Calling Canadian Nerds!

[Obitim]

Well, more specifically Vancouver Nerds

 

My partner and I have been discussing moving out to Canada in the past and it's something we want to do after visiting Vancouver and Toronto it;s become a bit more of a reality.

 

However, it's not something we can do tomorrow and need to put a few things in place and answer a few questions:

I work in IT in a tech support role and would like to continue with the role, but what sort of disciplines are in demand?

 

My partner is a solicitor in the UK but also has excellent language skills, she;s not too fussed about staying in the legal side of things but would like to become a languages teacher, what;s the provision for that?

 

We're getting married in August (hence the fitness drive from me, which I intend to keep up!) and want to clear off a lot of debt we've got outstanding from that so we'd not be looking to try and move for another couple of years so I'd like to start preparation now so that we can be in a position to do the forms and work towards getting jobs out there!

 

Can anyone who lives In Canada help, or has anyone made the move already and can fil me in on the details, how you did it and how you found the transition?

 

Incidentally we're both from the UK

[Basement Cat]

Oh dear, you really need to consult the proper authorities for that, and that would be Citizenship and Immigration Canada, here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/index-can.asp

 

As for the language teaching bit, be careful. You need a valid certification to work in the public service, so you better check if her credentials are valid here (high chance they are not, unfortunately). As for the private sector, well, I'm a language teacher myself, and the pay is miserable. Stick to the law, it pays better, I'm sure.

[Obitim]

Cheers Rapier,

 

yeah, we've looked on the site in the past, it's more just getting a feel for the process more than what the official lines are at this time...

 

She;s got no quals at the moment so would need to retrain, but then she'd have to retrain as a solicitor too so not sure on that one...

 

We actually started the process with David Cohen law and they said said that there is a chance I could get on the federal skilled worker program but not overly sure as for now we'd like to get married and then put serious time into the plan!

[Suited hippy]

I live in Victoria BC, the nicest city in Canada. I've been all over this great country, and I say with great confidence that Victoria is the nicest. (Also just a quick ferry ride from Vancouver) 

 

Key things to remember about Vancouver is it is an expensive city to live in, the second most expensive in Canada. I would recommend putting away a few months of living expenses before moving. Get a place on a sky train route, and get rid of your car and get a bike for in the city. 

 

Country wide, well western world wide, IT support roles are being outsourced. Your skills are not in demand, and the market is flooded. If you take the IT further to programming, or  design then there are many jobs on the west coast, but basic IT support, good luck with that one.

 

For a good resource at least in Victoria, but I am betting there are links to the Vancouver end of things is http://www.viatec.ca/ it is about the technology sector in Victoria. Give it a look. 

 

I'm no expert on Vancouver as I only lived there for a year, but if you have any specific questions I'd be glad to at least try to help.

[Obitim]

Cheers Hippy!

 

Yeah, I though that support may require some development on my part, I was doing a lot of networking and working towards my CCNA but now have a job in support, so not sure which way to go!

 

I heard it;s expensive...in a perfect world I'd have a job lined up before making the move!

 

I went to Victoria last year as part of our Canadian West Coast Odyssey, it's a beautiful place, reminded me very much of some places in the UK, just with a semi tame seal and house boats!  I really liked the craft ales there, some really good ones and the underwater gardens were pretty too!

 

If I do have some more questions then I shall be sure to ask, better some knowledge than none at all!

[Kaylya]

Is your profile photo from Niagara Falls?

 

Vancouver and Toronto are the two most expensive cities to live in. Vancouver & Victoria have a milder climate than the rest of Canada.

 

What languages and what level of teaching did she have in mind? There's certainly more French teachers than anything else here. Teaching school kids would require a 1-2 year Bachelor of Education degree; in general there is an oversupply of teachers here though. Less so if you have solid French (particularly out west), but it's still hard. French is taught from elementary through to high school, other languages can be taught in high school, most commonly Spanish in my experience. There's also something of an oversupply of law school grads; that might be less of an issue with experience in the UK, but there would be costs & exams etc.for getting certified in Canada (Each province has it's own Bar association; Quebec is based on French Civil law rather than English Common law, so would require more retraining).

 

You can outsource some tech support, but you still need people to physically access the machines sometimes

 

We were in Australia and on one of the tours we did there was a guy who had immigrated from the UK to Australia - he said Canada rejected him

[Obitim]

Yeah, that;s what I'm gambling on!

 

My fiancee has a degree in law and french and lived in france for 1 year of her degree and for a further 3 months as part of her training, and her french is very good!

 

But yeah, the costs may be a bit pricey...perhaps distance learning?

[Minty Keen]

I'm not much help but,

Yay! Canada!

 

That is all.

[Obitim]

Aye!  Canada is brilliant!  The scenery, the people and the beers!

 

Oh yeah, and it;s always time for Tim's

[Obitim]

So from reading the above then I should be looking into the programming side of things and less on tech support?  Would that be a good idea?

 

Does anyone have any contacts in recruiting who may be able to help me out?