Is now a good time to move to Canada for tech-related jobs, data science/analytics in particular? What parts of Canada should one consider?
Ask HN: Canada for tech jobs?
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Re: Ask HN: Canada for tech jobs?
#2My impression as a citizen of the US is that the social welfare in Canada is more robust, but salaries are lower on average. For some folks the peace of mind of knowing your healthcare isn't tethered to your job is worth the reduction in income; for others, they can make so much in the states that they feel it's worth it to try to build a career there. Just my highly anecdotal 2 cents.
Re: Ask HN: Canada for tech jobs?
#3Waterloo, Ontario
Re: Ask HN: Canada for tech jobs?
#4From where and what is your visa status?
Is now a good time for anything? If you go through temp work permit or immigration route, these things were not fast before, they sure are even slower now.
If you do move, Toronto, Waterloo, Vancouver, Ottawa are good places in that order. Do not know much about Montreal, but outside of those you will be having a hard time finding anything.
Data science - I cannot speak much about it, but if you want to do that, governement and healthcare is probably your best bet.
Re: Ask HN: Canada for tech jobs?
#5You can do data science at banking institutions in Toronto, though the pay will probably be much lower than elsewhere
Re: Ask HN: Canada for tech jobs?
#6Vancouver 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 tech in Canada is salaries. Youre paid less and then youre paid in CAD which is around 70% of USD. Then you factor in high house prices in both Toronto and Vancouver and things arent so great.
If youre willing to live outside these areas then there are lots of opportunities. Canada as a country in general is great, but it has its own set of issues. Namely a lame resource extraction based economy and a hyper willingness to sell all its assets - information economy and otherwise - at discount prices to boost jobs.
Re: Ask HN: Canada for tech jobs?
#7Salaries are a different story in Canada compared to the USA.
They are far less in Canada, a $200K CAD ($150K USD) tech job is rare, actually, $150K CAD ($112K USD) are also uncommon.
Best job opportunities are in high COL locations (Vancouver, Toronto), followed by Montreal. But unlike the USA the compensation (for MOST employees) in those markets is only moderately higher than lower COL locations. (Calgary, Edmonton, Winnipeg...etc).
Re: Ask HN: Canada for tech jobs?
#8Canadian salaries are quite a bit lower, but I’ll be honest in saying I was happier with the quality of life in Vancouver than in the Bay, despite earning twice as much here.
There is a growing tech community in Vancouver. There are more traditional tech companies like Microsoft, Amazon and Apple. There’s also film and games companies like Industrial Light and Magic, Sony Pictures Imageworks and more... It’s definitely no Bay Area in terms of number of gigs or pay, and the cost of living is almost as high, but again, I felt much happier there. It’s obviously subjective and unquantifiable, but something to research and consider too.
Re: Ask HN: Canada for tech jobs?
#9I'm a Canadian software that moved from Victoria, BC to San Francisco, CA to begin my career two years ago. My top earning friends in Canada of the same experience level earn 2 - 4 times less than me and my peers here. I'm saving significantly more here than them too even after a much higher cost of living. The quality of life here is worse though in some ways. Most of all I miss the politeness and generally less hostile demeanor of Canadians.
Re: Ask HN: Canada for tech jobs?
#10Salaries working domestically in Canada are quite a bit lower, but CoL can also be good. Shopify for instance pays ~150 for senior devs but in Ottawa or Waterloo houses are pretty affordable.
I've had some luck working remotely in Canada for US companies - tax treatment of stock options is worse and they typically have few or no benefits for Canadians. On the other hand, you can have a significantly higher take home if you find the right employer.