http://slashdot.org/articles/04/07/1...&tid=98&tid=99


This the infamous slashdot message board that takes a detailed look ot IT market differences among USA, Canada, and offshore.

It is interesting that according to their study the Canadian IT professionals get paid 40% less than their American counterparts.

Enjoy.

It's true - salaries are higher south of the border.

But, so are the muder rates ....

"...Canadian programmers are nearby, speak English with nearly American accents..."

That cracked me up for some reason.

"Think of Canada as another state"??

That's pretty offensive.

Last time they tried to make Canada another state the white house got burned down .....

Trouble is, if the US outsources work to Canada, does that mean even more sub $30,000 salaries up here? Especially if the high salary Canadian jobs are heading off to India.

About time Alberta bumped up its $5.90/hr minimum wage, because we know they will find a way to justify programming positions into this bracket.

Ain't capitalism great?

Probably .....

Probably a good idea if your a techie to

read this http://www.ajilonconsulting.ca/clien...salary_survey/

Looks sort of right - the real issue is that non-Canadian experience often gets ignored.

You might be senior in the UK, you have to work back up to it here.

$85k per year for a 5+ year UNIX Admin in Calgary?

What planet are they on.

Of all the UNIX jobs I've seen advertised, they rarely break the $60k mark - and they want god to do that job (eg 12+ years, obscure technology experience, and a degree or three).

I've been applying for plenty of jobs around the $20-40k mark and they still don't bite.

I know it maybe lame but what about the phone support jobs? What's the pay like for these positions at say Telus, Shaw, or Star Choice?

I don't know much about Unix, I'm a Systems Engineer with 15 years experience, obscure technical skills and a degree and a bit - the hardware & network engineers look about right.

I can assure you that I'm not God, but I broke through the $60K barrier on my first job.

My approach to getting a job here was simple - I went to Sears (still Eatons in those days) and Moores - I asked how IT people dressed.

I purchased khakis and check shirts for day wear and colour coordinated suit, shirts & ties for meetings.

Moores are pretty good - they'll advise you on what colours to wear to get the effect you want.

I've been walking around dressed from top to toe in Canadian clothes for over three years now.

Stream International has a phone support operation here in Belleville Ont. They have support contracts for Dell amongst others. Pay is in the $10-12/hr area, maybe higher if you stick it out long enough, and it has been described by more than one employee as a "high tech sweatshop"

Although not strictly relevent, I found this US perspective on moving services to canada interesting and it makes some interesting points about canada as a whole.

http://www.callcentermagazine.com/sh...728&classroom=

Iain

Also bear in mind that call centre jobs aften seem to be bilingual.

Doesnt seem to be an issue here at all, although I'm sure some of the staff are bilingual.

Congrats on earning a great salary with no Canadian Experience.

I have about 6 or 7 years commercial experience, and nothing more than a pair of NVQs to go with my GCSEs. In the UK I earned a fair old whack, but by Canadian standards, that makes me unemployable. When I went straight into a good IT job at the age of 16, I never imagined that I would be emigrating to a country that thinks a degree is the be all and end all!

The silly thing is, I was (and still am) at expert level at UNIX sysadmin and as a webmaster, but thats not going to get me a job here.

Btw - you confused me with with the clothing thing. If I can't get beyond the receptionist in a cold call, or to the interview stage - how will they know how I dress? Do I attach a photo?