julius smith

hi all!
long time since i posted on here properly, but here goes anyway...

as u know, im looking to move to BC, but i keep hearing stories about really low wage jobs there, not to mention IF you can get a job in the first place.

and here's a post from another forum that i was looking at recently...all about the job market in BC.....all those guys n gals who are living in BC presently....is this really what its like there or is it just the opinion of 1 person, pls?
would welcome as many different opinions from first hand experience as possible on this pls....i know it would help a lot of people, including myself!

anyway, heres that post...

<snip>

matt_t

Well I guess it all depends on what you do for a living. I know that housing in Vancouver is very expensive.

Juliet C

Hi

We moved to Victoria BC, hubby working self employed contractor, earning slightly more than in the UK (just) and almost most days now, I earn less (but good for shop work) but I'm not doing what I'm qualified to do as I wanted to work around my little girl.

You may have to start on less than you earned in the UK initially but there is definitely work here, you just have to get out there and get in peoples faces rather than just sending a CV and hoping for the best.

Obviously what you do could affect that but I always believe no matter what the economic situation you can work anywhere if you really want to.

Good luck

Aviator

There are low paying jobs, minimum wage, there are good paying jobs, there are unemployed, plenty of employed as well. Depends on the individual, their qualifications, experience, industry, their initiative and personality, same as everywhere else. Personally I have only had a few months without work and that was by choice. In regards to BC alone, you will get a multitude of responses, none of which will really answer your question.

I took a job that paid low wages because it was a fun job, I had a job that paid quite well, but was enjoyable but not quite so much fun. My industry (aviation) is tough to get into and pays low wages to start, everywhere in the world, because there are people so eager to get into it that they would work for free to be able to fly, which really helps no one.

julius smith

hi again, and thanks for your responses guys! please..lets ahve some more views...

i was a bit flumoxed by the fact that my post was doctored for some reason...the text has "snip it" or something against it....far as i know, it didnt contain any swear words or anything!!

Tangram

I expect it to be snipped again. There was obviously a reason a mod snipped it in the first place. Posting it again seems a bit dumb imho and creating work for someone.

Aviator

It seems like one persons view, all it is is the opinion of that person and someone who seems a bit jaded by their experiences. Did not see any hard and fast fact to support the assertions and demonstrate they would be the same for everyone. Lots of people employed in Vancouver, so someone is doing the work.

Oh, and read the note why it was snipped!

Alan2005

IT sector Wages are crap in Vancouver and BC? Quick - stop the presses!

iaink

Julius, the reason was in the box at the bottom. Copyright means you cant just lift and post the text from another forum, please post a few lines or whatever, then add a link to the rest.

ExKiwilass

It's just not a very good time to graduate right now - it's a recession. This is a canada wide issue, not just a Vancouver one. I graduated in a recession and it was tough. I feel for the poster but I don't buy that it would be any easier for him/her in another city - BBA's aren't that specialized after all. There was a series of articles in the G&M about how hard it is for grads these days...I should try and find them.

I haven't found it hard to find a job at all. But, I have very niche (not particularly skilled, but niche) experience which helped. The company I work for is looking for people all the time and growing, but it really depends on the industry and what kind of experience you have.

el_richo

The author had a bad experience so therefore Vancouver is bad.

I do believe salaries here can be on the low side when comparing the cost of living and i certainly wouldn't want to be unemployed for a long time here.

I personally enjoy living in Vancouver. I'm paid well, work extremely favourable hours, live in a nice area downtown with spectacular views, and can afford to do the things i want to without worry. Without all of this, if i couldn't enjoy what i came here for, and life was a struggle financially and emotionally, my story would be very different.

My wage was transferred from London so is on the high side for what i do when compared to those in Vancouver. If i had to get a new job, the salary would definitely drop if it was in line with the local market. I wouldn't be happy with that and would reconsider a few things.

These questions are all hugely subjective. Where are you coming from and what do you expect to come to? What do you do for a living? How much do you expect to earn? How much will you need to earn to live as expected? Outside of work, what do you want to get out of Vancouver? Where do you want to live? How much of a commute are you realistically comfortable with? The size of financial cushion you'll arrive with......and so on.

You'll never know the answer to your original question until you move over and try. Maybe it'll work out well, maybe it'll ruin you. There's only one way to find out....

ultrarunner

This holds true all the time

It was interesting reading your post that talked about not having fun, thought it was all gravy over in BC there

julius smith

ok, now i realise why the post was snipped...duhhh...!
sorry for that, iaink...i was thinking of blaming you for that...!

as rgds the various postings to this query, it does make sense, in that one man's idea or experience cannot be the be-all, end-all of a subject.

i suppose, as one of u have said, if one guy has found it bad, then BC is bad...for him, that is.

as rgds where im coming from etc...well, we all know im in the uk, my trade in life has always been Quality Assurance (ISO 9000 blah, blah), although i have done stints in social housing, financial advising (basically selling insurances!) and real estate (buying, selling, renting)....so on teh whole, i'd say 90% of my skillset is transferable, hence the reason why ive been concentrating on clerical/admin work to start with.

expectations? well, the main reason why anyone would want to move to BC would of course be for the lifestyle and surroundings, and for me, the scenery is everything, as im an outdoor type.
wage? as i'd be payiing around $900pm for a rented pad, with all other outgoings added to this, i figure something in the region of say $40 to $50k would be ok for me, as i dont drink, smoke or have any other wild fantasies to indulge in...not yet anyway!

ExKiwilass

I think there's been a shift in the past 5 years. I spend a bit of time on the NZ/Aus forums and there's very similar threads about the high cost of living and high RE prices in Perth, Sydney, Melbourne, Auckland, Wellington, and wages not keeping up, and how for BEs coming over the 'better lifestyle' dream is that much harder to achieve. They are all Pac Rim cities. Just an observation.

CanadaJimmy

BC is a wildly varied province, so I can't really tell you about much other than the Vancouver area, I don't really know a lot about living in other places in BC.

A lot of people want to live in Vancouver, so the job market is notoriously saturated there and the high cost of housing often makes it difficult to afford to live there - in short, it's an employers market. However out in the Suburbs the housing becomes cheaper and the salaries are around the same, but you have to be prepared, as others have said, to work for a lower wage at first.

When I first got a software dev job here I was working for an absolutely appalling salary, however after 2 years I threatened to leave, and my boss had become dependent on me and had to give me a raise which competed with the job market. It's still not amazing but it is a significant improvement over what it was!

In any case I feel like I'm able to have a good quality of life compared to what I would have had in the UK, especially for someone my age. I live in a brand new building, the condo/apartment is a good size and I feel very happy in general. People sometimes badmouth Surrey but it's a very up and coming City that's worth checking out if you're thinking of moving here as property is very affordable.

Anyway the real issue often isn't the salary itself but rather getting the Visa to work and live. LMOs for work permits are taking a very long time to get processed, mine took 7 weeks, so you have to hope you find a patient employer who's willing to fill out the form for you and wait for you to get approved.