Canadian experience or Canadian education

[chonji1226]

Hi,

I have worked for an IT company here in Canada for 4 years already on work permit and now as a permanent resident I plan to stay for another year or so. I plan to look for another job within the next 2 years, my college degree is not from Canada but I already have 4 years of Canadian IT experience plus 2 years more probably.

Do you think it will be a problem for me to look for another job and I still have to get a Canadian degree to get a better chance?

 

[emamabd]

Hi,

I have worked for an IT company here in Canada for 4 years already on work permit and now as a permanent resident I plan to stay for another year or so. I plan to look for another job within the next 2 years, my college degree is not from Canada but I already have 4 years of Canadian IT experience plus 2 years more probably.

Do you think it will be a problem for me to look for another job and I still have to get a Canadian degree to get a better chance?

In my opinion what matters is:
1) Your skillset, should always be sharp and up to date with the changing trends in Technology
2) Building a strong professional network, you need to know people who can refer you to jobs, and also tell good stories about you perform..etc
3) Industry certifications

If you have all 3 you should have no issue finding other jobs in future, when it comes to the IT industry Canadian education is probably a "nice to have" not a "must have".

 

[parttimebasement]

Canadian degree = Waste of money.
Rather save the loan money and interest into some investment.
Rather look into IT certifications instead of going to a uni.

 

[BC4life]

Canadian degree = Waste of money.
Rather save the loan money and interest into some investment.
Rather look into IT certifications instead of going to a uni.

It is not a waste of money because it is mostly free with OSAP for Canadian citizens and PRs (grants+loans). It gives you additional networking opportunities (including alumni connections and referrals) and upgrades your resume. It is a good complement to certifications.

The best investment you can make is the one you make into yourself.

 

[parttimebasement]

It is not a waste of money because it is mostly free with OSAP for Canadian citizens and PRs (grants+loans). It gives you additional networking opportunities (including alumni connections and referrals) and upgrades your resume. It is a good complement to certifications.

The best investment you can make is the one you make into yourself.

I dont know from where you got those information.
You may be able to grants for academic upgrading or similar course etc which cost much less.
But for certificate, diploma, bachelor, master etc you may get loans which you will have to pay aka Student Debt.

Again about investment it depends.
Think of degree as an business & how will you get in return.
Return in this case is how much raise in salary will you get after completetion of degree.
Now if you think about it then its not an sound investment.

But again not everyone studies just for salary raise or money but for the reeasons you mentioned above and its essential to develop a ''Way of thinking''.

 

[BC4life]

I dont know from where you got those information.
You may be able to grants for academic upgrading or similar course etc which cost much less.
But for certificate, diploma, bachelor, master etc you may get loans which you will have to pay aka Student Debt.

Again about investment it depends.
Think of degree as an business & how will you get in return.
Return in this case is how much raise in salary will you get after completetion of degree.
Now if you think about it then its not an sound investment.

But again not everyone studies just for salary raise or money but for the reeasons you mentioned above and its essential to develop a ''Way of thinking''.

I didn't get this information from third party, I myself have received OSAP and large part was a grant, not a loan. You have the option to decline the loan portion if you do not need it. In my case the grant portion was more than the tuition I had to pay for school.

You can go to school while working. A graduate certificate can be completed in 8 months and most colleges have programs targeting working professionals with classes late in afternoon or evening.

But at the end of the day it is your choice, if you are struggling to get a proper job in your field, to continue doing so for years and not upgrade your skills using means that you are entitled to as PR. Many PRs end up wasting 5, 10 years or more doing menials jobs, instead of getting back to school and doing the right things to get back in their field of expertise. Of course, some are lucky to get a job right after landing in their field and with similar seniority. Many of those had specialized skills not readily available in the market, or really strong soft skills that were transferable in the Canadian marketplace. But it is the exception rather than the norm.

 

[parttimebasement]

I didn't get this information from third party, I myself have received OSAP and large part was a grant, not a loan. You have the option to decline the loan portion if you do not need it. In my case the grant portion was more than the tuition I had to pay for school.

You can go to school while working. A graduate certificate can be completed in 8 months and most colleges have programs targeting working professionals with classes late in afternoon or evening.

But at the end of the day it is your choice, if you are struggling to get a proper job in your field, to continue doing so for years and not upgrade your skills using means that you are entitled to as PR. Many PRs end up wasting 5, 10 years or more doing menials jobs, instead of getting back to school and doing the right things to get back in their field of expertise. Of course, some are lucky to get a job right after landing in their field and with similar seniority. Many of those had specialized skills not readily available in the market, or really strong soft skills that were transferable in the Canadian marketplace. But it is the exception rather than the norm.

I agree with you 100%. If something is not working then we need to find what should we do next which includes what you have mentioned like school.

Now I dont know if the option to decline loan & grant thing is applicable Canada wide.
If it the granty thing us true then its better to go to school and pull yourself out of poverty and menial jobs.

Now the reason I asked to be cautious is not to discourage people from going to school.
But I have seen who did menial jobs and went to school but could not get job based on school certificate.
So now not only they end up in menial jobs again but have student debt.
So one has to be very careful when choosing for education in school unless its a grant thing like you mentioned.

 

[BC4life]

Yes I agree with that. Of course going to school is not a guarantee of a good job in your field. But, together with other factors, it can contribute in improving your chances down the road.

Another way school can help is to help change of career field. This is the case when one's job industry is very competitive, or requires special licenses which one is not able to get due to age etc. By going to school you are able to retrain yourself in a new or related field which you have researched and found to have better prospects. There are also government-funded programs such as second career (http://www.secondcareerontario.com/web/second_career/ ) which can be of benefit for struggling immigrants to move into a new direction. The fact is that despite the difficulties, there are many opportunities available. One must however learn about the system. When you start doing menial jobs right away you are just too tired or lack the time to learn about opportunities that can help you in the long term.

 

[ignorance19]

What are the selection criteria for second career program? Are newly landed immigrants eligible for second career asssitance? Thanks.

 

[Karanratra]

I have intersted .

 

[canuck78]

Just want to update that OSAP has changed because even people who had the funds were getting grants for most of their tuition. It was unaffordable and not the true intention of the changes to OSAP which was to help lose income students.

 

[immig95]

Is it possible for a PR nominated from Saskatchewan, to get a osap loan?

 

[canuck78]

Is it possible for a PR nominated from Saskatchewan, to get a osap loan?

Yes but if your program is going on as you are applying for SINP that could lead to refusal because it show you don’t intend to move to SK.

 

[immig95]

Yes but if your program is going on as you are applying for SINP that could lead to refusal because it show you don’t intend to move to SK.

yes. as a PNP candidate i must have to stay sask for 2yrs. so, I can apply for osap provided that it must be available in sask institution