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Ask HN: Canada for tech jobs?

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Re: Ask HN: Canada for tech jobs?

#61

Post by somerandomqaguy »

I'm Canadian that works in QA, specially in Alberta. If the US is an option, go to work in the US or for a US based company remotely.

Base salary is much higher in the US. To give you an idea: at year 8 of my career my salary is technically $52,000 Canadian per year. I've had people in the Seattle telling me that number should be nearer to $100,000 USD. And my $51,000 Canadian translates to $34,000 USD when the conversation rate is considered. The difference grows when you consider that the US typically has a lower tax rate then Canada and that many US employers are usually willing to provides benefits that would cover services that normally the government would be paying for.

That said, I'm only speaking as someone that works in QA and the city I live in does not have as strong a tech industry as those in British Columbia, Ontario, or Quebec.

Re: Ask HN: Canada for tech jobs?

#63

Post by tfleming »

dleslie wrote: post #19
d_burfoot wrote: post #16

Can someone knowledgeable about this issue comment about legal / tax feasibility of getting a remote job with a US company and living in Canada or elsewhere abroad?

I work for an American company and live in Metro Vancouver. In fact, around half the team lives here. We own shares in the American company and are paid through a Canadian subsidiary. That compensation scheme avoids burdening the employees with the difficulty of declaring foreign earnings come tax time. So for the most part it's the same as working for a Canadian company, but the pay is better.

Awesome! That's like the ideal situation right there. I'm an American that moved to Canada back in 2002 and worked as a contractor for my US employer for more than 4 years. The yearly tax stuff drove me insane.

Re: Ask HN: Canada for tech jobs?

#64

Post by djmips »

iou wrote: post #43

I work in Victoria, BC earning $200k+ CAD working remote for a big US tech company. It's the best of both, live in a wonderful place and get paid well.

livin' the dream. I also live in Victoria and used to work in the US for much higher salary. I've thought about this... I do love it here!

Re: Ask HN: Canada for tech jobs?

#65

Post by dleslie »

tfleming wrote: post #63
dleslie wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I work for an American company and live in Metro Vancouver. In fact, around half the team lives here. We own shares in the American company and are paid through a Canadian subsidiary. That compensation scheme avoids burdening the employees with the difficulty of declaring foreign earnings come tax time. So for the most part it's the same as working for a Canadian company, but the pay is better.

Awesome! That's like the ideal situation right there. I'm an American that moved to Canada back in 2002 and worked as a contractor for my US employer for more than 4 years. The yearly tax stuff drove me insane.

It's not so much ideal as a nice compromise. I'm still earning much less than I would with similar experience doing similar work in _Seattle_, but I get to stay in Canada and earn more than I could easily manage working for a local company.

Re: Ask HN: Canada for tech jobs?

#66

Post by cmdshiftf4 »

I'd personally wait 8-12 months and assess the situation then.

The reason I say this is because Canada's tech scene is largely comprised of US companies near-shoring operations for cost reductions and with remote work on the rise my view is that Canada's tech scene is now in a super fragile state.

There's a significant incentive for Canadian tech workers to work remotely for US companies and similarly there's a massive incentive for US companies to hire Canadians on Canadian salaries remotely.

Uber, Facebook, Google, Amazon etc. had expansion in Canada planned but I wouldn't be surprised if this changes radically in the coming months. Shopify already announced it was going fully remote and then offered what were previously Canadian-only jobs out to the Americas entirely. It's not unfathomable that other Canadian companies will do the same.

If remote succeeds, I cannot see what incentive would drive the further expansion of the local tech scene in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal etc. Meetups and similar only worked because people were forced to be in the city, they were held directly after work and usually offered some sort of food/beverages as a substitute to having to sort out dinner. If the requirement to be in the city falls or is removed entirely, I cannot see what will incentivize locals to get together in a common location at anywhere near the same frequency as before.

I'd recommend seeing how the rest of the year / start of next year plays out before planning anything concrete.

Re: Ask HN: Canada for tech jobs?

#67

Post by Maven911 »

mardifoufs wrote: post #60
Maven911 wrote: post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What would you say are the wages for different types of tech roles and seniority in Montreal? And how accessible are those to non-native French speakers?

Your salary is probably going to be lower in Montreal, but it's much cheaper city to live in than Vancouver or Toronto. There are high paying jobs if you know where to find them, but it seems to me like a lot of the software engineers I've come across here are a little less "ambitious" and don't mind settling for a smaller salary if it means more stability. It's also very taboo here to talk about your salary (sometim…

Thanks for the detailed info!

Re: Ask HN: Canada for tech jobs?

#68

Post by voisin »

pimbrouwers wrote: post #14

Toronto without question. There are some company's in Waterloo as well, Google has a presence there for example, because of the University of Waterloo. But it is not as bustling as it was when RIM was still a big thing.

Not just a presence - it is their Canadian head office with more employees than they have in the rest of the country combined. K-W is easily 2-3x more bustling today than it was when RIM was booming. RIM sucked talent to the suburbs where it diffused outward and failed to seed any amenity concentration. That talent is all in the core now and has led to a massive resurgence including dozens of bars and restaurants and other amenities.

Re: Ask HN: Canada for tech jobs?

#69

Post by riskneutral »

thinkingkong wrote: post #6

Vancouver and Toronto are developing rather robust local economies. Vancouvers is more satellite offices for large American companies like Amazon (15k). Shopify announced prior to Covid that they were opening an office with 1000 people. A large portion of the jobs here have traditionally been as a visa clearing house prior to having people move to the main campus but there are lots of locals. The biggest challenge in…

The biggest issue in Canada is a lack of imagination and risk taking by the capitalist class. They would rather stick to what they know, digging rocks and sand out of the ground.

Re: Ask HN: Canada for tech jobs?

#70

Post by I-M-S »

designium wrote: post #31

I'm sharing from Product Management perspective. - Director and above level PM can earn above: $140K CAD and beyond in major cities like Toronto. - Sr. PM can earn: above $100K CAD easily but harder to be above $150K CAD. - Bay Area - based on the current conversations I have: - Sr. PM or PM in a FAANG type company or startup: around $170K USD - Director level PM can be above $200K USD

I'm also a PM in Toronto and looking for opportunities in post-Covid world. I'd love to connect - my contact info is under my profile
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