moving abroad, one may still encounter aggressive driving behavior, sometimes from fellow expats. (read about what's happening in Sydney, Melbourne, Canada, US etc. - its extremely embarrassing in certain cases when Indians are involved)

I moved out of India with the belief that healthcare and law enforcement systems would be more efficient and reliable in First World Countries. However, an accident involving my family has shattered my faith in both (pedestrian hit by a motor car which went out of control due to driver error). For now, I am focused on their recovery and plan to take them to India for further assessment once they are well enough.

If you are planning to emigrate: Please review the pros and cons.

[rkv_2401]

Originally Posted by John316_WRC

About 2 weeks back, in Hyderabad I was driving with my sister in law, mother in law and my wife who is 6 months pregnant. A Pulsar rider overtaking a TSRTC bus in a blind right turn came right in front of me.

Sorry that this happened to you.

I also find driving in India to be hugely irritating with these "tough guys" who can't imagine how scary a collision, even at low speeds, will be and choose to play a game of chicken with strangers, whether with their vehicles or by acting tough outside of it.

Even today I ran into a "gentleman" in an old XUV who got so offended that I was moving left (with my indicator on) when he wanted, no, needed, to go right to make an overtake that he aggressively pushed me off the road twice and then brake checked me afterwards (there was a gap when I started moving to the next lane, but he aggressively closed it). I didn't even cut him off, I just stayed in the right lane, passed those cars and then moved left.

I paid him back in kind before turning off the road, but what's the point? These "saars" have nothing better to do, and will amount to nothing more in life, than fighting with random strangers they will never meet again - unlike us, who actually have things to look forward to. They get a false sense of bravado by doing this, instead of using that "courage" to change whatever makes their life so miserable that they find the need to lash out at random people just passing by who don't even know who they are. Or in your assaulter's case, taking the pain of nearly crashing and using that to learn not to overtake long vehicles on a blind curve.

At least, that's how I deal with it. I do think there are low lifes like this in every country (I've met my fair share of racist bogans in Sydney), but probably not as much as in India + the other countries have a better support system to avoid such issues from escalating.

I wasn't rattled by this, I found it mildly surprising that someone could get so offended over such a nothing event, but that's because I'd already made up my mind to not stress over things like this. This seems to happen every time I go to a certain section of the city, so.

[hothatchaway]

^^^you are saying these road rambos won't amount to anything in life, in this case however, the aggressor was driving a car worth two million rupees. Niceties or even common civil courtesy is irrelevant now.

Glad you are safe.

[capnemo]

I don't know if this has been addressed earlier in the thread, but fellow BHPians who have chosen between emigration and staying put in the country, how are you evaluating

Quality of life for kids, spouse and yourself v/s caring for ageing parents ?

I am at that age where I see just too much degradation of quality of life in my current city (pollution, insane traffic, goondaism), and am constantly thinking of emigrating. What keeps me shackled are ageing parents who I have helped with a health emergency twice in the last 7 years - and they are only growing older.

How do you solve this conundrum ? I am torn between fulfilling both duties and can't seem to find an answer.

[Jeroen]

I just came across this interesting map. Which companies are most sought after in terms of folks googling for positions per country.



See also https://switchonbusiness.com/company...ts-to-work-for

[Fuldagap]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

I just came across this interesting map. Which companies are most sought after in terms of folks googling for positions per country.

Quite interesting! However, when it comes to India, SBI intakes candidates through national level exams be it clerical or officer roles. I wonder how a "SBI+Careers" keyword search on Google (methodology) can represent what the infographic is trying to portray.

When it is seemingly untrue for India (The Top Company Every Country Wants To Work For), can't believe it for other countries as well. Even if one believes the data, it is irrelevant to anything substantial or crucial.

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by Fuldagap

Quite interesting! However, when it comes to India, SBI intakes candidates through national level exams be it clerical or officer roles. I wonder how a "SBI+Careers" keyword search on Google (methodology) can represent what the infographic is trying to portray.

When it is seemingly untrue for India (The Top Company Every Country Wants To Work For), can't believe it for other countries as well. Even if one believes the data, it is irrelevant to anything substantial or crucial.

This is how they did it:

Switch On Business analyzed Google search volume data for employment opportunities at different companies in every country using the Ahrefs Keyword Explorer. We ranked the companies within each country based on the number of monthly Google searches for each company name plus the keyword “careers.”

The way I read it they are looking how often a company name in combination with the word career shows up in Google searches. So it is what people looking for opportunities and careers are looking for. Not how companies do their actual intake as you make it out/interpreted it?

I can’t judge for most countries, but a few countries that I’m familiar with seem very plausible. For my home country the Netherlands I can well imagine ASML showing up!

Jeroen

[MaanSingh]

Another perspective -

https://www.msn.com/en-in/health/hea...a7cf4f8f&ei=35

[kiku007]

Originally Posted by Jeroen

I just came across this interesting map. Which companies are most sought after in terms of folks googling for positions per country.

Interesting indeed.

Originally Posted by Fuldagap

When it is seemingly untrue for India (The Top Company Every Country Wants To Work For), can't believe it for other countries as well. Even if one believes the data, it is irrelevant to anything substantial or crucial.

"10_Top-Companies-Australians-Want-to-Work-For"

Yeah nah!

"10_Top-Companies-Australians-Googled-with-the-word-careers". Fixed it.

That's all it is.

Stores like Coles, Woolies, Bunnings etc. are major employers of teenagers, young-adults or basically anyone looking for a part-time job for example. Obviously they will have more hits in google searches. That has no relation to the implied connection that these are the top companies that Australians WANT to work for.

I mean, Atlassian and Canva are usually in the Top 10 companies to work for in Australia list. People need to have a higher level of skill to work there. Coles doesn't need a similar skill level to stock and pack groceries. That's why you have 2800 and 2400 "Company name+Career" searches in Google, but Coles has 24,000 searches! Obviously, Coles has other divisions/roles that require higher skills. However, I'm certain the google searches cited in the report are more on the storefront side.