REVISITING THE IDEA OF EMIGRATING...
#31
Re: REVISITING THE IDEA OF EMIGRATING...
Gosh I didn't know that. So even if we just got a secondment somewhere, we'd still have the same problem...
Would it be really dodgy to sublet our house to my mother-in-law (say if we went abroad for just a year or two) without telling the bank...? Sounds foolish just writing it - I don't like taking risks!
Would it be really dodgy to sublet our house to my mother-in-law (say if we went abroad for just a year or two) without telling the bank...? Sounds foolish just writing it - I don't like taking risks!
#32
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Re: REVISITING THE IDEA OF EMIGRATING...
No IT occupation is currently on the skilled worker list for Canada, so US or Canada you'd be looking at a work permit and if the company goes bust (which is what happened to me when I lived in the US) then you're stuffed.
Getting a job in the US isn't just about who you know, IT security would be H-1B and there is a quota, it doesn't sound as though his job has any management element to it so he wouldn't qualify for intracompany transfer either, assuming that was even possible (his current employer would have to have a US office and he must have been with them at least a year).
He might get H-1B if he gets under the quota limit but no guarantee (plus usually you need to have a bachelor's degree or equivalent experience to get H-1B). My experience with US employers is they're really keen until they're faced with the paperwork.
Also the £ is extremely weak at the moment, so now may not be the best time to move.
Moving to the US has the problem of their high healthcare costs, so if any of your family has any health problems, not recommended. Also really high college/university tuition rates.
Housing costs in the US should be less than here. As for the state of the economy I would say in Canada it's flat but not as bad as the UK or the US. I get the impression the housing bubble in Vancouver is just about to burst though.
If I were in your situation I would leave it a few years to be honest, wait until the economy stabilizes.
Getting a job in the US isn't just about who you know, IT security would be H-1B and there is a quota, it doesn't sound as though his job has any management element to it so he wouldn't qualify for intracompany transfer either, assuming that was even possible (his current employer would have to have a US office and he must have been with them at least a year).
He might get H-1B if he gets under the quota limit but no guarantee (plus usually you need to have a bachelor's degree or equivalent experience to get H-1B). My experience with US employers is they're really keen until they're faced with the paperwork.
Also the £ is extremely weak at the moment, so now may not be the best time to move.
Moving to the US has the problem of their high healthcare costs, so if any of your family has any health problems, not recommended. Also really high college/university tuition rates.
Housing costs in the US should be less than here. As for the state of the economy I would say in Canada it's flat but not as bad as the UK or the US. I get the impression the housing bubble in Vancouver is just about to burst though.
If I were in your situation I would leave it a few years to be honest, wait until the economy stabilizes.
No, I don't think his role involves any management (he'd hate that - he doesn't like telling people what to do, bless!). When you say really high college fees, do you mean they're higher than the £9k a term some UK universities intend on charging....? We don't have any health problems (touch wood) but I'm dental-phobic and have had to had sedation to have work done...
Thanks for your useful comments
#33
Re: REVISITING THE IDEA OF EMIGRATING...
His company opened an office in NYC a few months ago, and so far they keep sending people over for up to three months at a time (presumably to dodge the visa issue?). He's been with them since Feb but we wouldn't be looking to move at the moment anyway, it's too soon (we've just moved house). But we know how long these things take so even if we're not looking at going anywhere for another couple of years, we still need to make a decision within the next year and do research, etc.
No, I don't think his role involves any management (he'd hate that - he doesn't like telling people what to do, bless!). When you say really high college fees, do you mean they're higher than the £9k a term some UK universities intend on charging....? We don't have any health problems (touch wood) but I'm dental-phobic and have had to had sedation to have work done...
Thanks for your useful comments
No, I don't think his role involves any management (he'd hate that - he doesn't like telling people what to do, bless!). When you say really high college fees, do you mean they're higher than the £9k a term some UK universities intend on charging....? We don't have any health problems (touch wood) but I'm dental-phobic and have had to had sedation to have work done...
Thanks for your useful comments
#34
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Re: REVISITING THE IDEA OF EMIGRATING...
Wow what a post and so full of questions that could never be answered unless you have a crystal ball however I can help a little with the work thing.
I have been an ethical hacker/penetration tester for over 5 years now and was UK CHECK Team Leader, the CREST forerunner. The market here in Canada is way behind UK in terms of demand as I have found very quickly. CREST/CHECK is of course not recognized here and 7 months experience puts you very much in junior category so I think would be hard pushed to get a work permit based on that.
My advice would be to stick with the UK until he is more senior in his role and can command a job/decent salary based on that. I am well aware of the money that can be made in UK as CREST (as in the full CREST not registered tester)/CHECK consultant and believe you me you will not make that money here in Canada.
I have been an ethical hacker/penetration tester for over 5 years now and was UK CHECK Team Leader, the CREST forerunner. The market here in Canada is way behind UK in terms of demand as I have found very quickly. CREST/CHECK is of course not recognized here and 7 months experience puts you very much in junior category so I think would be hard pushed to get a work permit based on that.
My advice would be to stick with the UK until he is more senior in his role and can command a job/decent salary based on that. I am well aware of the money that can be made in UK as CREST (as in the full CREST not registered tester)/CHECK consultant and believe you me you will not make that money here in Canada.
Wow you're the first pen tester I've found on this website - are you alone here?! May I ask how you managed to emigrate to Calgary in this role, or were you already over there doing something else? (sorry, I've not had a chance to read your profile before writing this). CREST is the exam he's just started working towards. He's been at the Derby-Con in Louisville (KY) the past week, so when he gets home tomorrow I'll have to show him your post as he'll be interested in knowing about the market in Canada, particularly about the lower wages... (or do they tend to be lower for most jobs over there?).
#35
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Re: REVISITING THE IDEA OF EMIGRATING...
Yeah I don't think we'd want to move to NYC tbh (would be nice to visit but not to live - too expensive by all accounts!). I think (if it happened) he'd have to travel around the country so we could probably settle somewhere different (I fancy New England, Boston, Maine, Connecticut...) but this is just what we're assuming (and you know what happens when you assume...). I think he'll wait until he's been with them for a year or so, see if he can get this CREST certification (although it's not recognised abroad they want him to do that before he goes for his CISSP, one that IS recognised abroad), and see what happens
#37
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Re: REVISITING THE IDEA OF EMIGRATING...
Hehe I knew there was a proper word for it! I p (I have learnt about fuzzing and DDOS requests from the podcasts he listens to in the car though, so my ignorance does stop somewhere! ).
#38
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Re: REVISITING THE IDEA OF EMIGRATING...
Oops, that's what I meant! That's what you get when you're rushing to reply whilst you can smell your dinner burning downstairs!
#39
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Re: REVISITING THE IDEA OF EMIGRATING...
You should probably stop reading the daily Mail as your view of the UK with all the doom and gloom is probably tainted. You do know that there is no upfront cost with university education in the UK, it is in effect extra tax that graduates pay when they are working.
#40
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Re: REVISITING THE IDEA OF EMIGRATING...
You are really coming across as someone who has swallowed the Daily Mail whole, and not researched the important issues which will affect your decision at all.
#41
Re: REVISITING THE IDEA OF EMIGRATING...
Hi there,
Wow you're the first pen tester I've found on this website - are you alone here?! May I ask how you managed to emigrate to Calgary in this role, or were you already over there doing something else? (sorry, I've not had a chance to read your profile before writing this). CREST is the exam he's just started working towards. He's been at the Derby-Con in Louisville (KY) the past week, so when he gets home tomorrow I'll have to show him your post as he'll be interested in knowing about the market in Canada, particularly about the lower wages... (or do they tend to be lower for most jobs over there?).
Wow you're the first pen tester I've found on this website - are you alone here?! May I ask how you managed to emigrate to Calgary in this role, or were you already over there doing something else? (sorry, I've not had a chance to read your profile before writing this). CREST is the exam he's just started working towards. He's been at the Derby-Con in Louisville (KY) the past week, so when he gets home tomorrow I'll have to show him your post as he'll be interested in knowing about the market in Canada, particularly about the lower wages... (or do they tend to be lower for most jobs over there?).
I applied for a visa years ago when IT was on the skilled worker list. Once I got PR I then looked for a job.
Yea there are two CREST exams, a junior one and then one aimed at those with a bit more experience. I have an old school CHECK background. A pass on the full CREST exam makes you a CHECK Team Leader which as you probably know means government work = more money.
You can still get what is counted as a good wage over here - just much harder to find the positions and then you have to realise that the market in the UK is overinflated and you were being paid too much for what you did in comparison to other areas of IT.
Hope he enjoyed Derby-Con - I did Def Con is Las Vegas this year which was fun.
#42
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Re: REVISITING THE IDEA OF EMIGRATING...
Can I ask where in Northampton you live? I lived there for a number of years.
#43
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Re: REVISITING THE IDEA OF EMIGRATING...
US universities will definitely cost more than the current UK plans, I suspect the same in true of Canadian ones.
You should probably stop reading the daily Mail as your view of the UK with all the doom and gloom is probably tainted. You do know that there is no upfront cost with university education in the UK, it is in effect extra tax that graduates pay when they are working.
You should probably stop reading the daily Mail as your view of the UK with all the doom and gloom is probably tainted. You do know that there is no upfront cost with university education in the UK, it is in effect extra tax that graduates pay when they are working.
#44
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Re: REVISITING THE IDEA OF EMIGRATING...
Yes but it all boils down to the same thing - paying it off in one lump sum or paying it off in little bits (as tax). By the time my kids are at the leaving-university-age they will need to be saving for a house, and as £25k will probably be the average wage by then it's likely they would be paying off their uni education from their wages instead of saving up for a deposit on a house (or they'll probably be living with us for the next 35 years!! ).
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