What's the best way for me to be eligible for express entry and have a chance at getting PR? (Bachelor's with ~1.5 year of experience)

[thinking_programmer]

I'm 25Y.O. I've done Economics in my Under graduation and it's completely unrelated to what I'm doing now(Full stack developer).

I've asked a couple of consultancies and they're saying that even after I maintain the eligibility points(67 point criteria after 2 years of exp and CLB 9) "my visa file" won't get picked up by any province due to high competition and completely unrelated bachelors.

I basically have two options right now

1. Get 2 years of complete experience and score good marks in IELTS and get 67 points for eligibility then apply for different pnps
2. Do some 1 year diploma in Canada to get more relevancy in my education and learn a thing or two about computers. Then go back to India and try my luck. (I know CEC is there but with just one year of diploma, I'd be getting exactly one year of PGWP and even if I work every single day right from the day of my graduation I still have to leave for India at the final day of the year to make sure my visa doesn't expire which seems a little risky to me).

I just need advice on what can I do to maximize my chances as I know I have the skills that are in demand and also some professional experience and I need to make sure I'm taking the right steps.

I'm leaning more on getting the Education credentials and get done with it. The reason why I want to get it from Canada is because the quality of education is much higher there, one year diploma in India would basically be paper degrees and I'll learn next to nothing and probably had to attend offline.

 

[Deleted member 1050918]

1. Get 2 years of complete experience and score good marks in IELTS and get 67 points for eligibility then apply for different pnps
2. Do some 1 year diploma in Canada to get more relevancy in my education and learn a thing or two about computers. Then go back to India and try my luck. (I know CEC is there but with just one year of diploma, I'd be getting exactly one year of PGWP and even if I work every single day right from the day of my graduation I still have to leave for India at the final day of the year to make sure my visa doesn't expire which seems a little risky to me).

You don't have to choose between 1 and 2. You can do both.

1 year PGWP won't be "a little" risky; it'll be seriously risky. You're pretty young and don't already have a master's degree. If you can afford it, I'd recommend getting a master's degree (2 year program with a thesis) from a reputable Canadian university. Ideally you'd want to pick a research subject that'll help you in your professional career and your job hunt in Canada. A 2 year MSc program in Canada gives you a 3 year PGWP.

Once you're employed on a PGWP, you can create an EE profile and see if you happen to get an invitation from a province. If yes, good, if not, you're getting Canadian experience anyway and that not only boosts your CRS but also boosts your CV in Canada because Canadian employers usually look for Canadian experience. This obviously also makes you eligible for CEC and FSW (and possibly TR2PR if it's ever coming back). You'd have basically conquered Express Entry.

Top your IELTS General scores to get CLB 9 in all four skills. French is a plus professionally and socially in Canada, gives you EE points as well.

Do NOT ever think about a PhD in Canada before you've secured your PR.

 

[thinking_programmer]

1 year PGWP won't be "a little" risky; it'll be seriously risky. You're pretty young and don't already have a master's degree. If you can afford it, I'd recommend getting a master's degree (2 year program with a thesis) from a reputable Canadian university. Ideally you'd want to pick a research subject that'll help you in your professional career and your job hunt in Canada. A 2 year MSc program in Canada gives you a 3 year PGWP.


Do NOT ever think about a PhD in Canada before you've secured your PR.

Hey thanks for the advice. About the risk part, what kind of risk are we talking about. Is there risk that I might not be able to score enough points with a one year Diploma in Canada or is it a risk of getting my student visa rejected. I scored very less marks in my UG in Economics(5.6CGPA) and I want to do Post graduate(either diploma or masters) in computer science which doesn't relate to my UG at all and with my low UG marks I think it'll be very hard to get masters in Canada and also convince V.O about my situation of change in fields. I'm kind of stuck in this part. I think I may go for a PG diploma from a low requirement college but other than that I can't think of another reliable alternative

 

[Deleted member 1050918]

Hey thanks for the advice. About the risk part, what kind of risk are we talking about. Is there risk that I might not be able to score enough points with a one year Diploma in Canada or is it a risk of getting my student visa rejected. I scored very less marks in my UG in Economics(5.6CGPA) and I want to do Post graduate(either diploma or masters) in computer science which doesn't relate to my UG at all and with my low UG marks I think it'll be very hard to get masters in Canada and also convince V.O about my situation of change in fields. I'm kind of stuck in this part. I think I may go for a PG diploma from a low requirement college but other than that I can't think of another reliable alternative

With 1 year grad programs, the risks are involved with your eligibility for the CEC stream as well as your possibility to get Canadian experience points. As you may know, you need to have at least 1 year of paid Canadian experience gained on a work permit to qualify for CEC and to get Canadian experience points in whatever EE stream you apply. 1 year (12 months) grad programs give you 1 year (12 months) PGWP. Assuming you won't be employed on your day one as a fresh grad, you can see that some part of your 12 month PGWP will be spent on the job hunt. So you'll never qualify for CEC or Canadian experience points. That's why you need to aim for a two year long grad program which gives you 3 year PGWP.

About convincing your VO, I doubt it'll be more difficult than convincing a considerably prominent Canadian institution to admit you. You'll write a letter of explanation to IRCC and explain why you wanted this change of field, how it'll improve your life, and how this specific degree from this specific Canadian institution will lead you to success in your new field. And precisely why you've chosen Canada over other options. The higher the rank of the school that admits you, the easier will it be for you to convince IRCC.

If you can afford it, approach professors with an offer and tell them you have your own funds for the full duration of your MSc research and don't require their funds. They'll probably be more lenient on you in the selection process since you'll be doing their work (research) for free. For such an offer, depending on the school you're going to, you'll probably need about CAD100,000 to cover your expenses (tuition and living) for two years.