Immigration 101: How to Succeed in Canada?

A.Who should immigrate to Canada?.

We keep reading the very same questions repeatedly in regards to job opportunities in Canada.

The dichotomy of the situation is that some highly qualified/experienced individuals are immigrating and crying here while poor to mediocre individuals are going great guns here.

Hence persons with the right attitude and a desire for making it any cost are required in Canada and NOT the book smart people.

It is all about attitude in Canada.

The the words attitude denote that we will do what is necessary to succeed here than what we want to do with our past experience.

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B.What are the yard stick for success after you leave your shores and land in Canada?.

1.A fully paid up 4 bedroom home with a two car garage and a swimming pool. The value of the assett around $ 1 Million.

2.Either a BMW X5 or a Cadillac Escalade or even a Mercedes SUV and combinations of those cars.

3.Option for a vacation anywhere in the world for 2 weeks every summer.

4.Children doing very well in school and getting 90% and above with a sure shot for the bursary and getting into top programs in good schools including medical education.

5.A condo on the 20th floor in downtown GTA rented and having the option to give it your child when they are ready for the first job.

6.A vacation cottage home at the Muskoka lake with a fancy boat on the jetty.

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C.Having listed a wish list or a symbol of success yard stick in Canada do we know any Desis who has attained these?.

Yes and there are plenty of them in Canada. I see every day Punjabi taxi drivers who cannot read or write English and who speak a smattering of English living in half million dollar home with their family driving Acura SUV's.

You see the refugee Srilankan Tamil living in fancy homes and every one of his family has a car. Many of them cannot sign their own names in English but have mortgages which far outweigh those of many of us.

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D.Who are they and what is it that they do?.

Typically these are individuals who have less education, who have picked skill sets and are not afraid to get their hands dirty.

They also have an attitude to face any consequence to attain success. Meaning they will even break the law and are willing to go to jail if needed so.

The highly qualified book smart individual always calculates the risk before jumping in while the less qualified street smart individual looks at the reward before jumping into the pool of wealth.

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E.How do you plan for success in Canada?.

1.Do not come with the US cross border migration plan after Citizenship. USof A is such a mess it will take generations to get out of the mess.

Life is more stable and chances of survival are better in Canada in comparison to USA.

2.Land in Canada and leave your degrees/experience certificates aside and start from scratch with a Will Win attitude.

3.Get a Safety Shoes from Walmart. You might be the best damn SAP expert with donkeys years of experience in it but the way things are going you'll never know when you will go looking for a warehouse job.

4.Always plan for 2 part time jobs than a full time job.

5.It is better to get into a unionized job with seniority than to break your head over an office job. The so called desk job/office jobs are the real stinkers unlike India where you'll have no job security but will be made to slog at a wage which on averaging for hours will be equal to or less than minimum wage. There will be no option for overtime pay on office jobs unlike the manufacturing/warehouse jobs.

For Example: FEDEX pays $13.50 per hour to start with and you can always move into higher professional levels from the entry point. UPS pays their drivers $25 per hour and there are many who make around $100,000 PA and have their vacations, pension and full health benefits and they are protected by the union. Canada Post pays initially the minimum wage and if you are able to enter full time you end up at $22 per hour.

6.Try to incorporate a small business on the side. Set aside a small amount may be 1000 bucks to start with and try to tinker in a small business on the side. You may succeed or you may fail but you have made a start. The up side on this is that you can write off your expenses from this side show.

7.Always have a plan for a future small business and try to work in it even if it involves low pay.

If you plan to start a restaurant down the road and you are a TECHIE, do not write in this website about starting a restaurant. Get a job in an Indian place or even a Subway or Timmys and see for yourself how it works and then decide to get into a similar business.

The message here is that you cannot learn swimming by reading a book, You need to jump into the water.

8.Always keep building your credit, checking your credit score and use all methods to get a HIGH LINE OF CREDIT.

You need to get credit cards to reach there, but once you get the 100K combined line of credit for your family you can cut your credit cards off.

9.Constantly keep evaluating your financial,social situation and also keep track of YOUR progress than your neighbours progress.

Many a time we lose track of our own success from where we were 3 years ago by comparing ourselves to our friends or neighbours.

Yes your friend TECHIE came to Canada with his IT experience and got a job in RIM and is making 80K. Yes he bought a nice semi-detached home from the 100K he saved from his US stint.

You came from India and did all odd jobs and you are driving your Toyota Corolla and have your condo or town house. Do not be dissuaded by comparing yourself with him. If he loses his IT job where will he go?.Can he/is he prepared to wear the safety shoe and work in a warehouse, while you can do it at a drop of a hat.

10.Have positive attitude and be willing to take risks. If you do so, there is more wealth in Canada to be attained than anywhere in the World.

Like the Great American Poet called Curtis Jackson aka 50 Cents said - "Get Rich - Die Trying"

Do Not Give UP!.