Canada facing ‘brain drain’ as tech talent leaves for Silicon Valley

Post by thrywayhn » Fri, May 04, 2018, 9:27 PM UTC

senatorobama wrote: post #304

thrywayhn wrote: post #301

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I disagree. The income disparity increases at senior levels. I hit a ceiling in Toronto where I hard trouble growing my career and making more than $180,000 CAD TC. Moving to silicon valley my experience was able to fetch over $500,00 USD TC. Sure it meant that for a year and a half my spouse can't work but that's not a big deal.

What was your role in CAD and then USA?

Post by xenihn » Fri, May 04, 2018, 9:32 PM UTC

eloff wrote: post #217

r-s wrote: post #166

Canadian tech worker here. Base salary is 120k CAD in Calgary which is far above market rate but I am educated, experienced etc. That is 93k USD. I am looking to move to the USA because of higher salaries, but I am not 22 years old anymore and moving a family (with 2 earners) is no easy task. It falls on deaf ears though, 120k CAD is a good income, I can afford a house, cars, no debts etc so there is very little unde…

I do remote work for this reason. Although I did manage to recently find a contractor position that pays competitively here in Canada, I find that very rarely. If you do remote contract work, mostly for US or Swiss companies, you can make 2-3x a top Canadian salary. Just throwing that out there as an alternative to moving to the US.

Post by heinrichf » Fri, May 04, 2018, 9:33 PM UTC

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #218

Kluny wrote: post #56

Canadian here. I get $65,000 USD from my remote American job. That's low enough that people on this forum snicker at me, and high enough that companies in the "tech town" that I live in physically wince when I tell them my salary expectation. I'd rather work locally, but what can I do?

How much is the rent where you live? I hope it is within expectation of your salary. Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal, have low salaries and high rents, which makes working there really hard.

Post by CydeWeys » Fri, May 04, 2018, 9:33 PM UTC

estebank wrote: post #291

Eridrus wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> the social services provided (universal healthcare, etc). I think the individual value of most social services is pretty low to people in this demographic (recent graduates taking software jobs in the US). Sure, universal healthcare is great, but US companies also provide health insurance.

That demographic you're referring to is no less likely to be involved in traffic accidents that can send you to the closest available hospital. In the US that means an ambulance bill and very likely a hospital bill that your insurance might not cover, and the high possibility of chronic pain that's not necessarily covered by your health insurance. And that's even before having to deal with lawyers in order to obtain…

Post by _dczq » Fri, May 04, 2018, 9:34 PM UTC

jahvo wrote: post #215

ryanobjc wrote: post #155

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The liberalness of Canada is overhyped. The reality is Canada is deeply conservative. It's possible to have universal health care and be conservative, that's only a oxymoron in the US. To quote this excellent article[1]: "the default setting of the Canadian male: a dull but stern dad, who, under a facade of apparent normalcy and common sense, conceals a reserve of barely contained hostility toward anyone who might ro…

>To quote this excellent article[1]: "the default setting of the Canadian male: a dull but stern dad, who, under a facade of apparent normalcy and common sense, conceals a reserve of barely contained hostility toward anyone who might rock the boat. To these types, those who make a fuss are bothersome and ignorant at best, and probably dangerous and destructive too." Just being a conservative or a right-winger is both…