SodaPoppin

I've been toying with the idea of leaving the uk for close to 3 years now. Before I had the working visa sorted before but I was unable to attend due to requiring surgery on my hip that wiped out all my savings. Now I'm looking to go back but for good this time.

I've check and I'm already qualified to go over as a skilled worker due to me being a software engineer. However, where are the best cities to move to in order for me to find the best possible ways to get a job? In the UK I'm use to dealing with recruiters and the like, is that the same over there?

When I first move over, I don't expect to land to a job as a software engineer and will be happy to work as anything as long as I can pay my bills. Whats the best way to find just a general job over in canada? I'm worried about going over and not being able to find a job reasonably quickly.

Also, I know montreal is it own state with its own rules etc but I don't know what the requirements I need in order to move over?

Finally, any advice on how to make friends and the like over there? I've heard horror stories about people not managing to make any due to a lot of the cities being fake and closed off. I don't want that to be the case for myself.

Any advice would be appreciated.

andrewbrit

Hello SodaPoppin.

I did the IEC program from 2011-2013 and got a role in an IT Consultancy company (Accenture). I landed on June 1st and was working by June 20th. I was in Calgary which is a huge Oil city so there are a lot of opportunities here. Even now there are a lot of positions going.

In that role I worked throughout Canada (B.C., ON). I would suggest you look into coming to Alberta, specifically Calgary.

There are recruitment companies here but it is not the same as the U.K. When I lived in the U.K. I was frustrated about having to go through countless third parties, but in Canada you can apply directly to a company and deal with them, not the middle man.

Workopolis is a very good site for finding IT related jobs. As is Monster and Indeed. You can create job alerts which send an e-mail to you when new postings match your requirements (city, salary, experience etc).

Quebec (the province) is "is it own state with its own rules". Montreal is a city in Quebec. I am not sure on the requirements for a Skilled Worker to work in QC.

Honestly I find Calgary to be a very friendly place. A lot of people say Calgarians are the friendliest people in Canada. A friend of mine is originally from Calgary, moved to Toronto to work and when he comes back he is surprised by how nice everyone is. Toronto is very much like New York where everyone is in a rush, heads down, don't hold doors open etc.

There is also a great website called meetup.com where you can sign up and join groups for literally anything. I have become a regular for groups like football, movie nights, jogging, etc. The groups are run by residents of the city you choose on the site so they differ from place to place but that is a good way to make friends.

Finally I do not work for Calgary, I just like living here!

christmasoompa

Hi there, and welcome to BE.

I've just moved your thread and renamed it, as you don't seem to be asking about visas? So hopefully you'll get some good responses in the main Canada forums.

One other thing, Canada doesn't have 'states', they're provinces!

HTH, good luck.

colchar

That depends entirely on where you move to. Canada is a huge country (second largest in the world) and things vary from region to region.





Montreal is a city. And Canada does not have states, it has provinces.




Again, Canada is a huge country and what one city is like has nothing to do with what another city will be like.

SchnookoLoly

You've gotten some good advice already.

If you don't speak French, then I would avoid going to Quebec. A *LOT* of their business is done in French.

I worked in the IT Consulting department for a Big4 company in Toronto and London. Toronto has a pretty big industry for that sort of thing. Most of the big consulting companies will have IT Consulting departments, and Accenture, which is more focused on IT Consulting, has lots of offices in Toronto. Any of those are viable options, and I'd suggest looking into those.

Those companies will have offices in any of the bigger cities in Canada as well - Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver, Montreal, Ottawa, Edmonton, Halifax, and so on. The first three in my list would be the biggest offices (well, Montreal as well, but as I said before, don't go there if you don't speak French. I was on a project with quite a few people from the Montreal office and while they will speak English to people from outside the province, they speak French to each other almost exclusively, plus French to the vast majority of their clients based in Quebec).

JamesM

It may be a little busier than Calgary but Toronto really is nothing like New York.

1/ Toronto is no where near as congested or busy as NYC

2/ Toronto is not as unfriendly or impersonal. Meeting people here is not too difficult.

3/ Commute times aren't as long as NYC.

4/ Salaries are less than NYC and so are job opportunities that off set against the above 3. This will not be addressed by working in Calgary.

Toronto as a city offers much more than Calgary, much less than NYC.

Calgary does offer spectacular natural surroundings but also highly unpredictable weather patterns.

Head west if you seek an outdoorsy lifestyle. If you want some culture and the most work opportunities then probably Toronto.

withabix

Fixed that part of your answer for you....

SchnookoLoly

*Snicker*