I’m a francophone African who moved to Ottawa in Canada for university 13 years ago. I went from not speaking English to almost x7 my first dev salary. Lots of ups/downs and pros/cons. Hoping to help someone at the beginning of their journey. #engineering #software #swe #canada #francophone #immigrant #africa
Is that 300k CAD converted from USD from an American job?
Yes that is correct. Remote American job while living in Ottawa, Ontario.
Should also mention it includes the typical RSUs and ESPP. I made an additional $15k from side projects/consulting and I till have $100 in MRR at the moment.
Congratulations op!!!! So happy you reached so far…
Kudos to you
also Canadian with 10 YOE, started at $55k salary now making $850K AMA (curious why people do this…attention seeking? Genuinely curious. Whats the end goal here? Humblebrag?)
Because I was not born Canadian and I wish someone had told me about things like stocks, salary negotiations, etc when I first moved here (Canadians grow up knowing this stuff). Also wasn’t a straight A student… not bragging, mostly checking if anyone is at the beginning of their career and could benefit from the experience of someone who didn’t have the pedigree but worked hard to reach a level others aspire to reach (especially while living in Ottawa where there isn’t much of a tech market compared to some other cities).
wouldn’t it be more effective to attend local meet ups and conferences? Blind doesn’t sound like the best forum for this. Anyways you do you man.
What took so long?
Main reason is being limited to Ottawa opportunities pre-Covid because I was supporting my sister who moved here for high school. Before that, I was working for failed startups. I have other reasons to stay in Ottawa now but what accelerated things was remote work since it gave me access to US remote jobs. I also prioritize work life balance so I can contribute to my side projects. That means I avoided FAANG and pre-IPO opportunities. I also have a senior IC role (not pursuing staff or manager)
Another important one early on was misinformation and lack of transparency around compensation. Didn’t have Blind, levels.fyi back then and wasn’t connected to locals due to being a recent immigrant. So I wasn’t sure what a good salary was meaning zero negotiation power.
Happy to hear OP! Love to see these kind of success stories. I'm from an Anglophone African country ride on broda/sista Also can I DM?
Thank you! Yeah for sure
How do you find side jobs in Ottawa?
I got lucky. I built an app (made $0) and shared about it on LinkedIn. A year later, one of my LinkedIn connections DM’d me because someone he knew was looking for somebody for tech consulting work and it was in the same industry as my app, so he thought about me and made an intro. I ended up making $16k from that. I know someone who’s a freelancer on the side and he started out by helping a friend who was a merchant. He got additional jobs later through referrals from that first job. You can find gigs on Fiverr or similar platforms but I never tried these options. My impression is that it’s hard to make decent money there because there are other people willing to do the work for less cash. May not be worth your time depending on how much you make now. Another way (my favourite) is just to find a problem to solve and build the solution yourself. If you’re already working full time, make sure to double check your contract to make sure you’re not breaking any rules. Typically they’ll ask that you notify your manager if you start side projects. Usually not worth mentioning until you start making money on the side because the skills you acquire can help your employer anyway. It’s just a way for them to make sure you’re not tired or distracted at work due to your side project. They also want to make sure you don’t compete with them. Some encourage it though, so it really depends on your workplace.
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What would you do if you were a new grad/entry level in today's job climate to achieve the same success you had?
I would build side projects that interest me and share on my socials (eg LinkedIn). You have more energy during that time and are used to working hard anyway because of uni. With side projects, you either learn or you earn: - if you make $0, you still learned a new skill, gained more diverse experience vs other new grad/entry levels. It will grow your portfolio, making it easier to find a job, but also help you meet people who are interested in what you’re into. It can also lead to jobs in the industry that interests you the most because your network will remember you. - if you make money, you can keep growing it and achieve financial independence earlier and have control over when you take time off.
Thank you for the reply!