I’m a first-year, first-semester CS student at the University of Sydney (USYD), and I’m honestly conflicted about staying here. I came to Australia with a very different mindset than what I have right now.
Back home, my entire life revolved around building things — research in ML/AI, projects, experimenting with new features or gadgets, trying to innovate in any way I could. I topped nationally, did well in math competitions, even placed 5th globally in the Caltech math tournament. I was always creating something.
But since moving here, everything feels upside down.
Australia (or at least Sydney) doesn’t feel like it has a strong startup culture or an active AI/tech innovation environment. I don’t feel the “spark” around me. Most days go into earning money for bills, and the rest just… disappear into scrolling or watching random stuff. I feel like I’m wasting time I could’ve used to build things if I had a better environment.
I’ve also felt underestimated a lot. Because I’m a first-year, first-semester student, I’ve been rejected pretty bluntly in multiple places, even though I actually have solid experience in CS/AI/ML and research. It’s like none of that matters here. People see “first year” and international student and immediately write me off.
All of this has made me wonder whether staying here is even the right decision. I don’t know if this is just a phase of adjusting, or if Australia genuinely isn’t the right place for someone who wants to build, innovate, and be around people who think big.
Has anyone else felt this way? Is this just a shaky first year? How did you find community, motivation, or opportunities in Sydney or Australia in general? Or is transferring to the US or somewhere with a stronger tech/startup ecosystem a realistic path? Or maybe a different uni that atleast makes me feel more motivated and willing to make an impact? singapore, hong kong, germany, idk.