I will be landing in Jul last week and staying at Mississuaga for a fortnight before moving out. I am an Hons grad in Accounting plus CIMA(UK) Stage 3 part cleared with more than 15 yrs of exp in Accounts, Office Admin and Finanace. Can anyone recommend where to start? I am aware that one needs to get into temp jobs before getting one of permanent nature and that getting a job by itself is competetive. I have exp in Oracle based ERP which was recently installed in my current organisation in which I was invovled right from the Process study to successful implementation

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Good luck to everyone

Forget about other things - most probably Oracle implementation experience itself will get you a cushy job - there seems to be a great demand for such persons. Try for jobs with Deloitte & Touche - they need many such guys. infact you can apply to them right away.

You can also try for job with ministry of finance - Ontario government. They are presently in the process of implenting Oracle in all of their 11 ministries - 6 or 7 have aready been done but the biggest 4 are still in process.

And yes, in today's world, and specially in Canada, it is not advisable to say you have over 15 years of working experience - with that you are GENERALLY considered OLD and presumed to be not adaptable and as fast as the young professionals. Even the resume writers suggest not to include more than 10 years experience in your resume.

Chandresh

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Chandresh

Advice is free – lessons I charge for!!

Chandresh ,

I am originally a Cost Accountant (ICWA) from India but switched over 2 s/w (Oracle) in 99 .Since then I am in the Middle East , working as an Oracle s/w Analyst-Programmer & Database Administrator . I have certified myself as well on a few platforms .

Upon learning that IT is in a pitiable state in Canada presently , I was considering doing CPA instead or go in for Oracle Financials ( more Technical then Functional).

Which course would u advise of the 2 ? Wud appreciate ur advise as I can start diverting my attention in either way now onwards .

Regards,

Manasvi

Manasvi,

Some persons might have different views, but my view is CPA is of NO use in Canada, unless you have other local designations. Most of the Indians who have done CPA in the past was basically to get into the fast track program of CGA in Canada which allowed you to sit for one exam only instead of 8 credits. However, that rule has now changed since last year (and I was one of the few who suffered most since I did my CPA in May 2003).

One of my friends is a CA from India with experience in implementation of Oracle ERP. He got a good job not long after landing based on his oracle knowledge with one of the banks here. Unfortunately, the bank was taken over by some other bank and so he was laid off. But before his last day of work, he got a job with MOF at 80% higher salary!! - also for Oracle. He has also done CPA but that has been an addition only to his credentials - no changes otherwise.

On the other hand, I have two friends - one a CA, CPA & CGA, while other is CA, ICWA, CS, CGA & CPA. One is strugling to keep his 50k job, and another nearly lost his 60k job (but agreed to take a 25% cut in Salary). Both of them have been in Canada for over 3 years!!

So you can take a cue from this real life experience!

Chandresh

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Chandresh

Advice is free – lessons I charge for!!

Chandresh ,

As per ur words I better stick on to my current functionality & try 2 dig into it further rather then getting into \"2 boats\" scenario .

Thanks a lot 4 ur words of wisdom . They are highly appreciated .

Manasvi

Hi Chandresh,

Your reply was quite indepth and practical.
I have done mgmt and CFA after doing BE from India. For last 7 years i have been working in IT industry as Functional consultant in ERP. Last two years have been working on Oracle Financials. Now i am in Canada. I understand that job demand for Oracle financials is also less and i was thinking of getting into accounting job. ( Though never worked in accounting but was involved with accounting processes while implemention ERP for all accounting modules).

I thought i would start with some accounts job like Accounts payable or General ledger or reconciliation etc and based on that i would further do CGA or CPA. But after reading your feedback i think i should focus on ERP job only. I am basically looking for some jobs. I am here for last 7 days.

Any advice from you, Mr. Balaji, Manasvi would be highly appreciated.


Thanks

Dilip Sharma

Just wanted to add, I see Actuaries getting into jobs immdtly. Also it seems, being an Actuary is one of the hardest certification. Better to stick to one field, and keep upgrading one's skills.