I am in Canada and was part of Oct 13 flexport layoff. (Flexport does not hire Canadian engineers and there were no openings even when Dave was CEO, I joined flexport as part of flexport acquisition of shopify logistics) I have talked to several recruiters and here are the outcomes 1. They found that I am not in US and I am not a Canadian citizen so not moving forward 2. Canadian companies, after recruiter screening, many think I am overpriced. 3. I got immediately rejections after applications. In about 6 months, I can apply for Canadian citizenship. Before I get Canadian passport, due to current market trend, I believe it is extremely hard for me to get a better job. I am thinking doing contractor job and even multiple contractor jobs to get over this difficult 6 to 9 months. Do you guys have any suggestions on landing contractor jobs in Canada or should I lower my salary expectations? I have no clues where to find contractor jobs. I tried indeed.ca and linkedin and there are more permanent job postings than contractor postings. Even if I lower my salary expectations, wouldn't employers feel that I will quit soon? #engineering #software #swe #flexport #shopify #deliverr #canada
Canadian citizenship takes 18-24 months to process based on the current backlog so you're basically stuck there for another 2-3 years. I would plan long term. Once you get citizenship you also need to apply for the passport
Latest applicants are getting their cases processed in less than 4-6 months. Official processing time is 17 months though. So itās anywhere in between. Passport can be issued in couple business days if you live in a large city and opt for urgent processing.
What was your role? I donāt think 200k base is possible unless you were manager or senior manager+
Before Flexport acquisition, my base salary was higher than 200k CAD as a senior soft engineer. Looks like I figured out one important factor why I was laid off, I made too much?
200k base is very rareā¦ only selected companies might pay. In fact, Meta Senior also pays 180k base Some companies might pay total comp around 220k+ But base wouldnāt be 200k cad for sure
It's your salary expectation. What you heard from the recruiter is true. 200 base is very rare. Right now job market is challenging so near impossible to get that. If you want to stay in Canada lower your expectations and take the first job you get. When market improves jump for higher tc.
Whats the contractor rate you looking?? And with most contract gigs RTO. How you gonna do multiple?
contract gigs RTO? That is bad news. Looks like I should find full time jobs instead. I don't know the current market rate for contractors. I check job bank of Canada and many postings show hourly rate 65 to 80 CAD. Some website shows 40 USD / hour. Some other US website even say they can offer candidates 100 USD / hour. I don't know which to believe now.
I was thinking contractors in remote work. If they RTO, I won't do contracts!
To be honest my expectations for my next role are definitely in the ball park of taking at least a $50K reduction on salary base. The market rates for a developer in Canada right now are around $150K or less which is a great living wage for a single earner.
I know multiple people in Toronto who work remotely and all earn over 200k CAD base. Liquid TC for them is between 220k-415k. All have between 7-15 years of experience. People saying 200k base is rare are right, but there are jobs out there paying that much. I recommend finding any job for now since you're unemployed and to keep applying until you find the TC you're looking for.
if you can get your citizenship within 6 months just stick w contract work until you get your passport. afterwards just start applying for US jobs under a TN
Similar boat to you. Was a senior at Shopify/Flexport and was making 250+ base. I knew after layoff Iād have to lower expectations but was a bit surprised that recruiters and offers are coming in at 150. Even interviewed for a Staff role that was 150 š¤¦āāļø With that said you still can find US based companies hiring in Canada that will pay 200 base but itās rare. Out of the 10 or so interview tracks Iāve started since layoff 2 have been US based that can go to around 200 base. With that said, finding senior/staff in the 170-180 range is pretty doable and Iām comfortable with that anyways. I think you have to level your expectations a bit. Also I havenāt been rejected once on the grounds of being ātoo expensiveā. Recruiters just tell me Iām an idiot and I go āyeeee I knowā and we move on.
I can't believe that Staff role only pay 150???
They want you to be A Canadian citizen so that you can go to US on TN-visa?
Some recruiters thought I was in US so they gave me opportunities based in US.
what are your salary expectations?
Initially I want base salary CAD 200k plus equity, but so far all companies I talked to can hardly meet this. Based on recruiter feedback, they offer CAD 160k to CAD 190k and they seldom offer candidates the upper limit. Some even mention they provide no equity at all.
200k CAD base is very rare from companies within Canada (including FAANG). 160k-190k CAD base is the norm. I would take what you can get, and keep applying if you feel you're worth more. 160k CAD > 0 CAD