Dear Mr. Salman,
Thank you for spending your valuable time and sharing your experiences. It has been highly informative.I have been following this post for long and it has helped me a lot with my landing procedures. I am a Civil Engineer from India with 6 years of Experience (6 months in Dubai). I am single and landed here almost three weeks back.Actually my plan was to pursue an MBA here after landing, but I was not able score the requisite GMAT score. I saw in your posts that you have mentioned that you know a lot of people working as Civil Engineers and the related industry.Like somebody else mentioned in this post, landing in Canada is like we are out of our university and there are struggling years ahead.But I believe that just like how it is when we get out of uni's we have to make thoughtful and informed decisions because these are crucial decisions which define our future in this country.I have not yet decided on a future course of action and I am confused between various options. I have listed the same below, I request you to share your opinion on each of the options, which do you think will be a wise decision.
1.PMP certification - Engineering being a regulated profession, what are the chances of landing with a job if I am going for the PMP certification.Will I get a job in this field without PEng but if I am PMP certified?Is PMP relevant in the construction industry? I checked indeed.ca but most of the jobs posted there asking for PMP, also asks for Canadian work experience and are mainly related to the IT industry.
2.Co-op course in network engineering from Centennial College - Once of my friends who has been here in Canada for over 6 years recommended me to do this, if I am ready to switch my career.He told me who knows some people who are getting a good pay package working in this field.Also doing a co-op course chances are more that the company which we do the internship in will absorb us.I am bit skeptical about this because I will have to lose all the work experience that I have till now, spent a couple of years more in College and work in an entirely new industry. I am not quite sure whether it will be worth all this. Kindly provide your inputs.
3.PEng/EIT - I have a friend from a similar background who landed here last year. He applied for his EIT exams in Jan 2016. He has to take a total of 5 tests for EIT, got dates for 2 in May'16 and 3 in Dec'16 after which he will have to work for two years with Licensed Engineer for two years for himself to take the PEng exam.Like you have repeatedly said in this post, I feel it is like doing our Engineering again.Once we clear EIT is it easy to get a job with a licensed Engineer in Ontario so that we can work with him for two years in order to appear for the PEng exam? What will be the pay like for these two years?. Finally when we get PEng will it be worth all this trouble?
4.Co-op course in Project Management - One of my friends doing his MBA in the university of Manitoba recommended me to do this. He says project management is much in demand here and this course is way cheaper than doing an MBA and it will land you with a job quicker.But when I checked the college websites, but they mention these courses as preparatory courses for taking the PMP exam. Is this recommended?
5.MBA in a good business school - Or should I try taking GMAT once more, get OSAP and try to get into a Business School?
Also I had a query about vehicle insurance, I currently reside in Eglinton Ave East in Scarborough. I found that many cars are available for cheap rates.But what surprised me is the insurance rates in GTA. When I checked the the insurance rate for an used corolla that i found in kijiji on the td bank online vehicle insurance calculator the annual insurance premium was coming more than the cost of the car
. Can you also kindly shed some light into this. I apologise for the long query. Thanking you once again for taking your time off and sharing all this information.
Regards
