Posted on: 24-08-03 22:04:18
I would like to get down to business with my question below.
I would really appreciate your help, insight and view as a response to my question below -- Thanks:
Q 1: Is it worth considering moving to Canada leaving US? My H1-B visa in USA expires mid next year.
Q 2: I have M.S. degree in USA and 6 years of IT experience -- specific to Java, J2EE, Web Development, Database and UNIX.
How is the IT job scene in Canada for my background? How about in Toronto area?
Q 3: I do not have any relatives in Canada. Will my chances of getting a job in Canada go down for this fact?
Q 4: I have been publishing articles for IT portals in USA. Will this improve my chances of getting an IT job in Canada?
Q 5: How much salary may I expect for my first job in Canada (my background as above)?
Q 6: I may consider a choice of going back to India too. But, do I get to save enough money (equivalent to my US monthly savings) by working in Canada? With a lot of savings possible, I may opt for going to Canada.
I would really appreciate your help on these questions. I am sure there are many individuals in USA that are in my position. So, you are helping all of them if you're helping me. Thanks for your insight and views, once again!
Sincerely,
SurvivingInStyle
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Before I reply, Are you holding Canada PR or landing in Canada for first time?
Thanks for offering to help.
I plan to arrive in Canada mid next year, that is 2004.
So, any replies to my questions will help me decide whether I should go to Canada or to India. In either case, my quitting USA is confirmed because my H1-B work visa expires.
Please suggest!
I think what tammudu meant was do you already have a canadian PR or not. If you apply now, the canadian govt. isn't going to give you a PR by mid next year, so you're gonna have to go back to India anyways. It takes about 2 yrs. from the U.S. now, from what I've heard. Your other option is to get a work-permit which is much quicker and apply for PR status in parallel.
Anyways, I'll still attempt to answer your questions.
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Q 1: Is it worth considering moving to Canada leaving US? My H1-B visa in USA expires mid next year.
Aren't these contradictory statements? Basically you have no choice leaving U.S. Your choice is really between India and Canada. Canada is a great country but given the choice between Canada and U.S., most desis (myself excluded) would prefer the U.S.
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Q 2: I have M.S. degree in USA and 6 years of IT experience -- specific to Java, J2EE, Web Development, Database and UNIX.
How is the IT job scene in Canada for my background? How about in Toronto area?
Given this experience, I think your chances of getting a job in Canada are pretty good, especially in the Toronto area. However Canada is a completely different market, different people, different attitudes. Also, we don't have the desi mama system here like the U.S., you most probably have to approach companies directly to find a job. I'd say it would take you about 2 mos. to find a job if you're really diligent.
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Q 3: I do not have any relatives in Canada. Will my chances of getting a job in Canada go down for this fact?
Umm....How would you answer this if I asked you for the U.S.? Same answer for Canada.
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Q 4: I have been publishing articles for IT portals in USA. Will this improve my chances of getting an IT job in Canada?
Probably. Again, your technical experience sounds pretty good, so your chances are good. Rest depends on your conversational and interpersonal skills.
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Q 5: How much salary may I expect for my first job in Canada (my background as above)?
I'd say anywhere between 70k to 90k (canadian) depending on how good you are at negotiating and how much you need the job. (Some people get frustrated looking for a while and will accept something at much lower salaries just to start off)
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Q 6: I may consider a choice of going back to India too. But, do I get to save enough money (equivalent to my US monthly savings) by working in Canada? With a lot of savings possible, I may opt for going to Canada.
You will NOT save as much money as the U.S., period. Taxes in Canada are higher and salaries lower, so that's out of the question. To give you an idea, cars cost about the same as the U.S., insurance rates are also the same, a good one-bdroom apt. in a decent area will cost about 1000 bucks canadian, groceries might be insignificantly cheaper. Healthcare is free, but if you're employed, that's free in most cases in the U.S. as well as far as you're concerned.
On the plus side, people are much nicer and polite and Toronto is more multi-cultural than an city in the U.S. The Indian community isn't restricted to Programmers/doctors and business-owners like the U.S. Its more proliferated into different professions, e.g. news reporters, police etc etc.
In a nut-shell, less money but a better life. To a lot of people, that's a contradiction in terms, so don't quote me on it.
Good luck.
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Are you there?
ASSUMPTION : You already got the Canada PR and landing in Canada for first time in 2004.
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Q 1: Is it worth considering moving to Canada leaving US? My H1-B visa in USA expires mid next year.
It depends on what you want. If I were you I would choose the India, given the current software outsourcing to India.
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Q 2: I have M.S. degree in USA and 6 years of IT experience -- specific to Java, J2EE, Web Development, Database and UNIX.
How is the IT job scene in Canada for my background? How about in Toronto area?
It's tough market. I won't present happy picture like BlueLobster, it's very difficult to get a IT job even if you have IT experience in USA.
Best option of finding job is DOOR KNOCKING or Friends who are already working at the client.
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Q 3: I do not have any relatives in Canada. Will my chances of getting a job in Canada go down for this fact?
Obviously, if you have father-in-law who is CEO for a company then your job is secured, if not..... Just Kidding...
I don't see the reasoning behind this question.
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Q 4: I have been publishing articles for IT portals in USA. Will this improve my chances of getting an IT job in Canada?
Everything depends upon luck... I won't guarantee that you will get job just b'cos you published articles..It's gloomy market time in North America.
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Q 5: How much salary may I expect for my first job in Canada (my background as above)?
In my experience, some companies prefer the experience out of North America or experience soley in Canada. B'cos a person worked in US who knows about the market will demand more. So sometimes in some instances the work experience in USA is negative factor here.
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Q 6: I may consider a choice of going back to India too. But, do I get to save enough money (equivalent to my US monthly savings) by working in Canada? With a lot of savings possible, I may opt for going to Canada.
Again it depeds upon what you want. Canada taxes are very high, only benefit is lousy health care which is FREE. The sales tax is 15 % (GST + PST) and 6 months of crazy winter.....
Thanks, tammudu and BlueLobster. Your replies are great.
One of my questions that confused everyone was about the relatives being in Canada. I asked that question because I read on this site at a few places that -
1. some employers ask for references from Canada. If your friend or better yet, a relative lives in Canada, they prefer to hire you thinking that you would know about culture in Canada.
2. some employers *hate* to see an address outside of Canada on your resume.
These are the two reasons I asked the question if it helped to have relatives in Canada. With my Father-in-Law as a CEO of one of the Canadian companies, I probably would not be posting. 
Thanks again for your replies, buddies!! 'Til Later. If anyone else have more tips, please post them here. This topic is getting *more and more hot*, look at the number of views in two weeks. As I said, your comments will go a long way in helping us out! Please go ahead and post.
Hi Surviving In Style!:
I wont bore you with more details;since Blue Lobster and Tammudu have very succintly put in both the positive and negative perspectives. Speaking for myself, having travelled and lived in various parts of the world, including the UK, I can only say that Canada is totally different from the US in every aspect -job market structure, salary, expectations etc. I merely wanted to caution you about the references and relatives;since that is what prompted me to reply in the first place:
References checking is very much a important aspect of getting the job;and they prefer to see professional references;not family references.So having a relative here may not count for much in that point of view.What you could try considering is to work for a company having a branch office or Head Office in Canada and also having operations in US.Over time,you could ask for inter branch transfer and then come into Canada.Once in Canada,you can then apply for immigration from within Canada which is relatively easier in terms of transitioning and settlement. But Mahmood,our immigration expert is a much better authority on that subject.
The other thing is that India is also fast becoming recognised as a quality source for IT jobs so an Indian job with a good salary is also not impossible, given your qualifications.Ultimately,you have to decide what is it you want from life? Is it Money, or Quality of Life, or Family Life or Peace of Mind? etc etc Answering these questions helps you get a better perspective on what you are looking for.
Good Luck
Sathish
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Sathish Subramanian
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