sazasnet said:
;D Hi all!
I am graduate student and planning to go abroad for further education. I am researching my options and Canada & Australia are my focus countries.
I am Environmentalist(BS.hons) and Disaster Risk Management Graduate(PG Diploma).
Got 7.5 overall bands in IELTS.want to go for MS and then Phd. in Environmental Health and Safety.
I found that Canada is far more cost effective then Aus as its have some universities with really low fees.now i want to work part-time to help my parents with some of the my expenses.People are telling me that in Australia its easy to get work while you study apart from 20hrs limit.
My own choice is Canada as i feel that here i can get PR 'easily' compared to Australia if chose to stay here.(am i correct).
I know that studying abroad is not a piece of cake but i just want to take a wise decision for my future.
how is Calgary for international students? what about work/expenses/fees ..whats best city for international student in CA.
Feel free to tell me you opinion and experiences.
Hi Sazanet,
You are not the 1st person to get confused between Australia/Canada and even NZ! I too decided on Aust/NZ at first and after lots of research on net, reading forums and via personal source (I've friends/ known people in both Australia and Canada), & I finally decided to go for Canada, just 2-3 months ago for studies. I'll be going for JAN 2013 or SEPT2012 intake:
Now,even though,
(A) In Australia, getting off campus work from day 1, is easier as compared to Canada where one must wait for 6 months, show good academic record and then only can apply for off campus work permit and that too work is not guaranteed ,
(B) getting Australian student visa is a breeze compared to Canadian study permit,
(C) with Australia recently introducing attractive open post graduate work permit for international students,
(D)Australian economy is overall much better compared to canada, and finally
(E) Australian weather is much better and suitable for desi people compared to chilling cold Canadian weather and yet Canada is preferable(at-least from my point) because of:
1. Costs- Australia is much much more expensive. Australian dollar is much more expensive than Canadian dollar at present. On top, In Canada, in big cities like Toronto, one can manage in 900-1200C$/ month , while in place like Sydney,Australia minimum required by government which you need to show is 15000A$/Annum or 1250A$/month, but my sources say that you need 1500A$/ month to live comfortably. Also fees are much higher for Australian universities.
2. Duration of course and work permit - In Australia
ONE MUST STUDY MIN. 2 YEARS COURSE of bachelor's and above for being eligible for post graduate work permit. And that too, by studying 2 years regular Masters (by coursework)(in process spending so much), you get ONLY 2 YEARS POST GRAD WORK PERMIT, compared to 3 years you can get by studying Masters in Canada. On top in Canada one can do course of most levels above 8 months and apply for post graduate work permit.
3. Chances for PR - Like everywhere, and universally what happens is, if you are talented enough, after studies, if you are able to bag a good job usually in your area of study, then you are in a right path for achieving the coveted PR status of that country (be it Canada/Aust./NZ/any other developed immigrant accepting nation). But, reality is NOT all international students can bag a job in their field and in past many immigrants spend their post graduate work permit time doing small jobs, and many even succeeded in getting PR (especially prior to June 2010 in Australia, when rules where much easier and preferable for international students) but not anymore. Now, same applies to Canada, but in many Provincial Nominee programmes (PNPs), allow international students to do a certain level of any skilled job (NOC O,A or B-- and not low level unskilled NOC C or D jobs), which can or cannot be related to one's field depending on province to province. (*For example check out ONTARIO PNP student programme, one can do any NOC O,A or B level job not compulsorily in your area of study and even started a pilot project which can get any international student passing from an ONTARIO Univ. with a 2 years Masters degree to apply for PR without a job offer!). Whereas, in Australia ONE MUST FIND A JOB IN HIS/HER AREA OF STUDY(or related occupations)( or go back after PGWP expires), which believe me, is difficult. So, if you check the current immigration rules in place and compare between Canada (especially PNPs) & Australia, you will realize that chances of getting PR is much higher in Canada than compared to Australia.
Finally,some extra info: When it comes to NZ, I've been advised that NOT to come to NZ as a student (even though NZ is one of best places on earth to settle in), bcoz NZ economy is very very small, very few job opportunities and its very very very tough to find a job in your area of study(which is a requirement for applying to PR in future), and many New zelanders themselves go to Australia for higher studies and searching jobs.
I hope, it will help you to take a decision, although I will strongly suggest to apply for Canadian universities(or colleges if in-case you are not eligible), unless of-course, you have loads of money and time!
Best of Luck.
tiger007
