Hi there, I have recently decided I wished to move to Canada for work.

I wrote my CV 7 days ago and was offered a job yesterday- things have moved really fast!

I am a 27 year old structural engineer based in Northern Ireland and have been offered a similar position in Winnipeg.
The starting salary offered is $65k, rising to $80k upon gaining my PEng (12 months probably).

With this being literally the first job I have even looked at I am rather nervous of making a rash decision.

Could anyone please advise on the location (pros and cons) and whether the salary is as competitive as it looks at first glance.

Any help would be much appreciated!!

Thanks,

Darren

Which part of Northern Ireland you from Darren?

tyrone

My wife is from there originally

Co Antrim for me

Are you heading to the Working Abroad expo in Dublin next week?

LOTS of employers should be there if the exhibitors list is to be believed......

Winnipeg is not the easiest city in Canada to emigrate to.

First of all it is a big city but what it offers is what you'll get from Canada and nothing too much more. Winnipeg is the biggest city in Manitoba and the next biggest city is about 4 hours drive south of the border although those cities are not particularly bustling either (Fargo/Grand forks).

Going west you'll hit Regina after about 6 hours but regina is not really a step up in the world (no offense to the city but it's more or less the same size shape and climate).

In terms of a wage 65k/year is not a bad wage it can get you a house in many areas although it doesn't hurt to have a little bit more than that (second income?).

The advantages of a city like Winnipeg is it's economy it's not too inflated and there are plenty of jobs going.

The disadvantages is that it can seem quite boring and slow. Research the city don't go rushing in and i'm sure you will make up your mind one way or another.

My opinion on salary is this - Do you think it's OK? A single person on $65K in Winterpeg will do OK.

If you get there and outperform all the others making $65K, they'll usually pay you more so they don't loose you. But it goes both ways.

How big is the company? Does they have offices anywhere else (in case you want to move)?

Never take the first Job that is offered to you is my advice..unless it is to somewhere that is top of your location list and the salary is right...i think you could do better than Winnipeg at $65k

Winnipeg is actually a very easy city to emigrate to, far more open and accepting of newcomers, than many other other Metropolitan areas. It is highly multicutural and is anything but "boring", as hinted at in an earlier post.

$65k will provide you with a comfortable living especially if you rent for the 1st 12 months, and $80k will be more than plenty even with a mortgage.

There are a lot of Winnipeg bashers out there, usually based on misguided opinions gathered from reputation, rather than actual experience of living and working here. I had grave concerns moving here, again based on the opinions of those that really didn't know, but was made to feel welcome, at home and settled within weeks.

It is not the prettiest city, far from it, but it has one of the most steady economies, is affordable, has culture seeping out of its heart, more than you can ever keep up with, and will be my home until my company decides I will be more useful elsewhere, which will be a sad day for me.

PM me if you need any further info or help...Good luck wherever you land.

Personally I like the city but I have known a few friends that moved back due to the city not being entertaining enough for them.

It's one of those things I would guess that for someone like myself (married, setting up a family) Winnipeg is almost the perfect location but not everyone is like me and if you want a bit more than Winnipeg has to offer then it can be a potential trap as like I said there really is no escape from it.

Again the OP should research the city and figure out if a slow paced (by my standards) style of life is right for the needs.

Good luck OP.

I would say the money is ok, providing it doesn't cost you too much to get qualified to command the upper level you mentioned. I get that as an Electrician though!
Winnipeg always used to have a major advantage due to its cost of housing. That has changed in the last 5 years, it also suffers badly from Realtor induced bid wars due to the demand.
I was also shown recent statistics for income tax where Manitoba taxes a lot higher than other provinces.

I am not saying it would be a bad move, as I get a good living here, it is not easy to emigrate to Canada, period, so I would grasp any offer as a foot in the door, do you have any dependants? If not then you have a whole lot easier of a decision to make, ie. less risk.

Good Luck

Darren

Thanks for all the comments so far.

The company have offered to fly me out to Winnipeg for a few days within the next few weeks so I should be able to get a better feel for the place before committing.

They will also be covering all costs in regards to achieving PEng status and the next pay bracket. My thinking at the minute regarding this is that whilst the pay may not be spectacular it isn't terrible considering where it should hopefully leave me within 18 months (PEng and many many more options if I were to move on).

I currently have no dependents and would be making the move on my own.

I would be looking to rent an apartment. Would $900 be a realistic figure for a reasonable place?

As you rightly admit pay isn't spectacular in fact i would say for a structural engineer it is pretty poor..even with a P.Eng (which isn't entirely necessary) the next grade up is still a poor salary. You are talking about moving on as you have no dependents..then i would say try further west..more opportunities, better pay and quicker progression if your good at your job.

What salary should I be expecting without a PEng qualification?

That all depends on what qualifications you already have, work experience and type of projects you have worked on before?

Which sector is the job in, or which sector are you looking in? Oil and Gas work pays 30% more than consulting. Look at the salary surveys at www.apegm.ca or www.apega.ca. For consulting I would say the offer is fairly reasonable, for Oil and Gas it is not. Bear in mind that at 27 you would only just be qualifying for a PEng even if you had been working in Canada since graduation.