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Musician Immigrating to Toronto as a spouse

Joyh

Full Member
Dec 5, 2019
43
3
I have been a freelance violinist and violin teacher in Hong Kong for 12 years, having a master degree in violin performance from the US. Since my wife was raised in Toronto and have citizenship so I would have no problem to get in. She is currently working in Hong Kong too.

For her it’s not that hard to find a job because she graduated in UT and worked in Toronto as a radiographer. But for me , I really don’t know what can I do except teaching violin, and I am not sure does teaching violin make enough for living, cause I heard from my friend in Toronto that very few kids will pick up this instrument. Performing jobs are even harder to get because it needs good connections.

I am opened to other options, but not sure what can I do with my qualifications and experiences. Is it possible Or common for a mid-30 man to switch to a total new field in Canada? What kind of job will be needed in the GTA for the coming years?

Thank you.
 

canuck78

VIP Member
Jun 18, 2017
52,959
12,759
U of T does have a radiographer degree. Maybe you mean Michener institute and radiological technician. There are people who learn the violin but I’m not sure if you can make it a full-time career without only working afternoon, evenings and weekends. Music teacher isn’t known to be a very lucrative career. You may be able to piece together a few different jobs. Some schools still have music programs although many are getting cut. There are some charities that offer music lessons as well. Then there are random events, concerts, etc. Your choice of career depends on what you’re good at and whether you’re willing to go back to school. Various IT jobs will be in demand. You can also try to get a job in administration whether in the government or private sector.
 

Joyh

Full Member
Dec 5, 2019
43
3
U of T does have a radiographer degree. Maybe you mean Michener institute and radiological technician. There are people who learn the violin but I’m not sure if you can make it a full-time career without only working afternoon, evenings and weekends. Music teacher isn’t known to be a very lucrative career. You may be able to piece together a few different jobs. Some schools still have music programs although many are getting cut. There are some charities that offer music lessons as well. Then there are random events, concerts, etc. Your choice of career depends on what you’re good at and whether you’re willing to go back to school. Various IT jobs will be in demand. You can also try to get a job in administration whether in the government or private sector.
Thanks for replying. Yes I am willing to go back to school, and financially I can afford it. But the question is whether employers would hire mid 30s which has no related working experiences, since my experiences are highly unrelated to most jobs. Teacher is probably closer but seems like it’s not feasible now in Ontario.
 

canuck78

VIP Member
Jun 18, 2017
52,959
12,759
Thanks for replying. Yes I am willing to go back to school, and financially I can afford it. But the question is whether employers would hire mid 30s which has no related working experiences, since my experiences are highly unrelated to most jobs. Teacher is probably closer but seems like it’s not feasible now in Ontario.
You can be a private music teacher without a teaching degree or teach through other music programs you just can’t be a licensed teacher in a public school without going to teacher’s college. Plenty of administration jobs are unrelated to a person’s degree. There may be internships that will get you some Canadian experience and experience in a non-music related sector. Ottawa would be a better place for Federal government jobs but there are some jobs in Toronto and provincial jobs. If you want to go back to school RNs will always be needed and IT is always a good option. There are some condensed programs for RNs who oreads have a university education.
 

navinball

VIP Member
Feb 26, 2018
3,663
1,641
U of T does have a radiographer degree. Maybe you mean Michener institute and radiological technician. There are people who learn the violin but I’m not sure if you can make it a full-time career without only working afternoon, evenings and weekends. Music teacher isn’t known to be a very lucrative career. You may be able to piece together a few different jobs. Some schools still have music programs although many are getting cut. There are some charities that offer music lessons as well. Then there are random events, concerts, etc. Your choice of career depends on what you’re good at and whether you’re willing to go back to school. Various IT jobs will be in demand. You can also try to get a job in administration whether in the government or private sector.
You are a musician now?
 

Joyh

Full Member
Dec 5, 2019
43
3
You can be a private music teacher without a teaching degree or teach through other music programs you just can’t be a licensed teacher in a public school without going to teacher’s college. Plenty of administration jobs are unrelated to a person’s degree. There may be internships that will get you some Canadian experience and experience in a non-music related sector. Ottawa would be a better place for Federal government jobs but there are some jobs in Toronto and provincial jobs. If you want to go back to school RNs will always be needed and IT is always a good option. There are some condensed programs for RNs who oreads have a university education.
Yep, I actually considered being a licensed teacher, which I think I can teach music, chinese and history at school. But I have heard that though there will be a lot of retiring for baby boomer teachers, the government is planning to axe a lot of teaching positions. So how would be a prospect of teacher college graduates?

Nurse is definitely not my thing. For IT I am not sure, but I believe it’s not a bad thing to learn a programming code as this might be a basic skill in the future.
 

nayr69sg

Champion Member
Apr 13, 2017
1,571
679
I have been a freelance violinist and violin teacher in Hong Kong for 12 years, having a master degree in violin performance from the US. Since my wife was raised in Toronto and have citizenship so I would have no problem to get in. She is currently working in Hong Kong too.

For her it’s not that hard to find a job because she graduated in UT and worked in Toronto as a radiographer. But for me , I really don’t know what can I do except teaching violin, and I am not sure does teaching violin make enough for living, cause I heard from my friend in Toronto that very few kids will pick up this instrument. Performing jobs are even harder to get because it needs good connections.

I am opened to other options, but not sure what can I do with my qualifications and experiences. Is it possible Or common for a mid-30 man to switch to a total new field in Canada? What kind of job will be needed in the GTA for the coming years?

Thank you.
There is a very considerable Asian population in Toronto.

I am sure there are hundreds if not thousands of families that have their children learning or wanting to learn how to play the violin.

You can advertise in Asian communities. Go to medical clinics that see mostly Asian patients. Go to the Asian restaurants. Ask them if you can leave your business cards or flyers on their counters. Advertise in the Chinese language newspapers.

I am very confident you will have more than enough work just fron there. In the end for these kids they just want to pass the violin exams. If you can help them pass and get distinctions etc. Word of mouth advertising will continue for you. So the advertising is just an initial effort and financial outlay.

Go the private route first. You can always try the public route ie becoming a teacher in the school system in the background. But provincial budgets often go up and down and teachers get laid off etc. It is also harder to get into the system whereas with private you are sort of in control of your own schedule and planning. Less bureaucracy and having to report to central authorities.
 
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canuck78

VIP Member
Jun 18, 2017
52,959
12,759
Would advertise at local schools in your area. Not only Asian children learn the violin. Lots of Canadian children learn piano or violin or both (not that Asian people aren’t Canadian). A convenient location and good teaching is what will matter most to parents. Living in a more affluent neighbourhood will certainly help you find more students but will also raise your cost of living. Music lessons don’t tend to be very lucrative and are usually in the afternoon, early evening and in the daytime during the weekends so that may not work depending on your family life and spouses work hours.

You would have to get into teacher’s college (2year masters program) to teach in Ontario. Technically you can reach at private school but most do prefer Canadian teaching certification especially for language and history classes). There are quite a few Chinese schools for both Chinese families and non-Chinese families. Most of the classes are on the weekend or after school. The issue is that all these jobs will be part-time contract jobs. Teaching jobs have always been hard to get in Ontario although they have somewhat recently cut back enrolment in teacher’s college to help the problem. Due to cutbacks any music program that still exist may be eliminated. You would also have to get into teacher’s College which is very competitive and study for 2 years before qualifying as a teacher. Usually teachers start off doing supply teaching, then get temporary contracts before eventually getting a full-time job. Depending on timing you could get a full-time job in a year or it could take 5-10 years. French teachers are the exception. You really need to look into the rate for music teachers and decide whether you want to work afternoon, evenings and weekends.
 

Joyh

Full Member
Dec 5, 2019
43
3
Thanks for all the advices. It has been a year and a half and I am finally in the GTA area. Have applied for PR and owp last month, and seems like I can’t be working for the rest of 2021 because of the slow processing.
So far I have heard very diverse opinions on the prospect of being a musician in Canada. In general, musicians back in Hong Kong are fairly pessimistic in their job prospects in any western countries, but a lot of younger parents here in Toronto told me that there are high demand in violin teachers within the Asian community. I am yet to meet a real musician here because of the covid lockdown, and it seems like the future of performing freelance musicians is grim because of the pandemic.
 

steaky

VIP Member
Nov 11, 2008
14,298
1,628
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
I went to Best Buy the other day and a team member told me he is a musician.
 

canuck78

VIP Member
Jun 18, 2017
52,959
12,759
Thanks for all the advices. It has been a year and a half and I am finally in the GTA area. Have applied for PR and owp last month, and seems like I can’t be working for the rest of 2021 because of the slow processing.
So far I have heard very diverse opinions on the prospect of being a musician in Canada. In general, musicians back in Hong Kong are fairly pessimistic in their job prospects in any western countries, but a lot of younger parents here in Toronto told me that there are high demand in violin teachers within the Asian community. I am yet to meet a real musician here because of the covid lockdown, and it seems like the future of performing freelance musicians is grim because of the pandemic.
The issue is that unless you are a well known musician it Is very difficult to qualify for immigration. You are married to a Canadian citizen so you can easily be sponsored. Others don’t have that option.
 

Joyh

Full Member
Dec 5, 2019
43
3
I went to Best Buy the other day and a team member told me he is a musician.
The pandemic has simply killed the whole performing music industry, it’s not uncommon to see a lot of musicians doing other jobs to survive. The sad thing is a musician do not have transferable skills for other mid-income jobs.
 

steaky

VIP Member
Nov 11, 2008
14,298
1,628
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
The issue is that unless you are a well known musician it Is very difficult to qualify for immigration. You are married to a Canadian citizen so you can easily be sponsored. Others don’t have that option.
But certain people from Hong Kong has a new pathway to qualify for immigration.
 

Joyh

Full Member
Dec 5, 2019
43
3
The issue is that unless you are a well known musician it Is very difficult to qualify for immigration. You are married to a Canadian citizen so you can easily be sponsored. Others don’t have that option.
Yes, but I have heard that freelance music teachers may qualify for immigration if they have self employed experiences. Maybe this implies that foreign musicians have little chance to live as a performer but may success as an instrument/singing teacher?