Souvy

Or maybe not.

My taxi driver in Ottawa the other night had recently been laid off by HP from his job as a programmer. Read into that what you wish.

tracys

Well I'm 4ft 10in in my socks but OH is very good at all things DIY so I may stick to painting and interior design. OH has always wanted to buy a reno project, so I'm sure we'll do one eventually.

dbd33

Hmmm, my life seems to be a reno project. In Guelph we bought a house with a strange attic conversion, like a low ceilinged cape cod. We cut it off above the front door, raised the roof and added a proper first floor. A contractor built the outer shell leaving the place as pictured. We then fetched 90 sheets of drywall, a bath tub and all the rest of it from Buffalo or Detroit and finished the inside. That was a lot of work so then we moved to the country and started on a bigger project. I think there's a lot to be said for living quietly in a nice scenic part of Nova Scotia with easy access to a city.

DandNHill

We're not in Canada... we're in Brampton! 😜

Kids are really enjoying it here NS is a distant memory. We're keeping busy. In fact too busy I would say!!

pdarwin

Depends where you work and who you have to interact with day to day. I have worked IT in Ottawa for the last several years and always found work without a knowledge of French. Right now I manage an IT dept in Gatineau (French-speaking Quebec side of Ottawa) where English is the 'lingua franca'. We support a major government department.
Now it's possible I may have gotten more job offers over the years by speaking French, but I really haven't had any bad experience.

tracys

Looks and sounds like a big project! Yes NS has it's advantages. There are some lovely coastal places and Halifax is a nice city, but we've pretty much done everything there is to do here now. I'm not sure we'll ever settle anywhere permanently, until we're too old or grand-kids change our minds, we get bored too easily That said, lots of people do return here after trying elsewhere. After moving continents though, moving again doesn't cause me any sleepless nights. If it doesn't work out we can always move again!

dbd33

There's a good amount of truth to that. I've been resident in Ontario for 30+ years but, in that time, have worked in all but 6 US States, several European countries and a little in Asia and Australia; without the moving about I think I would have gone mad. Oh, and I did a year in Ottawa.

I know Halifax a little, one of my children was at King's. We used to send her food parcels; garam masala and the like "there's no spice in this town". I liked Halifax better than she did.

AfroGlasgow

Hi,
Sorry to bump in. Out of curiosity what will be the best way to get into IT in ottawa. A friend is a Business Analyst in UK but moving to Ottawa in the summer. His looking to get into IT proper ie a mix of business analysis and IT. What kind of course will you recommend. Any advice is welcomed.

Shirtback

Your friend would probably be better off starting his own thread with this question.

pdarwin

As a hard-core systems administrator for usually quite large enterprise environments, I have avoided the 'business' side of IT, so not sure what course would be applicable. I arrived in Canada with several years of IT experience and several Microsoft and Cisco certifications and just went from there. For new arrivals in IT I would suggest getting signed up with a few IT agencies. You soon pick up which are the worthwhile ones. That will get you a foothold in the industry.

AfroGlasgow

thanks I have started a new thread

Souvy

Quite a few of the francos on my street work the feds (DND, PWGSC, Stats Canada...). They all work in English.

dbd33

That's true of my daughter in Vancouver but, crucially, she wouldn't have the job, working in English, if she didn't speak French. It's not that the Feds need you to use French, you just have to have it.

DandNHill

That's exactly it. In any bilingual jobs I have had in the last 5+ years it's a requirement but most French speakers will switch to English if necessary anyway.

Souvy

I often find it amusing that my opposite neighbour is an English to French translator for the Feds. I don't know how she does it. Her English is lousy.

My missus and I have a reciprocal agreement on copy editing.