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Canada’s vanishing tech sector

theglobeandmail.com

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Re: Canada’s vanishing tech sector

#41

Post by Cyranix »

eropple wrote: post #21
burke wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the NAFTA really does a number on us (Canada) here in making it so easy to work in the States on TN status. I went to university a few years ago with a small group of 3 other pretty bright programmer friends. It turns out it's hard to find an excellent job in Canada. Though I'm now working for Shopify, which appears to be the only really great option for me here, the other three of them have recently moved to New Yor…

For me, it's the other way 'round. I'm an American (barely; I'm from Maine and talk like a Canadian) who'd love to move to Ottawa or Toronto, but there's not a hell of a lot up there.

Out west in the Vancouver area, I hear talk of many companies trying to band together to promote the tech sector, in an effort to turn things around. But as for right now, I agree that it's pretty bleak. I do see quite a number of nice job postings for Toronto, but not much elsewhere. (I'm an American who has managed to land a software dev job not even in Vancouver but in Victoria, which has a very limited scene outside of AbeBooks.)

Re: Canada’s vanishing tech sector

#42

Post by Cyranix »

drstewart wrote: post #29
cletus wrote: post #22

I am an Australian/British dual-citizen (born in Australia but lived and worked some ~3 years in London and ~1 year in Zurich) who now works in New York. I've had discussions with various people (mainly other engineers) on the topic of how one would go about starting a startup. These discussions--largely theoretical--have centered around three problems: 1. Where? 2. The route to funding/profitability; and 3. Visa/res…

I'm surprised you think New York or Vancouver are lower cost than SV. Externalities (housing, cost of living, etc.) are the same or higher than the other places. Talent may be more expensive but that's because that's (by and large) where the talent actually is.

I'm on Vancouver Island, and I hear quite a bit about the housing prices in Vancouver. Random semi-recent article: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2012/03...

Re: Canada’s vanishing tech sector

#43

Post by graeme »

drstewart wrote: post #29
cletus wrote: post #22

I am an Australian/British dual-citizen (born in Australia but lived and worked some ~3 years in London and ~1 year in Zurich) who now works in New York. I've had discussions with various people (mainly other engineers) on the topic of how one would go about starting a startup. These discussions--largely theoretical--have centered around three problems: 1. Where? 2. The route to funding/profitability; and 3. Visa/res…

I'm surprised you think New York or Vancouver are lower cost than SV. Externalities (housing, cost of living, etc.) are the same or higher than the other places. Talent may be more expensive but that's because that's (by and large) where the talent actually is.

The grand-parent just said Canada is:

"- Relatively low cost (compared to, say, San Francisco);"

That is true for most of Canada. Vancouver is expensive, but other cities are cheaper than SF. I have a 1 bedroom apartment in one of the nicest areas of Montreal for $650 per month.

Re: Canada’s vanishing tech sector

#44

Post by jasveer »

cletus wrote: post #22

I am an Australian/British dual-citizen (born in Australia but lived and worked some ~3 years in London and ~1 year in Zurich) who now works in New York. I've had discussions with various people (mainly other engineers) on the topic of how one would go about starting a startup. These discussions--largely theoretical--have centered around three problems: 1. Where? 2. The route to funding/profitability; and 3. Visa/res…

Canada actually does have relatively weak protection for software patents. Here's the Wikipedia primer on Amazon's application for their one-click shopping patent (which was eventually granted, mind you, but only after a long court battle):

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Subject_matter_in_patent_law_in...

Re: Canada’s vanishing tech sector

#45

Post by cal5k »

randomdata wrote: post #27
cletus wrote: post #22

I am an Australian/British dual-citizen (born in Australia but lived and worked some ~3 years in London and ~1 year in Zurich) who now works in New York. I've had discussions with various people (mainly other engineers) on the topic of how one would go about starting a startup. These discussions--largely theoretical--have centered around three problems: 1. Where? 2. The route to funding/profitability; and 3. Visa/res…

engineers aren't even on the list of high-demand occupations Probably because there is no demand. My local municipal government was recently looking for someone to maintain their website, which is little more than a simple blog. The job description essentially laid out the job as your basic, run of the mill CRUD application. The kind of stuff kids in high school do for fun. When you read down to the requirements sect…

Absolute nonsense. The only reason that probably got posted was because whoever posted it had no idea what they were doing.

Demand for talented engineers in Canada vastly outstrips available supply. Period.

Re: Canada’s vanishing tech sector

#47

Post by joshmlewis »

xal wrote: post #38
unfocused wrote: post #20

I've been recently asking my Engineer friends about this very topic. I've always known that it's not the same as it was. I wish I was wrong. Quite a few have left the field, and others have left the country. I've been working in the high tech sector in Ottawa for 10 years now. I started out working for (big surprise) a start up telecom company as a co-op student. I loved it. Then tried the government. I wanted to kil…

Well, you are right but you are looking in the wrong areas of the City. I'm clearly biased, being the founder of Shopify, but we are here to change everything you mentioned above and we have succeeded so far when everyone told us we couldn't. Feel like going for a coffee?

Hijacking this here, but I absolutely enjoy developing Shopify themes on the side. You've made it incredibly easy for frond-end devs and designers to build awesome shops and to that I thank you. Good job.

Re: Canada’s vanishing tech sector

#48

Post by Danieru »

haberman wrote: post #30
trevoro wrote: post #19

As one of those "early tech exit" Canadian entrepreneurs, this article really hits home for me. When I first started out I talked to several successful entrepreneurs who were living in Vancouver at the time and got some rather interesting advice. Paraphrasing: Move to the valley. There are too many reasons to be there. Don't be a patriot - and don't be a martyr. Lack of critical mass in any of these "tech hubs", over…

Why skip over Seattle, which is much closer to Vancouver than the bay, and has a pretty thriving tech scene (both startups and big players like Amazon, Facebook, Google, and Microsoft)?

You're right, we should blame them as well.

Woe is us.

On the other hand I do not see anything wrong with our Canadian talent drain. Canadian software engineers are not for want of jobs, I imagine we have the easiest time moving to the states of any nationality. Many of us are in the same time zone!

If it is not for lack of opportunities then why does Canada 'need' a tech sector? I think the truth is we want a tech sector.

Just because we want something does not mean we know how to manage it. Chances are we'd mismanage it. Take our submarine fleet. Up until a few years ago about half of our submarines were stationed in Edmonton, a land locked city. Then we bought used British ones that managed to catch on fire, in the middle of the ocean.

Re: Canada’s vanishing tech sector

#49

Post by realo »

There is a lot of high-tech stuff happening in Canada. Montreal is very attractive to gaming companies, for example. Quebec City is a hub for high-tech optics companies. The Enhanced Full Rate codec for GSM was developed in Universite de Sherbrooke (Quebec): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enhanced_full_rate .

There is a startup festival next week in Montreal: http://startupfestival.com/

The problem is that all this occurs in the French-speaking part of Canada (Quebec), NOT in Ontario. There is a strong push against anything that would actually help Quebec become stronger financially, as this might trigger a greater willingness for independence.

That is why the Globe&Mail did not mention Quebec at all in their article.

Sad, but not unexpected.

Re: Canada’s vanishing tech sector

#50

Post by redthrowaway »

xal wrote: post #38
unfocused wrote: post #20

I've been recently asking my Engineer friends about this very topic. I've always known that it's not the same as it was. I wish I was wrong. Quite a few have left the field, and others have left the country. I've been working in the high tech sector in Ottawa for 10 years now. I started out working for (big surprise) a start up telecom company as a co-op student. I loved it. Then tried the government. I wanted to kil…

Well, you are right but you are looking in the wrong areas of the City. I'm clearly biased, being the founder of Shopify, but we are here to change everything you mentioned above and we have succeeded so far when everyone told us we couldn't. Feel like going for a coffee?

I'm a big fan of shopify, so don't take this the wrong way, but would you really be a good fit for someone with a baby and a mortgage? Currently, he's making decent money, with great pension and benefits, doing incredibly boring work. He could leave all that behind and work for shopify, for what? A couple fun years of lower total compensation without the security?

As someone who's finishing up college, I'd hop on that in a heartbeat. If I had a kid and a house, though? Far less likely.

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