So many questions about Canada ,job prospects and stuff. Thought I’d share a detailed and comprehensive guide to working in Canada 1. Salary range: — Canadian company: senior dev 100-130k CAD. Staff level would be 130-180k CAD — US company : senior dev 130-180k CAD Staff level : 180-250k CAD There a few exceptions like amazon, stripe and slack which pay 200-250k CAD for senior devs but these are the absolute minority. I estimate there are 4-5 companies in this category 2. Economy: US based companies are expanding a bit. However my experience is you will be viewed as an outsourced worker. Career growth is nil after staff level. Canadian companies are well known for paying poor and being lacklustre in general. Canada is not a dominant player on the world stage and there is no major homegrown industry except food and natural resources. People not in the tech industry struggle to find jobs for months or years(consulting, supply chain management, accounting etc). Canadian employers are known for expecting “Canadian experience” for non tech jobs. I’ve seen crazy struggle amongst a lot of people in non tech jobs 3. Housing : — Toronto and Vancouver are pretty unaffordable (around 1 million CAD for homes) — Ottawa, Montreal and the rest of Quebec are very affordable. The rest of Canada is pretty cheap to live in as well 4. Healthcare: Very patchy. Long waiting times for MRIs and various procedures but great for emergency procedures. If you can afford to pay 5-7k a year private clinics would be a better option. 5. Capital gains: Surprisingly for the non robustness of the economy, capital gains tax is quite low. In general taxation in Canada is pretty decent. Income tax for <=200k CAD is very decent if you factor RRSP and TFSA. Once you cross the 200k CAD threshold you will start getting taxed way more. However this only seems more compared to the US and not compared to EU countries. 6. Public transport: — Toronto is horrid. Broken down trains and overcrowded buses. It’s a complete mess. — Vancouver has really good public transport and so does Montreal. Efficient trains in both cities unlike Toronto. # Unsure how public transport is in Alberta. Domestic airfare is horrendously expensive and inter city trains are expensive as well. However since there are only 4-5 major cities it’s ok.
Few things you could add .... 2. Economy: - financial services is dominant in Toronto - fierce competition for entry level (<5 YOE) roles that pay < 100k - outsourcing happens in Canada too, jobs go to India 3. Housing: - 1m cad gets you a nice downtown condo (1100-1300 per sq ft); or a suburban semi detached - Quebec is affordable because of the French language barrier - Child care is expensive; 1500-2000 / mo Taxation is only comparable to California if you earn < 200k CAD. Marginally more punishing as you earn more. Access to good youth education is readily available; individuals can purchase lower cost homes (eg condos) in good districts. Children will generally not be competitive for top us colleges. Competitive youth education environment due to immigrant families generally being well educated.
Childcare is much cheaper in Quebec than everywhere else in Canada.
@OP, can you add another section 'personal income tax' before or after capital gains tax?
Added
Thanks.
This is a great post. Thanks OP!
I’ve seen people willing to take 40-50k/yr roles after masters in Canada. Weird but that is 25-50% of the people in the < 5 YOE range.
Yup entry level is horrendous. Too much supply and too less demand Senior level roles are not like that. From my experience most people move to the states once they get the passport and reach a senior level
Yes they do. I think that’s they best strategy. In your knowledge, do you know anyone who moved from Canada to US as a manager or on a L1 visa?
> If you can afford to pay 5-7k a year private clinics would be a better option. Could you care to elaborate more on this? How do I find one? Is that per person or the whole family?
It’s for single person. Google private clinics and you will find some in Vancouver, Toronto ,Montreal and Ottawa
I think you’ve misunderstood the healthcare system in Canada. Private clinics aren’t allowed to provide services covered by provincial healthcare systems. The Canadian system isn’t like the UK one allowing you to skip the queue if you have money.
There are a lot more companies than 5 that pay 200+CAD for seniors. Vancouver alone has at least 3. All big sf companies.
Name and shame
You beat me to it 😂
Written in a very condescending tone but overall accurate...
Mostly accurate but the TTC is not as bad as you say and the GTA GO regional transit is solid. Also for Europeans, you will probably earn more and spend less on housing in Toronto than you would in London, Zurich Amsterdam or Paris.
How would you compare the interview level difficulty?
At large companies it's generally the LC question. At other companies it depends but generally easy-medium LC and other questions
By large I mean FAANG and well known startups/unicorns
I have seen L4 (L5 at Amazon) break 200K CAD/year in the Canadian offices. Pretty sure Sr. SWE would be making more.
Amazon is an exception-updated
Also L5 at amazon or L4 at google is equivalent to senior dev at some Canadian company. “Senior” at FAANG is generally staff level elsewhere