Gozit

Hey all - been a while since i've checked in.

Well, i'm almost done school (2 semesters left!), still travelling a lot and still want out of Canada - but I can't seem to find the right way to do it. College has put me through a bad break up and in the London (Ontario) area social opportunities aren't that great for me. I have a great group of friends but they don't live close to me.

All the logical parts of my brain say it makes more sense to stay - there are more jobs and more money in Canada in my field. While I would still love the opportunity to live and work in Malta, the money is just not enough to live on and is borderline insulting. Have recently been to the Middle East and I absolutely loved it, but my research indicates most of the run of the mill IT jobs go to people not from North America or western Europe due to the fact that they will accept lesser living conditions and salary then a Brit or a Canadian would.

Central Europe seems to have me competing with people who speak 2-3 languages, and the climate there doesn't really appeal to me either. Who knows if i'll still have freedom of movement in the UK come the end of 2020? (I'm not betting on it.) And still the UK's climate doesn't appeal either.

2 ideas i've come up with are

1) Pivoting into more of a sales/consulting role - this could be exciting, these roles especially with bigger international firms can result in travel across Canada, the US and internationally and hopefully open a door for an international transfer. However i've never worked in sales before, and i'm sure i'd miss the technical hands on part of working in IT. But the sales jobs would give me the lifestyle that I want.

2) Trying to find a job that is open to working remotely or 100% remote full time. That way I can do my job from anywhere and still be paid a Canadian salary. Been browsing around LinkedIn and have seen maybe 1 or 2 remote systems admin (IT) positions, but they seem to be scarce. I would be mroe open to staying in Canada permanently / long term if I could work remotely for 6-12 weeks a year. Obviously I know this is hard to find immediately on graduation and i'd have to stick it out for a while first.

I have my third and final co-op work term coming up in May, before finishing a final semester of classes in September and graduating, and i'd like to leverage this work term to work somewhere where I can work towards the above goal. Unfortunately it is not easy or fully condoned by the school to do a co-op abroad - the international / co-op departments do not help students with jobs or connections, and it seems "co-op" doesn't translate well in Europe. They either have unpaid internships (would not qualify as a co-op work term to my school if unpaid) or apprenticeship programs that last multiple years. (i'm looking for a summer work term.)



Basically, the sum of it all is i've got 3 years of working in a Helpdesk type role , looking to move up into a senior helpdesk/junior systems admin when I graduate, and looking to try and move abroad to a place with a warm climate, and decent social/nightlife, and where I can make similar money / have the same lifestyle as I do here. Maybe its not possible, but I figured if anyone would know it would be you guys !

Cheers

BristolUK

Hi there UK climate has to be better than Canada though. How's your likely annual leave looking? Except for the privileged few, England looks much better for that than Canada, so you could avoid the extremes and have more time for travelling.

As time goes by you'll also have a better idea about FOM.

Without spending all hours working, maybe you could satisfy the hands on part with a bit on the side. Perhaps developing contacts on the sales side that might allow a move over into the technical exclusively either on your own as an employee.

caretaker

Jesus, you think you know someone...

BristolUK

I did think about that as I typed but decided to play the straight man.

dbd33

So long as you're not in Manchester.

MillieF

Oink

Why not Vancouver?

Gozit

That's a very valid point, in the UK annual leave would be much better then here. I was hoping Canadian employers would be open to me taking additional unpaid leave or doing "flex time" where you basically work more hours and instead of it being paid out you get more "lieu time" or vacation time.

The crux then would be finding a decent UK city to live in - London is very very expensive so likely wouldn't have much cash left over to travel around with.

I'm hoping if there is no freedom of movement the UK government reciprocates what the Maltese government has done with UK citizens - essentially we have said that no matter what happens with Brexit UK citizens will be able to get a perpetual, renewable 10 year work/residence permit in Malta with very little needed to qualify. We do already enjoy a reciprocal healthcare agreement with the UK and some other goodies that other EU citizens don't get, so it wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility for the UK government to do this.

Side hustle is definitely something i'm exploring, I already do a bit of it here but it's not as consistent as i'd like it to be yet.

Thank you Millie! I've missed you all too

Had never thought of that. It would probably be a nice change for a while, and I think there is lots of work in IT in Van, but then there's the issue of how expensive it is to live in Van proper...probably the same issue as London where I wouldn't have much cash to travel with. I've never been to BC and if there's one part of Canada i'd like to go see instead of spending money on traveling abroad BC would be it !

Moses2013

Most IT companies will have sales roles that require technical knowledge (Combination of Inside Sales, Presales, Technical Support etc.). If you want a warmer climate in Europe, there will be no jobs or low pay (dead end at your age). It's always cheaper to get a decent jacket for the winter and use the money for nice holidays, or save for the future. No longer in the UK, but I'm sure there are some smaller sized cities that can offer a decent lifestyle where you can progress in your career.

Gozit

Yeah, that's basically what Malta is - dead end. Love the place and its almost like home, but I can't justify to myself living on 1775 euros a month when I could be making more then double that in Canada.

I've been using pretty much all my money for nice holidays and what just keeps getting to me is I never look FORWARD to coming home. I miss my family and my friends tons obviously, but I never really miss anything about the place I live and go to school/work every day. Maybe that's because I love travelling so I just don't like coming home or maybe this just isn't the right place for me and I can't shake that feeling. Don't get me wrong, i'm generally content with life and my career but sometimes I wonder about staying here long term.

Perhaps even living in the GTA would give me enough of a change of pace then the smaller town I am used to, I am applying for co-ops there for the summer as we speak.

You are in Ireland right Moses? I hear Dublin is a tech hub as well, and I know a few people who have gone there for other reasons. And Ireland is still in the EU on top of that.

Mallory

Bermuda would be nice!

dbd33

I've known a few contractors who went there. First round was before the internet when banks needed people on site, second round was when it was a fashionable location for internet gambling sites. People get bored with sun and sand and move on. In the case of one couple they moved on to Vancouver, presumably having had enough sun for a lifetime. I don't think sun and sand would bore me.

Pom_Chch

Hi Gozit,

Would you consider New Zealand? You could potentially come in on a working holiday visa. Not permanent but at least you could work a bit, save a bit and enjoy your time traveling around the country on annual leave and weekends. Rinse and repeat for Australia. Even add in a few trips to South Pacific Islands if they interest you. Not sure what length you can stay on a WHV on a Canadian passport but last time I checked you can do any job as long as you are on a temporary or casual contract.

Just a suggestion 😊

Moses2013

Yes I'm in Ireland myself and you are right that Dublin is a huge tech hub. Especially with Brexit looming, many larger companies have moved, or are planing to do so and companies like Google have bought parts of Silicon Docks. https://www.fitzwilliaminstitute.ie/...ring-in-Dublin This is a good site for new tech jobs https://www.siliconrepublic.com/ The big downside like any larger capital is the housing shortage and prices have gone up and up but many people I know have moved to the capital. I live in the West myself and Galway is a smaller city, which suits me personally and you also have Cork. But I must say that we were lucky with timing and bought at the right time, so aren't affected by higher housing prices. Sure the weather is not hot and it does rain too. However we don't get any snow and it's not as crowded and stressful as parts of the UK + New Zealand & Canada are too far away from Europe for my liking, so it works for us and you have a bit of all. We managed to buy a small place in Spain, so it's easy to get there by car ferry too and otherwise cheap sun destinations are always accessible.

Moses2013

Bermuda used to be popular but like many other islands lost it's charm. Now it's only for the super rich and you'd struggle as a young person, especially starting out in IT. Most people also leave because of size 53.2 km2