My expriences so far ... first two days in Toronto!!!

[CharlotteJ]

SFD, you are so kind, thank you.


I am currently sick, a good portion of cold and flu, all thanks to the dry cold air here and a heating system in my condo that does dry the air further up and am so sick can't even go out to buy me a humidifier, so I 've totally lost my voice.

And you know what is worse than that? That employers call you and you can't pick up the phone or you pick up the phone and they hear this horrible horrible voice and just hang up! 

I better not look for a job right now.

I start to kind of hate this country. I never was sick or had any cold in the Netherlands, heating systems are far better than these here, we have humidity and all. I really wanted to go back, but it is my bf who says no and stay there so he will be here soon.

[SFD]

CharlotteJ

We deal on our daily routine with work and social issues and forget how important is our health until we get SICK...

NO ONE CAN a AKE A DECISION FOR YOU SO I MUST ADMIT THAT IF YOU GO BACK TO NEDS IS NOT A FAILURE OR A SET BACK IN YOUR LIFE. YOU CAN ALWAYS COMEBACK...

Hope your BF stand by your side soon. Then, you won´t get sick...

Take some rest...

SFD

[clubcanada]

I went through the same my first year and a humidifier was one of the first items I bought ...

GET WELL SOON. WE ALL ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO YOUR BLOG!

[CharlotteJ]

Thank you both for the nice words.

Yes, a Humidifier is definitly a MUST HAVE for any new immigrant entering Canada.

If you are from anywhere that is used to a high level of humidity like India, Taiwan, Singapore, Scandinavian countries, UK, Ireland, NL or much of South African and Midden/South American countries, buy a humidifier as soon as you get settled in and use it during the winter.

It is so stupid that the water temperature in our building is so low. Early morning and late night's temp are ok, but during the day, the warm water is around 39C or 40C max. So, no hot tub for me and that isn't fun.

We complain about it, but the guy in charge of our boilers keeps telling us everything is just fine.

This is why it is better to own your own house and have it all under controle by yourself!

 @ SFD: Yes, true, if bf is here, I shall feel stronger and have more confidence in things, but honestly, as I have discovered that there is slightly the chance for him to find a job in his own field, Oracle DBA, in Canada given the fact that MUCH of this country is really SAP orientated, isn't a comforting thought.
I 've told him to go and take some classes as his work and be prepared, but I hear that SAP isn't something you learn overnight. I really have no clue what that is, maybe I should learn SAP becaue the other day, I found a job as a bi-lingual CRS but had to know how to work in/with SAP!
So, rejecting the job offer was the only option.

[nj123]

  @  SFD: Yes, true, if bf is here, I shall feel stronger and have more confidence in things, but honestly, as I have discovered that there is slightly the chance for him to find a job in his own field, Oracle DBA, in Canada given the fact that MUCH of this country is really SAP orientated, isn't a comforting thought.

Charlotte,

Oracle DBA's are in demand everywhere and I'm sure Canada is no exception. A lot of medium to large companies run Oracle and they pay well as managing the corporate databases is vital.

[CharlotteJ]

OH? but I was told differently. Well, then again, he has no job experience here, so we ll back at the beginning.

[Shinygirl]

Oracle DBA is in demand, but no doubt that SAP is more famous these days, specially in canada.... getting trained in SAP can really open your job prospects.

[scylla]

I agree. Oracle is used very extensively in some sectors. Financial Services/Banking would be one of them (i.e. the big five banks). The last division I worked for had almost no SAP but tons of Oracle systems. If anything, my experience has been the opposite (i.e. mostly Oracle, very little SAP). So the Oracle roles are definitely out there!

Don't give up!

[PG]

Yes someone told me, the another hard thing for the immigrants to cope is DRY-ness on top of job, experience and continuing education. But Toronto has not chilled yet compared to last month in Europe.

Well, we have Vancouver like weather here in Europe...with some kinds of fungus around the corners, specially near the window.

I know some guys, they fixed contracts in the US for SAP, went to India and learned it in 3 months before landing on the job back in the US. Germany is also good to learn SAP, but the main office itself takes the university students for trainee positions.

I am totally from different field but heard that some retail companies are hiring the SAP people from India extensively.

GetWellSoon!

[scylla]

Charlotte,

For kicks, I just went to the career/current opportunities section of Scotiabank's site and searched on the word "oracle". As I suspected, there were a significant number of hits (solutions architect, senior programmer analyst, etc.). Has your bf searched for openings directly on the web sites of the big five (banks)? Not all of these postings make it to Monster or other job web sites.

[CharlotteJ]

Charlotte,

For kicks, I just went to the career/current opportunities section of Scotiabank's site and searched on the word "oracle". As I suspected, there were a significant number of hits (solutions architect, senior programmer analyst, etc.). Has your bf searched for openings directly on the web sites of the big five (banks)? Not all of these postings make it to Monster or other job web sites.

Oh no! He has not, neither I did. I am so focused finding a job for myself, that I have no time to look it all up for him.

I met this girl a few days ago who told me that Oracle is kind of no longer in high demand in Canada as it had its days and right now it is all about SAP given the large Canadian companies such as Bell or Rogers all use SAP systems.

But now you mention this, I am going to let him know and who knows, he might find a good job here.

Every time my brains says " give up", my heart says 'don't" . Thank you for the encouragement.

I been talking to a lovely nice young man over the phone this afternoon who works for Rogers and he is now helping me set up a good résumé and pay attention to some details regarding that. He has a lot of experience in that regard.

But believe me, adjusting your résumé and cover letter to each and every job application is really more than just time and energy consuming.

I should say: Europe is indeed 10 years far beyond Canada in that regard.

[qwerbilzak]

Interesting, and a bit scary:

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/highly-educated-immigrants-fare-better-in-us-than-canada/article1871562/

[Baloo]

Perhaps more troubling for those considering immigration to Canada, the immigrant wage gap persists even 11 to 15 years after arrival, according to the study.

Clearly Canada is not all milk and honey, but it is not all bad either.

[imu]

dear Charlotte
your writings  impress me so strongly and , to a great extent  make me courageous to face  the well and woes of life . i find your writings so informative too, for the new comer and those remains there from different corners of the world . thanks indeed for your great contribution in making the prospective immigrants  aware  of.as a prospective  new comer in Canada , i bear many questions and query  regarding immigrating to Canada. if its you, it would be very helpful for us to get some more valuable idea from your part.

first of all,i am a applicant under 4131 and  want to continue this teaching profession  but it seems it would be hrd for first year to get such a job. what do you think? if i get none of this, should i start a starter job, or survival job? how much does it pay?  could we survive with this ?  are those jobs are available? secondly, i want to get a Canadian university degree at post graduate level but it would be very hard for me to pay a lot for the course, in the circumstances, how can i finance the study? is there any government loan or assistance from the govt for permanent resident in Canada for further study? to add more of query,what types of living residence are available for two members at lowest cost? is there any benefits in living suburban toronto other than urban area? your comments are highly invited and appreciated.
imu

[qwerbilzak]

Clearly Canada is not all milk and honey, but it is not all bad either.

Yeah, definitely not all bad.  But the picture sure is difficult for immigrants to make sense of.