Wednesday, 1 May 2013
My experience in Canada
So I have noted on this blog that a couple years ago I went and spent some time studying in France. Ultimately that is where my journey to Canada started. The story in a nutshell is that I went to study French during what was known as the intersemester period. Whilst I was there I met a bunch of people who would be staying for six months to a year. When I left I was very envious and felt like I had missed out on a really good opportunity. They were about to start what to me seemed like a real adventure and I had finished university and was going home to look for a job.
When I got home I bounced from job to job for a while essentially taking a year off. I worked a whole bunch of temporary jobs interspersed with a number of holidays, trips etc. Once the year was over I got a solid job repairing computers. However, I was never happy there. Oddly I enjoyed the work but I always felt like I had been corralled into that position and had to some extent lost my freedom. Dramatic I know but that is kind of what I was feeling.
Anyways with that in mind I decided that what I wanted to do was go and live and work abroad for a year. During my year off I had been on a trip to Canada with some friends and had really enjoyed it. I figured that it would suit me there, no big spider, snakes or general nasty horrible bugs. It has snow and I love to ski and it has warm summers, whats not to like? As I have mentioned before, there is something of an arrangement between Canada and the UK which allows for exactly this kind of thing, i.e. living and working there for 12 months. I applied got my visa and working permit and at the start of October 2012 I moved to Toronto.
Why Toronto well it is a long story but essentially I have some very good family friends that live just outside the city. Not only were they very helpful in planning my move but they were also kind enough to let me stay with them whilst I found my feet. I also had an old school friend living in Toronto. He was extremely helpful, he had gone through the same process as I was and was able to offer advice and explain the application process for me. I guess to some extent I thought that I have a base of sorts there I may as well go there. In hindsight this was a mistake for me, I wanted to go skiing mainly and that is something that the Toronto area does not have in abundance.
However, I did go to Toronto and one of the other advantages to this choice for me was that my previous employer had some contacts in that area and was able to put in a good word for me. I was not fussed about working the same position again in Canada rather I fancied something new. That said having been there a while and found getting work difficult and I did end up working a similar job in Canada to the UK, via this contact. This was my second mistake. I had been told and I agreed that staying in the city or at least the Toronto area was the best idea. However, the job that I landed was way outside of Toronto and without a car it was very isolated. As I said before I don't dislike working on computers but I did have a feeling of having come a long way to do the exact same thing. I also felt that the circumstances under which I had been employed very much held me to this position so moving back was not really an option for me.
I have never really had much trouble making friends. I am not the most outgoing person but neither am I a loner and have always been able to meet new people over a pint or two. I figured that this would be no different, it did start kind of slow but once I had a pint with a few people from work it would all be gravy. Sadly this did not happen. Very quickly we went out as a group of work mates in fact we even went out for New Years Eve and I thought that we had a great time. However, once back at work it was very much like it had never happened, a one off if you like. I do understand that some people do not like to mix work and pleasure but I never really felt very comfortable here. There were a number of times that things were organised, parties, days out etc where I was just left out. This didn't happen all the time but that almost made it worst because I felt like I was simply being forgotten rather than openly disliked. This sort of thing is ultimately why I came home early.
Having booked a flight home naturally I met some really good people. As it turned out the majority of the people I was working with were decent people it is just difficult to get into a tightly knit social group sometimes. That said for the most part I never really made friends with them.
Having made some friends Canada improve dramatically and was the place that I remembered from previous holidays. I always knew that it was a good country filled with wonderful people, however, it was very difficult to remember that under the circumstances. In total contrast to the first few months my last few months went by filled with nights at the pub, hanging with friends, hockey games, good conversation and just exceptional people. I realise that this post focuses largely on the bad things that I experienced and ultimately what I am trying to say with that is that the grass is not always greener. However, for anyone who does want to go to Canada or anywhere for an extended period my advice is stay the course. Do I regret coming home? No, I think that really it was the right decision for me but I would very much have liked to spend more time with the people that became my friends. I would also say that this kind of trip really is not for the faint at heart. You will spend some time by yourself and making friends can be very tough, however, as with a lot of things you get out what you put in.
I hope that the abridged version of my trip is helpful to anyone looking to do this kind of thing.
Monday, 22 April 2013
Travel Canada
I have just got back from Canada in the last few days. I spent around six months living in and around the Toronto area. Whilst I was researching my trip I did find that there was not an abundance of decent advise online. It is also very difficult to get any help from the Canadian embassy. I am not suggesting that what I will write here will be any better but I will try to answer some questions that I certainly had. Hopefully it will help one or two people out.
Before going.
There are a number of ways of spending an extended period of time in Canada. First if you are just looking to travel around and have some fun you can actually stay in Canada as a British Citizen for six months. You will not be able to work but that is not what everyone is looking for. Also, to the best of my knowledge, this will not require any paperwork.
Second, it is possible to get what is known as a Working Holiday Visa. Canada run this program with a number of countries, I however only have experience as a Brit. The application process is fairly extensive, however, so long as you have a clean criminal record and apply with enough time it shouldn't be a big problem. There are a number of restrictions but I do not see them being an issue for most people involved in this sort of program. Basically you cannot work in a health care profession, child care or attend part time or full time education. That said I believe that there are legal ways around some of these restrictions but I have no experience with it so would not like to comment.
Finally you can apply for a work permit, either pertinent or temporary. These rely largely upon you holding certain skills and/or landing a job before applying. Now I did not actually do this myself but I have spoken to a number of people on the subject. There are a number of different programs available which can be either provincial or federal. It is my understanding that these programs generally require you, effectively, to give the Canadian government a deposit of some description. This may come from your pocket or the pocket of a sponsor company. It is important for me to note here that I did not go through this particular process myself so this info is second hand to some extent. However, hopefully it should give you a brief understanding of what is likely to be expected from you. The biggest advice that I was given with regards to this was to ask lots of questions and to get things in writing.
What I did was to apply for the Working Holiday Visa. The Canadian Government calls this the "International Experience Canada" and you will often see it referred to as the IEC program. When I applied I had to fill out an application form and post it to the Canadian high commission in London. However, it is now possible to apply online or so I have been told. There are essentially two parts to the application the work visa and the IEC section. You will also need a Police check, these are available from the British Police force for around £30.
The biggest problem for me was how unofficial the whole process seemed. At various times the Canadian government will contact you culminating in you receiving a confirmation letter. I was expecting to have to visit the Canadian embassy or to send them my passport but you actually get your visa and stamp upon entering Canada.
Upon arriving
I was very lucky in that I had some family friends who were willing to let me stay with them. However, for most people finding somewhere to live is going to be of the highest priority. Now as with anywhere there are a number of different places that you can go to look for somewhere to live. However, one of the most popular free add webpages in Canada would be Kijiji (http://www.kijiji.ca/). Kijiji is very similar to Craigs list in the USA or GumTree in the UK and really is one of the best places to look for work, cars, somewhere to live etc. Many of the rules regarding rentals are similar to the UK you should expect a contract for example. However, Canada is a lot less regulated in general than the UK so do not be surprised if contacts do not present themselves. This kind of thing you will have to play by ear. Personally I did not have a contact and ended up being evicted over a rent payment issue so I would highly recommend getting a contract.
Second there are a number of piece of paper work that you will need in order to set up a bank account, get a phone and get working. Primarily this is the Canadian equivalent to a national insurance number and it is called a SIN number. You can complete this paper work at a Service Canada office. Its a fairly simple process but it does require you have your own address which could be a problem for someone living in a hostel for example.
Thirdly a lot of people are going to be looking for work. In Toronto I started by getting my name into as many work agencies as I could. I have heard a lot about these agencies, they are actually pretty good at finding work for people they certainly did fairly well for some of my friends. However, they have a lot of people on their books and so you need to contact them on a regular basis otherwise you just get forgotten. Ultimately I ended up working for a company I was put in contact with via my last UK employer.
The minimum wage varies across Canada but you should expect to earn somewhere in the region of $10 per hour as a minimum. I was working as a computer technician and was earning something like $13 per hour. Being paid bi-weekly is also common in Canada.
That should cover all of the basics at least roughly. I will write another entry that will cover my experiences what I did etc.
Before going.
There are a number of ways of spending an extended period of time in Canada. First if you are just looking to travel around and have some fun you can actually stay in Canada as a British Citizen for six months. You will not be able to work but that is not what everyone is looking for. Also, to the best of my knowledge, this will not require any paperwork.
Second, it is possible to get what is known as a Working Holiday Visa. Canada run this program with a number of countries, I however only have experience as a Brit. The application process is fairly extensive, however, so long as you have a clean criminal record and apply with enough time it shouldn't be a big problem. There are a number of restrictions but I do not see them being an issue for most people involved in this sort of program. Basically you cannot work in a health care profession, child care or attend part time or full time education. That said I believe that there are legal ways around some of these restrictions but I have no experience with it so would not like to comment.
Finally you can apply for a work permit, either pertinent or temporary. These rely largely upon you holding certain skills and/or landing a job before applying. Now I did not actually do this myself but I have spoken to a number of people on the subject. There are a number of different programs available which can be either provincial or federal. It is my understanding that these programs generally require you, effectively, to give the Canadian government a deposit of some description. This may come from your pocket or the pocket of a sponsor company. It is important for me to note here that I did not go through this particular process myself so this info is second hand to some extent. However, hopefully it should give you a brief understanding of what is likely to be expected from you. The biggest advice that I was given with regards to this was to ask lots of questions and to get things in writing.
What I did was to apply for the Working Holiday Visa. The Canadian Government calls this the "International Experience Canada" and you will often see it referred to as the IEC program. When I applied I had to fill out an application form and post it to the Canadian high commission in London. However, it is now possible to apply online or so I have been told. There are essentially two parts to the application the work visa and the IEC section. You will also need a Police check, these are available from the British Police force for around £30.
The biggest problem for me was how unofficial the whole process seemed. At various times the Canadian government will contact you culminating in you receiving a confirmation letter. I was expecting to have to visit the Canadian embassy or to send them my passport but you actually get your visa and stamp upon entering Canada.
Upon arriving
I was very lucky in that I had some family friends who were willing to let me stay with them. However, for most people finding somewhere to live is going to be of the highest priority. Now as with anywhere there are a number of different places that you can go to look for somewhere to live. However, one of the most popular free add webpages in Canada would be Kijiji (http://www.kijiji.ca/). Kijiji is very similar to Craigs list in the USA or GumTree in the UK and really is one of the best places to look for work, cars, somewhere to live etc. Many of the rules regarding rentals are similar to the UK you should expect a contract for example. However, Canada is a lot less regulated in general than the UK so do not be surprised if contacts do not present themselves. This kind of thing you will have to play by ear. Personally I did not have a contact and ended up being evicted over a rent payment issue so I would highly recommend getting a contract.
Second there are a number of piece of paper work that you will need in order to set up a bank account, get a phone and get working. Primarily this is the Canadian equivalent to a national insurance number and it is called a SIN number. You can complete this paper work at a Service Canada office. Its a fairly simple process but it does require you have your own address which could be a problem for someone living in a hostel for example.
Thirdly a lot of people are going to be looking for work. In Toronto I started by getting my name into as many work agencies as I could. I have heard a lot about these agencies, they are actually pretty good at finding work for people they certainly did fairly well for some of my friends. However, they have a lot of people on their books and so you need to contact them on a regular basis otherwise you just get forgotten. Ultimately I ended up working for a company I was put in contact with via my last UK employer.
The minimum wage varies across Canada but you should expect to earn somewhere in the region of $10 per hour as a minimum. I was working as a computer technician and was earning something like $13 per hour. Being paid bi-weekly is also common in Canada.
That should cover all of the basics at least roughly. I will write another entry that will cover my experiences what I did etc.
Saturday, 3 September 2011
The Last Year
Ok, in June of 2010 I finished university. I studied E-music at Coventry University. I think that it is safe to say that when asked I paint a fairly bleak picture of Coventry and my time there. The truth is though, like everyone I had a lot of fun at university, I made loads of friends, played a lot of pool and most importantly drank a lot of beer. However, as with many of things you get out what you put in, at this moment I am unemployed and living back at home with my parents and younger brother. When I was at university I was happy to coast along doing the bare minimum and consequently feel unprepared to enter the world of professional work.
So what do I have to offer any potential employer, well at first glance not a lot. I have a 2:1 degree from an OK university in a subject nobody has ever heard of. I have limited work experience in my chosen subject and I have spent the last year seemingly bumming around from shit job to shit job interspersed with healthy doses of travelling. A waste of time? No I don't think so. I have really enjoyed this last year, a familiar theme I know but I think that from this last year I have grown and have experiences that are a little thiner on the ground than a degree in a subject nobody understands, least of all me.
Immediately after my degree I went to a French university south east of paris called Université de Technologie de Troyes. I think that this could have been one of the most defining months of my life. I went there to study French but really I figured it would be a nice way to spend the summer. I have never been much for languages I was rubbish at school, no aptitude. As much as I would like to say that I went to Troyes my eyes were opened and by the time I came home I could speak fluent French, I cannot. I cannot even say that I improved very much but what I can say is that it was not for lack of trying. By the time I came home I am able to conjugate verbs and make basic conversation I guess I had made up for my failings in high school. What I did have though is a different work ethic, I had found something that I enjoyed and was willing to put time into. It was a nice feeling knowing that I had not only had fun but also worked hard having received a mark that I felt I deserved rather than blagged my way into. UTT was also a massively interesting place to study. I met people from all over the world, who all had different experiences, backgrounds and cultures. I reveled in this kind of environment, I loved bashing Americans and the friendly banter that developed between the national stereotypes. In this month I learned so much about world cultures it was unreal. I will never claim to be an expert but it was very interesting to hear that in America Fox News is Legally allowed to lie on air or that Turkish is the second language in Germany, all unauthenticated of course.
When I came home as I said I bounced from temporary job to temporary job but at each one I worked hard, I proved myself a valued part of their teams and on occasion was offered permanent positions. Perhaps stupidly I turned them all down, not because I felt I was to good for the roles or that I could earn more money else where but because I enjoyed the varied experiences. Temporary workers the world over I am sure are treated as the lowest of the low and it is no different in England but it meant that I could meet loads of new and different people. These people were not always nice people but regularly they were people that I would prejudge and end up really liking. Your always told that first impressions are the most important and I agree, I think that you should make a bad impression so that you have the opportunity to surprise someone. It is an interesting feeling when somebody you tolerate turns into a person you genuinely enjoy being around.
Anyway, that is enough rambly rubbish. This was my first blog I hope that it in some way imparts some information and if this page has popped up after a search for advice on university read it, take heed then ignore it and make up your own mind.
So what do I have to offer any potential employer, well at first glance not a lot. I have a 2:1 degree from an OK university in a subject nobody has ever heard of. I have limited work experience in my chosen subject and I have spent the last year seemingly bumming around from shit job to shit job interspersed with healthy doses of travelling. A waste of time? No I don't think so. I have really enjoyed this last year, a familiar theme I know but I think that from this last year I have grown and have experiences that are a little thiner on the ground than a degree in a subject nobody understands, least of all me.
Immediately after my degree I went to a French university south east of paris called Université de Technologie de Troyes. I think that this could have been one of the most defining months of my life. I went there to study French but really I figured it would be a nice way to spend the summer. I have never been much for languages I was rubbish at school, no aptitude. As much as I would like to say that I went to Troyes my eyes were opened and by the time I came home I could speak fluent French, I cannot. I cannot even say that I improved very much but what I can say is that it was not for lack of trying. By the time I came home I am able to conjugate verbs and make basic conversation I guess I had made up for my failings in high school. What I did have though is a different work ethic, I had found something that I enjoyed and was willing to put time into. It was a nice feeling knowing that I had not only had fun but also worked hard having received a mark that I felt I deserved rather than blagged my way into. UTT was also a massively interesting place to study. I met people from all over the world, who all had different experiences, backgrounds and cultures. I reveled in this kind of environment, I loved bashing Americans and the friendly banter that developed between the national stereotypes. In this month I learned so much about world cultures it was unreal. I will never claim to be an expert but it was very interesting to hear that in America Fox News is Legally allowed to lie on air or that Turkish is the second language in Germany, all unauthenticated of course.
When I came home as I said I bounced from temporary job to temporary job but at each one I worked hard, I proved myself a valued part of their teams and on occasion was offered permanent positions. Perhaps stupidly I turned them all down, not because I felt I was to good for the roles or that I could earn more money else where but because I enjoyed the varied experiences. Temporary workers the world over I am sure are treated as the lowest of the low and it is no different in England but it meant that I could meet loads of new and different people. These people were not always nice people but regularly they were people that I would prejudge and end up really liking. Your always told that first impressions are the most important and I agree, I think that you should make a bad impression so that you have the opportunity to surprise someone. It is an interesting feeling when somebody you tolerate turns into a person you genuinely enjoy being around.
Anyway, that is enough rambly rubbish. This was my first blog I hope that it in some way imparts some information and if this page has popped up after a search for advice on university read it, take heed then ignore it and make up your own mind.
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