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Canada is North America’s up-and-coming startup center

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Re: Canada is North America’s up-and-coming startup center

#111

Post by 8note »

FreedomToCreate wrote: post #101
aka0 wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>a) Engineering is covered by TN visas, but you have to have an actual engineering degree. Claim you're a software engineer and they have every right to deny the CS grad. Not true at all. BSc in Computer Science is perfectly fine for Software Engineering jobs. Look up NAFTA Appendix 1603.D.1 > b) Programming is not covered. This is simple fact of NAFTA. It's a process where applicants are told to be super careful wit…

Well you will have an I94 form and a slip/stamp indicating TN status in your Passport. Would be kind of ridiculous to be carrying your Degree, transcript of grades and documents from your employer every time you cross the border.

I do that. it's all it a neat folder, though I have not been required to show it to anyone yet

Re: Canada is North America’s up-and-coming startup center

#112

Post by tostitos1979 »

FreedomToCreate wrote: post #101
aka0 wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>a) Engineering is covered by TN visas, but you have to have an actual engineering degree. Claim you're a software engineer and they have every right to deny the CS grad. Not true at all. BSc in Computer Science is perfectly fine for Software Engineering jobs. Look up NAFTA Appendix 1603.D.1 > b) Programming is not covered. This is simple fact of NAFTA. It's a process where applicants are told to be super careful wit…

Well you will have an I94 form and a slip/stamp indicating TN status in your Passport. Would be kind of ridiculous to be carrying your Degree, transcript of grades and documents from your employer every time you cross the border.

Umm .. I had one person give me a hard time when I was coming by car. Had to freakin drive back and get my diploma in the frame - next guy at the border literally waved me in.

Re: Canada is North America’s up-and-coming startup center

#113

Post by tostitos1979 »

guiomie wrote: post #95
g2guo wrote: post #90

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I recently moved from Waterloo to San Francisco. My salary had doubled in the process, but my living costs have also substantially increased. I live in a 1-bedroom condo with similar square feet; my diet stayed the same, I pursue the same hobbies and similar habits (fitness, education, entertainment). In the end, the higher cost of living offsets my salary increase, and my quality of life stayed the same.

You are either not paid enough for a SF/SV engineer, or were paid quite a lot in Canada. Even with my increased rent and food I'm saving in a year what took me 2-3 in Canada.

Parent's mistake is to maintain the same lifestyle. If you settle for less housing or room mates, you come across ahead.

Re: Canada is North America’s up-and-coming startup center

#114

Post by tostitos1979 »

minwcnt5 wrote: post #77
throwawaycan420 wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not the grandparent post, but, my salary in Canada was $80K starting in 2000, and is up to $160K now. I've been making more than double the median wage in my city for the last 20 years or so.

$80K CAD is $59K USD, which is not that much different than the original post. $160K CAD = $119K USD is fairly good, but most developers with 17 years experience would take home north of $200K in Silicon Valley (I'm not familiar with other US markets). All the anecdotes still seem to point to software engineers making more than double in the US. I would love to return to Canada some day, but I'm not likely to do so u…

Exactly. A USD 200K software eng simply cannot move to Canada. It is messed up. That is more than a director or higher's salary in a place like Toronto.

Re: Canada is North America’s up-and-coming startup center

#115

Post by tostitos1979 »

branchless wrote: post #75
brunoc wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We hire a lot in Montreal. Mid-size startup. Range is more like CAD 85-140k for generalist frontend and backend developers. In the larger cities, salaries have really gone up in the last few years.

Name the company my man! Then don't mention Montreal again, we don't want everyone coming.

French is the key barrier .. not naming the city :)

Re: Canada is North America’s up-and-coming startup center

#116

Post by tostitos1979 »

breitling wrote: post #46
TP4Cornholio wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I can't believe it's so low. I hope Canadians aren't asked to put in overtime at those wages.

You better believe it. Overtime is expected.

Not the same as the US. In the US, if you lose your job, you lose health care. That is a big motivator for people with families. I've seen people take a lot of crap in the name of a job. In Canada, it is not that bad unless you took a crazy mortgage in the last 5 years.

Re: Canada is North America’s up-and-coming startup center

#117

Post by tostitos1979 »

xbeta wrote: post #76
canistr wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's sad is that Canada has a very good public school system all the way from Kindergarten to University. Combined with the lower costs (i.e. free K-12 for these good schools unlike Americans sending kids to private schools) and reduced stress on children due to lack of a standardized university entrance exam, Canada SHOULD be a place where people want to have families. That being said, I'm a product of the public…

Same here ! I think we might be from the same school. I grew up my highschool in Scarborough.

Markham yes .. but Scarborough having the best schools?? Which one? George S Henry in North York was pretty awesome.

Re: Canada is North America’s up-and-coming startup center

#118

Post by acchow »

tostitos1979 wrote: post #113
guiomie wrote: post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You are either not paid enough for a SF/SV engineer, or were paid quite a lot in Canada. Even with my increased rent and food I'm saving in a year what took me 2-3 in Canada.

Parent's mistake is to maintain the same lifestyle. If you settle for less housing or room mates, you come across ahead.

Depends how nice your lifestyle was back in Canada.

If you used to live in a nice 1BR condo, you could definitely move to SF and spend an extra $20k/year in housing and still come out way ahead.

If you used to live in 3br house with a backyard and garage, you definitely won't be able to maintain that in SF.

Re: Canada is North America’s up-and-coming startup center

#119

Post by xbeta »

tostitos1979 wrote: post #117
xbeta wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Same here ! I think we might be from the same school. I grew up my highschool in Scarborough.

Markham yes .. but Scarborough having the best schools?? Which one? George S Henry in North York was pretty awesome.

Agincourt, oldest :-)

I know few Campbell guys

Re: Canada is North America’s up-and-coming startup center

#120

Post by acchow »

cgh wrote: post #84
hughes wrote: post #27

This article doesn't mention one of the major reasons for talent leaving Canada: if you work there, you need to stomach a 50% pay cut in average salaries vs the US. This is true pretty much across the board regardless of tech niche on the 2017 Stack Overflow Developer Survey[1]: Machine learning specialist: US 108k, Canada 53k (49%) Embedded applications/devices developer: US 100k, Canada 53k (53%) Systems administra…

>No need to wait for an H1-B, just show up at the border with job offer & credentials in hand, assuming you've graduated college. TN visas are instant and infinitely renewable. This is false. I say this as someone with a TN visa, which I use to visit my employer a few times a year. The TN application process is onerous and takes weeks to confirm. The actual visa is indeed granted at the port of entry but can be denie…

  takes weeks to confirm
The "application" for TN is a rather new development (introduced in 2012). In the past, you couldn't apply by mail - you just show up at the port of entry with your job offer, description of job responsibilities, and university diploma. And they grant it on the spot. This is still how I get my TN.
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