A Year Later in MB
May 26th 2016, 1:55 am
#1
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Oct 2015
Posts: 17
A Year Later in MB
So, We made it past 12 months! I must say it has turned out to be much better than expected. We came with PR and my better half had secured a job before we left the UK. I took 6 months off to look after our boy and to play house.
When I thought about 6 months off work when I was in the UK it seemed blissful but the reality was far from it. I was super fed up and desperate to work. I applied for a few jobs and had 3 interviews all in my area of expertise.
I am lucky to work with a great bunch of people, but I am now ready to spread my wings and get a more grown up job back in a university setting which is extremely difficult to break into unless you know someone!
I have stopped comparing things to the UK and have embraced the winters that we have here. We have all learnt to skate, I took skiing lessons (cross country as we live in the prairies!) and now it's spring we are either stood watching our boy play either football or baseball depending on what day of the week it is.
I have had my moments and shed a tear or two but I love it! I had never been to Canada before we landed and had no point of reference, so I think I have done ok not to get on the first plane back when I realized that I can not get my shopping delivered to my door and the cheese is all plastic!
Bring on the next 12 months!
When I thought about 6 months off work when I was in the UK it seemed blissful but the reality was far from it. I was super fed up and desperate to work. I applied for a few jobs and had 3 interviews all in my area of expertise.
I am lucky to work with a great bunch of people, but I am now ready to spread my wings and get a more grown up job back in a university setting which is extremely difficult to break into unless you know someone!
I have stopped comparing things to the UK and have embraced the winters that we have here. We have all learnt to skate, I took skiing lessons (cross country as we live in the prairies!) and now it's spring we are either stood watching our boy play either football or baseball depending on what day of the week it is.
I have had my moments and shed a tear or two but I love it! I had never been to Canada before we landed and had no point of reference, so I think I have done ok not to get on the first plane back when I realized that I can not get my shopping delivered to my door and the cheese is all plastic!
Bring on the next 12 months!
May 27th 2016, 3:08 am
#2
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Feb 2013
Location: BC, Canada
Posts: 3,874
Re: A Year Later in MB
Hi Dee
Congratulations on your first year ......... especially as you had not been to Canada before.
My culture shock was Austin, Texas ........ but that was way back in 1967. Coming up to Canada 1 year later was like coming back into the real world
What sort of work do you do?
I worked in a university for over 30 years, though not in MB .............. and often found that someone interested in administrative or secretarial work would do best if they applied to join the temporary staffing group.
There were two aspects to that ..... one was getting experience in different areas of the university and finding out which was a good and which a bad department to work in, but also making your name with the departments so that they would ask for you to fill a permanent position, or even write the job description to fit your qualifications.
I was a technician / research assistant, but most of those positions tend to be paid from grant money to individual professors. There are not the departmental technicians that are found in British universities.
Congratulations on your first year ......... especially as you had not been to Canada before.
My culture shock was Austin, Texas ........ but that was way back in 1967. Coming up to Canada 1 year later was like coming back into the real world
What sort of work do you do?
I worked in a university for over 30 years, though not in MB .............. and often found that someone interested in administrative or secretarial work would do best if they applied to join the temporary staffing group.
There were two aspects to that ..... one was getting experience in different areas of the university and finding out which was a good and which a bad department to work in, but also making your name with the departments so that they would ask for you to fill a permanent position, or even write the job description to fit your qualifications.
I was a technician / research assistant, but most of those positions tend to be paid from grant money to individual professors. There are not the departmental technicians that are found in British universities.
