|
|
| Subject: Think about this before you decide to move |
|
|
|
After 10 months in Canada a very sobering experience has taken the place of the euphoria when I got my landing papers.
If you are a skilled worker, in particular in finance, think very thoroughly about the following:
- having held senior finance positions in my home country, I had to discover that I am unable to find work in Canada. Why? If I apply for a job that requires less experience like an accounts payable clerk, I will not be contacted or I will be told that I am overqualified. If I apply to more senior positions, I am not contacted or I am told that my application can not be considered unfortunately because I do not hold a Canadian accounting degree (I hold one though from my home country in Europe but no one cares about that one, even though accounting is basically the same everywhere). If I am contacted and in the run, it quits having one applicant in the run who is working on his degree and I am out of the race. So on the job side a total bust.
- wanting to have the Canadian equivalencies of my degree established is flat out a joke. World Education Services, the company mandated by CIC, the government of Ontario and various regulatory bodies is only interested in reaping in my money. The regulatory body in my home country sent the required documents in French to WES, but forgot to fill out a piece of a form. WES received the documents and did nothing about it for 2 weeks. I only found out about the omission once I called a "customer service representative", who seemed rather uninterested that I was waiting for their report to improve my chances of employment. So I can send the document again to my home country, have the regulatory body in my home country send the whole package again, this time by courier at my cost and hope WES finally does something.
- the regulatory body in Canada for accountants also ensures that foreign trained nationals do not get their foot in the door. I can well go to school to acquire the Canadian degree, but a prerequisite is a bachelor´s degree, which my home country is only introducing in 2007. So to acquire the bachelor and the accounting degree will take me up to 7 years according to their website, so I´d be way past 40 and therefore too old to find a job. As it is a work/study program, I would have to find a job...see above.
A recent study has shown that around half of all skilled immigrants to Canada switch careers because they can´t find work in their own field.
So in conclusion:
- Either have pre-arranged employment
- or be rich enough to not have to work
- or be rich enought to buy yourself a company
- or be ready to fill up coffee at Canada´s favourite coffee shop
- or be ready to work for a placement agency giving you little temp jobs here and there, where you can impress employers with your knowledge, help them out when they´re in trouble and listen to them saying to you "you´re good and your resume is impressive but we unfortunately can´t hire anyone without a Canadian degree"
- and for those who believe it has something to do with skin colour: no it does not, I blend in just fine, even my English is considered good.
If you think you can make it, well then all the power to you! I´ve killed off the resumes lingering around on job sites, they served me nothing at all and I will have to decide very soon whether I should not pack the container and go back home.
[22-06-2006,13:24]
[***.59.236.80]
disappointed |
|
(in reply to: Think about this before you decide to move)
I can understand your frustration but it is true with any field if you got degrees in your home country, they are given the least priority over the ones you have either from canada or U.S. Heck even your home country pays you trippled wage when you are a foriegn qualified.
Disappointment is not the solution here, neither anyone will get discouraged by your post and abandon their applications just coz of getting scared of no jobs?
You need to keep trying and try to improve/align your qualification with canadian standards, better it be through exams or courses. Accounts and laws are surely different in every country and it makes a perfect sense that you have to come up to the standards of the country you are trying to get a job in.
Take it easy, and keep trying, you sure will get something. At least no one is kicking you out of the country just coz you don´t have a proper job. Consider this a big plus.
goodluck-
[22-06-2006,14:01]
[***.226.173.69]
Anonymous |
(in reply to: Think about this before you decide to move)
Agree with Anon´s above commnets. I would add that surely there were reasons that attracted you in wanting to come to Canada in the first place, other than the perfect job. Those reasons must still hold true. You must keep in mind that you´re in a new culture where things are done differently than in your home country. Give some time to adapt to the new social system and processes. You may find yourself less frustrated and more inclined to find yourself and where you fit in the new environment.
[22-06-2006,14:13]
[***.131.12.0]
Richard |
(in reply to: Think about this before you decide to move)
40 is not too old. You have 25 years of working life left in you! At 40 I was on my 3rd career and they were totally unrelated.
You are right, numbers are numbers but tax rules etc are not. So you need to do exactly the same thing I would need to do if I can to your home country. Learn the rules which means upgrading your skills. In the mean time, it might mean doing work that is not as prestigeous, going to night classes,etc.
It is important that every prospective PR looks carefully at what is required to make their skills Canadian relevant. There is a very clear statement to this effect on the CIC website. We all need to read it carefully.
[22-06-2006,14:44]
[***.20.170.23]
Sharon |
(in reply to: Think about this before you decide to move)
hey, never expect to change anybody but yourself.
You should understand this rules more than I do, consider I might be half of your age.........
We expcet other people to change, this is same as dating, life, immigration.
We usually end up without "happy ending"
[22-06-2006,15:30]
[**.66.90.184]
departure bay |
(in reply to: Think about this before you decide to move)
I agree with most opinions except that I have a few observations....
"40 is not too old" -- So are we saying that spending next 7 years (7 years ??) to earn a accounting degree is cool ? Sorry for reading between the lines.
Also while I´m at it, let me mention that I feel 40 yrs and single = still young... 40 yrs + married + 1 or 2 kids = too old to start from scratch monetarily (can take any job that pays almost same, but if there is a big difference in payscale, then not possible)
"So you need to do exactly the same thing I would need to do if I can to your home country"
This is BS, no person going (if ever they actually go rather than just theoretically keep saying) from a developed country to the so called 3rd world "home countries" have to do anything or get certified to find a job, only issue is language, there is no technical restraint on the actual job.
All said and done, its simple, do your research, and I´m glad that this forum has thrown light on lot of the issues for prospective immigrants and as Sharon has rightfully said.... "read the website carefully".
[22-06-2006,15:33]
[***.242.242.2]
Raj |
(in reply to: Think about this before you decide to move)
My this must be frustrating but presently at least I hope you are for your daily bread doing at least something. Job - this is one aspect that gives me jitters about Canada
[22-06-2006,17:17]
[**.145.182.221]
OM |
(in reply to: Think about this before you decide to move)
7 years for an accounting degree. that would suggest starting all over. That would suggest not looking at a CGA program with challenges to many of the courses.
Lot´s of people start from scratch at 40. Canadians start from scratch at 40 all the time. I started from scratch at 40. I now have worked my way up in a totally new career, earn excellent money, have bought a condo...
can´t can´t can´t is no way to walk into a new country. you might as well stay home. Something motivated you to come to Canada - what was it. If your life was good where you lived - why would you uproot your family and start over?
Did you think Canada would be a instant lateral move but with 5 times the salary? It is not realistic expectations my friend.
[22-06-2006,17:29]
[***.20.170.23]
Sharon |
(in reply to: Think about this before you decide to move)
well I can´t complain about lots of answers, that´s for sure....
I didn´t write my whole life story, so maybe I should add a few details.
To anon: Nope, not my home country. They are of the opinion that that country rules and only its degrees are good, foreign degrees don´t pay more unless you have university studies. I don´t mean to discourage anyone, but make people aware of a fact that is flat out denied by Canadian officials.
I don´t sit on my bum whining, but I do take classes, the exact classes that count towards a Canadian accounting degree. Because of the question of having a bachelor or not though, I can not formally enrol in the program. I of course advertise these courses in my resume and I´d like to point out to Sharon that I have done already Cdn business law and tax and finished both above 80%, so it´s not that I am ignorant to the local laws and tax rules. I´ve even taken basic accounting, which I finished in the 90s, with most points lost due to too quick handing in papers. Raj, classes are not cool, school is always less fun than play, but I see the necessity, even if sometimes I could just throw the books through the window. It´s dry theory with graphs and stuff, but that´s what accounting is. Most people will find it bland, I personally love digging through a mess of figures and making sense of it. Nothing better than going to a company that has a messed up accounting dept and sort things out or analyze why the company has spent 300% more on paper clips (just kidding).
The remark about 40, well I do freely admit that I am not very good when it comes to selling myself and after 40 unless you are settled or self-employed it gets real hard to get employed (as recently also said in an article in the Toronto Star). As well I am not very imaginative as to what else I could do. If you forget about any job requiring licensing (like electrician, plumber etc), there isn´t that much left. Being not a "people person" I can forget anything that has to do with sales or customer service, restricting the choices even further.
As for the prestigeous work. I don´t care how cool or uncool a job is, but I can not get ANY permanent job in finance because of the dilemma between my experience and lack of Cdn designation. That´s what I tried to explain in my initial post. If I apply for a job that is not prestigious (read entry level), because I am very experienced no one will consider me for fear that I could try to run their show. If I go for intermediate jobs (where I would still get by more than easy), I get shunned because of the missing degree. Just an example: I recently had a temp assignment with a company that had switched accounting software a few months earlier. No one really knew how to handle this thing, but in my time there I figured out how to run certain analyses and also how to write customized reports for data which they had painstakingly compiled manually, I even wrote several report definitions for them. They complimented me repeatedly on my work and keep asking for my services (2 days here, 3 days there, not something continuous) but still to no avail, I can´t get hired there because of the designation issue. I even went as far as to offer them to work as a contractor/consultant for them, which would be cheaper for them than having me through a temp agency, but that didn´t help either.
I read the CIC site, I read the CGA site and I read a whole bunch of universities´ and colleges´ sites to that effect, but the system is so conveniently built that I have the choice to go and try have my degrees from abroad being accepted (well if WES ever decides to get their act together that is) so that I can enter a university and make a bachelor´s degree upon which I can then try to get into the CGA program. Because my schooling is over 10 years back I will most probably not even be accepted into university and then what?
As for "doing the same thing I would need to do if I came to your country": Sharon, I know you´re from Europe like me, and you know as well as I that within Europe you can move freely because the degrees within the EU are accepted, different rules or not. So sorry, that is untrue what you write there. It´s the US and Canada that play difficult with degrees.
So I am doing something about the matter, but it is the degree that trips me and losing out just because of that while constantly getting compliments on my resume is just a bit sad.
Keep posting...but don´t fear the answer, I like a good discussion!
[22-06-2006,17:59]
[***.59.236.80]
disappointed |
(in reply to: Think about this before you decide to move)
Sharon, you posted while I was typing...
I am not of the can´t version. But I am barred from doing a degree because of missing prerequisites. And no, I didn´t expect a lateral move, I gave up a lot, not only a good position with a good wage.
CGA requires a Bachelor´s degree, no matter whether you have an accounting degree from abroad or not. So 2-3 years for the bachelor and then start the CGA. As for the challenging of courses, as I said, my degree is back 10 years and CGA on their own site puts that limit on so I will have to start over. But with no papers from WES I can´t even go to CGA to try and challenge anything or apply to any university. And unfortunately, somewhere I should make some money for the basic living, which is sure not possible if I need to do a bachelor.
Because my other half is Canadian, that´s why I uprooted my family and because I love Canada as a country.
[22-06-2006,18:09]
[***.59.236.80]
disappointed |
(in reply to: Think about this before you decide to move)
I cannot pretend that I understand your situation, because I can´t. I know we are doing a terrible job of acknowledging credentials and I agree something must be done.
You are lucky in one respect. You have a Canadian partner that can help your household, they can help you navigate our crazy system, and that give your courage to keep at it.
Don´t give up. They keep saying 3 years to adjust. You will get through it.
[22-06-2006,18:29]
[***.20.170.23]
Sharon |
|
