Hello,

I have been a silent reader on CanadianDesi. Want to thank all the posters for the info in these forums. It has been of great help.

I landed in Toronto from US in Aug 2004. Now I am planning to move to Canada within next 5 months to settle and will prefer to live in GTA area. We are a family of 3 (self, spouse, 5 year old kid). Currently I am on H1B in US.

My main concern in getting a job in IT in Canada. I have worked in India for about 2 years and for the last 8 years I am working in US on H1B. So far I have had a good work experience. Got the opportunity to work with great companies and earn good money.

I have worked in a variety of technologies primarily Business Objects, Oracle custom applications, CGI/Perl, Oracle ERP. I have a B Tech and M Tech from a leading institute in India. I am only counting on my US experience to get a job (I am no sure how much it will help).

I have set alerts on monster.ca and workopolis and I see few openings for my skills. I have not applied yet as I have not decided the date of final move (I want to move by Feb/March 2007). I don't have a network of IT folks in Canada as most of my friends are settled in US. As I said earlier my main concern with move is to get an IT job in Canada (I am sure it will pay much less than what I am getting currently and I am prepared for that).

Any opinions/suggestions are welcome.

Thanks.

From what I can see for 50-60K CAD you got abt 100K jobs anything above 80k+ is rare and 60K in Toronto is barely enough for sustainance..
If that's okay... you are gonna like GTA area..

Thanks for the response windsor_boy.

Going by the information that I have collected so far, I would consider myself lucky if I manage a job offer for 60K CAD per year. For the last 3 years I am averaging 90 USD per year in US but there is a difference between the 2 economies, job markets and salaries. I have worked with well known clients (Lehman Brothers, Morgan Stanley) as a consultant.

I am on H1B currently and working on 1 year extensions. Current job is good and most likely it will be there till Dec'07. However my PR will expire by then and I want to take chances in Canada and get the Canadian citizenship.

Currently I am in the decision making face regarding the move and trying to sense the IT job market. I dread the scenerion where after landing with my family I am not able to secure an IT job for couple of months.

Can I look for job only after I have landed there or can I expect a response from recruiters when I apply from US.

This forum has provided me with lots of info.

You could move your family but not resign from your job in US and commute till you get a good job in Canada. If you are earning 90K USD a year a couple of airline toickets a month shouldnt be an issue.
When u get a decent job in Canada quit your US job.

Hi Prash,

1) Check out the IT group in the 'Networking' thread. You can direct your questions regarding their experience with the job market.

2) I am an ex-H1B guy from US. Now, i have made Canada my home and don't plan on ever going back to US. how did i make it? I switched my field to marketing(my dream career) and i am doing good. No..No..I am not in Amway, or quickstar or whatever their latest avaatar is..

3) My point is, be ready to work for less in Canada. what you lose in money, you gain in diversity, india-like-environment, sense of freedom etc.

4) I believe, the employers give first preference to those who are already in canada and can work at moments notice..Just my experience.

Good luck

seenappa

There are a lot of people here who are thinking to get Canadian Citizenship and work in US on TN Visa, especially in IT. Definitely US economy is much better than Canadian. If you can manage to get GC in US then it would be far better than coming to Canada, but if you cant then i would suggest to apply from US only for jobs in Canada. Attend interviews and if you get a job in Canada then only leave US job.

Hope this helps.

Thanks guys for responding.

I am trying to figure out a solution for my re-entry to US. Coming week I will be following up with immigration attorneys for my employer in US. Currently I am on year to year H1B extensions and I have the approved H1B (I-797) but it is not stamped in my passport. This practice to get it stamped in Washington DC has been discontinued. I am planning to take an appointment with US consulate in Canada (will travel to Canada by car for my initial trip) for H1B stamping in passport as it will allow me unlimited travel back to US till the visa stamp expires. Only (and BIG) catch here is if they refuse visa stamp for any reason, I would have to travel to India from Canada as I won't be able to return to US. However visa stamping should not be a problem as I already have 2 visa stampings from India and 2 from Washington DC in the past. Still a scary thought. Even with everything in order, I am keeping my fingures crossed when dealing with US immigration for visa stamping. I will stop about my visa stamping issue as it is whole different discussion.

In the same trip I am planning to apply for PR card. I am a PR but don't have the card as we were asked to visit Canada to get our pictures taken for the PR card in 2004 (when we landed).

I am planning to start applying for jobs by Oct end and I will be open to travel to Canada for interview (if I am lucky to reach a stage where potential employer considers me for employement).

I am visiting different forums in CanadianDesi as suggested will reach out to folks in IT and Networking sections as well.

Thanks.