Snape

Hi Guys, ive recently moved back from Ottawa, Canada i was over there for just over 6 months and loved it alot, at first it was hard but i was at home after a few months.
I searched high and low and phoned alot of companies for work as i am electricain but i couldnt find anything and it got quite hard for me to see a living there, then someone from home in the Uk offered me good work and i am now working for myself back in the Uk.

Im not sure why Canada is such a hard place to find work you wouldnt think it would be?? but i tried so hard and all i was offered was picking up trollies in Home Depot carpark which is interesting when i have my Electrical Quals and Diploma in computer science haha, but hey i guess at the end of the day its luck to an extent.

I have read alot of posts on here and just wanted to give my views, when you come back from a country it seems wierd being back and you can never really think why you did leave in the end but i you were back in the situation again you would want to be back in the other country. I think you have got to bite you lip and try to get on with you life. I think about Canada every second of the day and wish i was there still but i have to realise at this point in my life ( im 26 ) that i need to save and get a career and some security in order to have a decent life anywhere, my girlfriend whom ive been with for 4 years is Canadian and she is coming over this may and we are going to settle here for a while.

Hopefully i will return one day when we have some funds and more experience in what we are doing i do feel for everyone whom feels this way its so hard, but i think sometimes you have to prioritise things.

Miss you Canada

Ian

dunroving

It sounds like next time you will go there with eyes open, knowing the job side is difficult. Hopefully you'll find a way around it next time.

You have the right idea - build up some capital, i.e., work hard and save (not very fashionable, but smart), and that will help you follow your dreams some time in the future. You're young, you have lots of time left yet.

Try not to dwell too much on the fact you are not where you want to be. It can suck the life out of you.

JoD

Hi Ian. Sorry to hear things didn't work out for you over there. I've just returned from Canada, but my situation is different from yours. I liked Canada but it just wasn't for me, I felt lonely out there and missed the UK too much.

I hope everything works out for you in the end and that maybe you can go back to Canada one day. Good luck.

Judy in Calgary

I'm sorry to hear things didn't work out the way you hoped they would, Ian. If you could get your accreditation as an electrician in Alberta (a process about which there are several threads on the Canada - Lifestyle & Culture forum), businesses almost would be willing to kidnap you to come and work for them (well that's a bit of an exaggeration, but you know what I mean). However, Alberta is rather different from Ottawa. If you loved Ottawa it doesn't necessarily follow that you would love Alberta. If you saved up some money, as you wisely are planning to do, perhaps you could work as a self-employed contractor in a part of Canada that is to your liking. Anyway, I hope you manage to figure out something that works for you and your girlfriend.

Snape

Thanks for some encouraging replys guys, i do really miss Canada alot, sometimes i feel like im almost writing stuff to kid myself that i dont wanna go back and try if you understand where im coming from, i love the Uk to but it feels almost foreign to me now, not sure why i think i may be home sick from Canada.
what to do, what to do!!

Ian

Craftybanshee

Really sorry to hear that things didn't work out for you in Canada. Good luck to you for the future

dingbat

Try Alberta or BC where there are construction booms. You will need to get your sparks credentials transferred over though before they will hire you. I have yet to meet an unemployed (provincially licensed) electrician.

TouristTrap

Welcome to the life of an expat. The grass is always greener in the country you've just left

Hope you get sorted out. I know that there is a huge demand in Alberta. Many South Africans in different fields are moving there.

squidlet

Hi - I agree with the others who say try Alberta...it is boom town here now with the oil and gas industry especially up north in Fort MacMurray. I cannot believe you would find it that hard to get a job as an electrician here, they are crying out for them everywhere as there is so much building going on. I would say do a bit more research in the AB area to see if you think you'd liek it here (extremely cold in winter) and then try again. You are young enough to do so. I came here with an Elec Eng background and it took me 6 months to land a job. I was down to my last savings and I knew if I didn't get a job I wouldn't be able to afford the flight home. So desperation pulled me through ! Somehow it worked out. I didn't end up working as an engineer mind you but as a Project Manager but it has been a good enough job.
Anyways here is Edmonton there are 'for hire' signs everywhere and the locals say you're only out of work here if you want to be. Fort Mac is sucking a lot of local talent up north to the oil patches so locally they are having to get competitive to keep employees.

Good Luck !

Jerseygirl

I concur with what Dunroving has said. It also takes a lot of time to build up connections/network to enable you to get a career going, something that's very difficult to do in another country as you're starting from scratch.

Good luck with whatever the future may hold.

R2D2

I agree that Alberta is a good place to look for work, with the demand being so high at the moment..................but is it REALLY "extremely cold in winter" ?????? You make it sound like it is much colder than other parts of Canada and thats just not the case.
Also remember it is a 'dryer' climate here than other parts, so -20 here may not feel as cold as -20 in another part of Canada.

I know we've just had an extremely mild winter, but our impressions were that it honestly felt no worse than a cold damp day in England. (apart from the odd day)

I just don't want people to be put off Alberta because they THINK it is too bitterly cold, because the skies are ususally blue and the heat from the sun on a cold day feels lovely on your face.

Or maybe I just have a hardy disposition !!!!!!! Or maybe we just dressed appropriately

If people want "mild" in Canada then BC is your best option !

Sarah

Hi Snape,
You gave it a good go, and I can relate to how difficult it is to find work. I moved to the USA 2 years ago, after marrying my American boyfriend.
I thought it would be simple to get a job in America. I'd worked as a journalist and for local government in the UK, but the best thing I was offered in the USA was either answering telephones or waitressing. Then of course there's the realisation that most people are only given 10 days leave a year in the US, and the average working week is 40+ hours, is enough to send me running back across the pond!
All I wanted to do for ages, was go back to my job in the UK, which I had loved.
Now finally, after over 18 months of doing shitty jobs, I have a job at an Environmental Engineering company, and although its not my chosen career path, I've had to take what I can get and so far this is my best offer.
Good luck in the UK, I hope you and your girlfriend make it work in England.

Sarah x

R2D2

Maybe it depends on your line of work, chosen location and how much availability there for your line of work...............or maybe just a case of "luck" and being in the right place at the right time.

We were extremely fortunate (I know, esp after reading all the posts of people who really struggle), to have lined up a good job to come to here in Alberta, Canada. But my husband went "all out" to get it, we chose the area carefully where we felt opportunity was greatest, (his work is linked to the Oil and Gas industry, and very thankfully (with 2 little children in tow) it worked out well.
Good Luck to all xxx

iaink

Fort McMurray? you are kidding right? Thats a looooong way North of the bits of Ontario that are actually lived in. Serious winter, makes what we survive look like a picnic.

I dont even know how much money is to be made there now as I hear that the cost of living is escalating due to the influx of oil workers and the shortage of accomodation in particular.

R2D2

I wasn't mentioning Fort Mc............................I was talking about Alberta in general, and like you say Fort Mc is very far north, and I'm sure a lot colder than we are here. I just didn't want people to generalise about Alberta being colder than other provinces...................as its a BIG place and the temps can fluctuate north to south as they do in all the provinces.