Is Canada still worth immigrating to for Indians anymore?

[neo99]

I may sound rude, but excuse me, this is a typical Maslow's hammer syndrome - "To a guy with a hammer everything looks like a nail".

The way you have articulated your post, for sure your IELTS score would have been around band-5 and most probably you came down via some agent. This speaks volume for your post. You need to get out of your 'Pendu' myopic viewpoint and look at the bigger picture.

An average Engineering graduate from India knows how to create a decent linkedin profile, write some research papers, whitepapers, attend few bootcamps, meetups, do networking and land up in a decent job.

Check out the glassdoor link below for the jobs available. If you have the right skill-set and aptitude, then you will get through.
https://www.glassdoor.co.in/Job/canada-big-data-engineer-jobs-SRCH_IL.0,6_IN3_KO7,24.htm

Moreover, as a working professional I know that many of the req's in my company gets filled via reference and not from job portals. So if I have to start looking for a job elsewhere, I know that I have to build network to land up in a job I am looking for.

May I ask, how often do you update your resume, how often do you customize your cover letter before you send out applications, how much time you spend studying the company's profile, their business, their roadmap etc... before sending your resume, how much time you spend on improving communication skills, how much time you spend on improving your skillset by enrolling in some online tutorials, say coursera.

Your post typically revolves around how to some how get PR and rant about the expenditures, which are not letting you save enough. Probably, nobody told you that you can't become rich by savings. One should earn to spend & live. If you are earning to hoard then you will only continue to exist and that too in fear. Such insecurities will only create unhappy societies.

Any typical Indian kid will say that his hobby is "Collecting Stamps", on the other hand the hobbies of kids here revolve around SpaceX, Android Apps, Astronomical Science, Robotics etc...

To everyone else out there, I would say that "Come out and live, even if you have to live for one day". Neither the failures are forever and nor do the success is permanent. Enjoy the journey and goal is secondary. I neither see glass half empty and nor do see it half full. I just drink whatever quantity it is in there and again refill it with the ability I possess.

God bless and good luck !

Man, that was savage AF!!
Well written though

 

[frustsaur]

Canada is absolutely worth immigrating to. There's still loads of opportunities for those who are willing to put in the extra mile.

But the Canadian Visa office is absolutely shit

 

[Tim from Toronto]

Canada can be the place of dreams. It is the best country in America. Free health car and a good pension at retirement. The air is clean, and the cities are green.
Rules to get the a good job.
1) English skills must be strong.
2) Job skills must be strong, and you must show them off on your resume.
3) Have a good college degree from a top 500 university and you will do well.
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/world-university-rankings/2017/world-ranking#!/page/0/length/25/sort_by/rank/sort_order/asc/cols/stats
If you don't have what it takes, then upgrade to compete.
http://unionstationtoronto.com/universities-in-canada/
4) When in Canada, act like a Canadian. Share the countries values and respect others.
5) There are lots of jobs to be had. Most companies are searching for talented individuals and have a lot of vacancies in 2018. Unfortunately new immigrants should expect to start low on the totem pole and accept a lower salary. Once you get going and prove yourself, the sky is the limit.
6) Living directly in Toronto or any other major urban centre is expensive. Living in satellite cites is much cheaper to live and provide a greater quality of life for you and your family. Work and live in these cities.
http://unionstationtoronto.com/best-places-to-live-in-the-greater-toronto-area/
7) If you make it to Canada, expect with a good education and experience to start at around $50,000 and climb to around $100,000 in about 5 yrs of hard work, upgrading your skills/education and committing to becoming all you can be. (This is an estimate for those with have the attributes of 1,2,3 above.)
Canada is not for everyone, and money does not grow on trees here. It is up to those who come to Canada to create their future. The opportunity is certainly available for those who want it.

Ohhh....ethnic maps of Toronto maps are here. Such that newcomers can feel comfortable in their new home.
http://unionstationtoronto.com/ethnic-community-maps-for-toronto/
Toronto is a city made up of smaller cities of different cultural backgrounds. You can get amenities (food etc) from back home in these cultural neighborhoods.

Good luck, take the chance and make your future something you desire. Remember, you make your reality (good or bad).

 

[koushik90]

People behind the success stories are busy chasing their dreams and would not brag about their success to appear on a google search.
People behind unsuccessful stories have too much time at hand to rant about their misfortune. They could put that time to better use. I don't know what their motive could be, whether it is to tell the truth or to discourage others from coming.

I am an Indian from a big city and currently living in the UK. UK and European countries have closed it's doors to non-Europeans because of EU free movement. You need an employer to sponsor a work visa. To sponsor a work visa, they have to prove that they did not find anyone within the EU to do the job. The employer would need to prove that your skills is so special and rare that nobody from 28 countries could do your job. With the refugee crisis, people are flocking to Europe with their ultimate aim to get into the UK.

You could consider going to Goa and relaxing there as Goa is now empty. Goan who were born in Goa before 1961 or Goans whose parents and grandparents who were born in Goa before 1961 have applied for Portuguese passports and are now in the UK doing odd jobs. Alternatively, if you, your parents or grandparents were born in Goa before 1961 you could apply for Portuguese citizenship. If you, your parents or grandparents were born in in Daman and Diu or Pondicherry before 1947, you could apply for French citizenship.

I have never visited Canada before but I am aiming for permanent residence hoping for a life better than India or the UK. There are certain comforts and conveniences available in the western world that is not available or won't be available in India in the near future. I have moved from India to the UK and started all over. My Indian experience was not considered in the UK and I would not even expect Canada to consider my Indian experience. I do hope my British experience would be considered in Canada but there is no guarantee as local experience is more valuable as compared to international experience. I may have to start in Canada a step or 2 lower than where I am now and I don't expect myself to be a millionaire overnight but I know it will take about 1 or 2 years to learn about the new country, people, culture and gain local work experience to get to where I am now.

Hi, hope you got the PR and moved to Canada. If you have already moved to Canada I would love to know how your journey has been so far. Did you find a job? If yes, how long did it take for you to find a job after moving to Canada? What lessons did you learn while searching for a job?

 

[sahilsharma88]

Hi, hope you got the PR and moved to Canada. If you have already moved to Canada I would love to know how your journey has been so far. Did you find a job? If yes, how long did it take for you to find a job after moving to Canada? What lessons did you learn while searching for a job?

Hello Koushik,

I know the question has not been asked to me, but since I landed in Montreal a week back with a job, I guess my reply will be of any help. So I received my PR in Oct 2017 and soft landed in Toronto in Feb 2018 for a week.

As a background, I am a CA and currently have 4 years of work-ex working for Big 4 firms in Delhi and Dubai. Now for the Canadian story. When I came here for my soft-landing, the partner at my firm was kind enough to introduce me to the Partners of the KPMG Toronto office. To my surprise the coffee meet quickly turned into a full fledged interview followed by a detailed telephonic interview the next day. After a week I returned to Dubai and continued my job as normal. In April the firm gets back to me and says I will be offered a job at the same position I held in Dubai and offered me close to 70K CAD and asked me to join from May. In return I asked them to extend my joining to end of June as I had matters to settle in Dubai and also asked them to relook at the offered salary. A week goes by the stupid HR comes back with we can't offer the role as we find you're experience doesn't match the position and we currently do no have openings etc and blabber.

So I gave up the idea of Canada for a while as I had a good job in Dubai and had 2 more years before I moved to Canada to meet 2 year requirement. Anyway, I still connected with people over linkedin and kept an eye out for my suitable roles. Under no circumstance was I willing to come without a job or start as a fresher or do an odd job. Canada is a great country, but honestly if you have a good degree and solid work-ex its not sensibly to give it all up just to come here. (hoover these are my 2 cents.)

Fast forward I came across a few openings and applied for the position on the company website. I got calls from 2 out 5 applications I made.

One of them was really serious. It was headquartered in Montreal and is Canadian listed company. we had multiple round of interviews over a period of 2 months. The only place they were stuck at was French as the position was in Montreal. But I showed interest in learning the language and the finally made the offer in October with in-house French classes for me. I got a job in my field and with no compromise in position. The pay is at par with Canadians having my level of experience (as told by my friend who works in a bIg4 here).

Finally I joined last week and so far it has been a great experience, the people at my company are great, very kind and helpful. So yes patience and confidence is key. If you have the skills, you will eventually land up a job in your field. Just don't give in to the notion of moving here and taking up a job out fo your field in the hope of a better future change of employment. this can work for students and freshers but not if you're at a mid/senior level position in your current job.

My first impression of Montreal is that its beautiful. People here genuinely happy and kind. They give a lot of importance to Living the life and appreciating finer things in life like food, nature, family and friendship. it's not a mad race to the top and you job is a means to achieve.

Things which I found annoying so far -

1) the banking system which basically charges you money to use your own money. Its absolutely hilarious. I have got a free 1 year account with RBC. Post 1 year I plan to move to online only banks like tangerine etc. or RBC might just reduce the fee on my account if I end up having multiple products with them. lets see how that goes.
2) the taxes are pretty high. yes yes we all know this. But coming from a tax free country like UAE this is taking time getting used to. Also there are significantly higher indirect taxes on everything you consume. This coupled with the stupid Montreal law where you're obligated to pay a 15% tip at every cafe/restro makes eating out a very expensive affair. I mean there were incident where there was absolutely no service but I still had to pay.
3) Winters will be excruciating so keep that in mind.

For any further questions reach out to me. too long a post so not reviewing for spelling and grammar.

 

[VisaExperts]

I'm asking because I am getting very confused about what I should be doing.
I want to get away from the crazy traffic, violence, crime, pollution, corruption and the sad quality of life in Delhi. About a year or two ago I think Canada was the answer as it is something you hear from literally any and everyone overseas.

I decided to apply for a Study permit which I would pursue and then fall into the bandwagon of all Indian students trying to figure out how to get PR or Citizenship or whatever over time.

However in the past few months I have been reading a LOT about how Canada is no longer an immigrants dream and how pretty much everything is stacked against them, how Canada wants to fleece them for all the money they can bring and invest in but give no job, no pr/citizenship or no security in return.


(EDIT : Wow I can't post links apparently.....)

Anyways google the following and hit the top searches :-

1. "dont make the mistake of migrating to canada" Please make sure to read the comments on page 10, or just go back once into the older comments and skim through them.

2. "macleans land of misfortune"

These are two of the links I can think of for right now, but there were more about a current students rant about living overseas and how it wasn't worth it.

The reason I am confused is because I don't have any Canadian educational experience though I have very short volunteer work internship experience of about 3 months in Canada previously(along with thankfully fantastic references).

Apparently most immigrants are stuck in jobs like Tim Hortons, McDonalds or driving cabs because they can't seem to get work in their line/stream because they want Canadian experience or Canadian undergrad qualifications. If this is true it would take me at least 2-3 years getting an Undergrad in Canada and then waiting to apply for a full time job.
If that's not enough another masters that is 2-3 years minimum.
That's a lot of money going out from my end without having the ability to work or earn anything in return for about 5 YEARS!

I understand this might sound a bit rushed or haphazard even but I'm way too confused and because of it stressed on what and how I should think about the same.


Would it be better to
1) take a big leap of faith and try to make it in Canada vs

2) trying to do the same in a European/Scandinavian country like Denmark where getting a job and the security to stay in the country might not be such a long miserable case of 4-6 years or

3) just a tier 2 more relaxed City like Goa or such in India. Which obviously is no Western Country but is still a relaxed place where I needn't have to make crazy investments into education or anything else, I keep my money and time and just work for a good comfortable life from Day 1.


Currently because of my lack of work experience(because I work as a freelancer and not for a company) I don't have enough points to apply for the Express Entry program and by my future predictions it would take me 3-5 years to be able to get the points to apply for the same, and that too just barely. That's another factor that isn't very comforting for me either. I'm 27 right now and have an undergrad in Engineering from India but I have long since switched my career to Health, Sports and Fitness. This is the reason why I don't have an undergrad in my current field of work (I have a ton of certifications though, one of which is very highly reputed and recognized world over, most of the times I can use it to get work or get my foot in through the door.)

Well you have a lot of success stories where people who have successfully settled in Canada. It depends upon you how optimistically you take the situation. Before heading forward do check out the factors as to why you need to migrate to Canada.

 

[sivathegreat]

I have lost so much interest that I am not even replying to these questions, I just come here to see.
10 years in Canada now. My suggestion, if you have good status in India, stay.
The problems in India equates the problems in Canada. You will be a foreigner until your death, no matter what your status is. Your kids will be Canadian.

 

[GoodHuman]

I may sound rude, but excuse me, this is a typical Maslow's hammer syndrome - "To a guy with a hammer everything looks like a nail".

The way you have articulated your post, for sure your IELTS score would have been around band-5 and most probably you came down via some agent. This speaks volume for your post. You need to get out of your 'Pendu' myopic viewpoint and look at the bigger picture.

An average Engineering graduate from India knows how to create a decent linkedin profile, write some research papers, whitepapers, attend few bootcamps, meetups, do networking and land up in a decent job.

Check out the glassdoor link below for the jobs available. If you have the right skill-set and aptitude, then you will get through.
https://www.glassdoor.co.in/Job/canada-big-data-engineer-jobs-SRCH_IL.0,6_IN3_KO7,24.htm

Moreover, as a working professional I know that many of the req's in my company gets filled via reference and not from job portals. So if I have to start looking for a job elsewhere, I know that I have to build network to land up in a job I am looking for.

May I ask, how often do you update your resume, how often do you customize your cover letter before you send out applications, how much time you spend studying the company's profile, their business, their roadmap etc... before sending your resume, how much time you spend on improving communication skills, how much time you spend on improving your skillset by enrolling in some online tutorials, say coursera.

Your post typically revolves around how to some how get PR and rant about the expenditures, which are not letting you save enough. Probably, nobody told you that you can't become rich by savings. One should earn to spend & live. If you are earning to hoard then you will only continue to exist and that too in fear. Such insecurities will only create unhappy societies.

Any typical Indian kid will say that his hobby is "Collecting Stamps", on the other hand the hobbies of kids here revolve around SpaceX, Android Apps, Astronomical Science, Robotics etc...

To everyone else out there, I would say that "Come out and live, even if you have to live for one day". Neither the failures are forever and nor do the success is permanent. Enjoy the journey and goal is secondary. I neither see glass half empty and nor do see it half full. I just drink whatever quantity it is in there and again refill it with the ability I possess.

God bless and good luck !

What an enthusiasm, bang on!, you could be an awesome motivational speaker