Hi
Anyone had any experience looking for computer programming work in Toronto or Vancouver?
I'm thinking about moving over to Canada and would like to get an idea on the what employment opportunities are like.
Thanks

There are jobs www.workopolis.com is a site which can show you the types of jobs. Most are based in and around Toronto and Ottawa. The job market for experienced programmers depends on the languages you can program in. Its not as good as it used to be ..but there is some signs of a pick up.

Good luck
Ray

zimmer

what platforms and software do you program in ?

Hi
I've been programming for just over 3 years, mainly in C++.
The last 18 months of which has been in Borland C++.
Platforms are windows 98/2000/NT.

Hello there,

I hope you are not one of those people that think they are going to come over and just jump into a job, because they have a degree from blighty.

As a guy in his early 30s in the business, i can tell you the market is well saturated right now, you might have to do something else as an entry-level way of getting into the business. But i hate to break it to you though, you are not going to find many firms still working with C or C++. Why are you still stuck in this 1983 time warp?

At university in London (uk), we did a bit of C/C++, but JAVA is what we used mostly, along with PYTHON, DELPHI and good ol' PROLOG ( Love it to bits ). When i came over to canada, it was PERL and COBOL, which is what most companies are looking for now. With my background in Java, i was able to pick this up very quickly. I hope you know your SQL? it will help you as well, if you do !

You said you have only been working with C++ for 3yrs? I will say its time to move on, there is not much use for it nowadays. If you are looking for work here, your best bet is to try the employment agencies and Monster. Most of the jobs advertized on workopolis are not even there yet, they use it to collect informations on people. Also...if you are looking to stay in Ontario, Mississauga is your best bet, i work there, and i can be there in 30mins from where i live.

If you bung in C++ as search criteria on the workopolis website you will see that there is a reasonable demand for c++ programmers.....

my advice would be to keep sending your cv off, get any Candian work experience in the mean time and also cross train into something like Java....

I am actually a Consultant who is into the stone aged stuff...RPG, COBOL etc...and I have found that there are jobs for the stone aged stuff....however, I am not getting any breaks when I apply for contracts etc...I am employed at the moment as a Systems Specialist but don't get a good response when I apply for jobs I'm well qualified for since I don't have too much Canadian experience...that's my theory anyway....

Hello there,

Like i said before, you have a better chance landing a job on monster than you do on workopolis solely b/cos most of the jobs there are virtual. As someone in the IT business, i can tell you that networking with people will help you even better.

That is how i got my job in Mississauga. I don't want to be dropping company names, but i know my firm hardly advertises, its mostly all internal. If you have friends that work in surrounding companies, you know what is going on there.

It's a RESUME you want to send out, not a CV ! Yes the stone age stuff has made a come back, that is why i had to learn COBOL, but java is still king.

Agencies like ADECCO can also help out. Also make sure you do some volunteer work, you never know who's kid you are coaching, or the person you are helping out. I coach a local kids soccer team, volunteer for the red cross ( i have standard 1st aid & level C CPR ) and i also do some database work for the heart&stroke foundation of Ontario. These are ways of meeting people and getting a job.

Hi

Thanks for the advice.

I did a quick search on monster and seem to be a decent amount of C++ and especially Java jobs out there.

I'm on a C++\SQL contract in the uk until end of June. I don't think that I will go over to Canada before my workers visa comes through.

Apparently this can take anywhere between 6 to 40 months! This should give me plenty of time to get a idea of the market and my chances of finding suitable work.

Cheers
Z