# Australia or Canada in IT



## tdhaliwal81 (Mar 10, 2014)

Hey Expats,

I have Permanent Resident (PR) Visa for Australia. I also have a job offer for a IT company from Canada who is ready to sponsor me.

I am into IT or ICT field. More specifically in SAP BASIS or you can say SAP Administration. I am currently in India. I planning to move in next 2-3 months. 

So I am at cross roads now. I am hearing from different people that its getting very hard to get a job in IT in Australia. They look for local references and you do not get job if you do not have local references. I checked seek.com many times, and I do normally see around 8-10 jobs related to my field but sometimes as less as 1. Is it really this bad? The other factor i read is about 30-40% higher cost of living in Australia as compared to Canada.

However, I would prefer to get the real view before deciding. I already have PR for Australia but I will start with work permit in Canada and then start PR process after an year i guess. Canada is much colder also. So I would really like to move to Australia if i get equal opportunity.

There are some other points i want to explore

1. How much difference in salary we can expect in IT jobs if we compare Australia and Canada?

2. Which country has more jobs in IT or better prospects?

3. In your opinion, which one should I choose?

4. Are local references really very important to get a job?

I would like to mention it (though it seems funny) that I am good in my field and have expert knowledge and experience. I got appreciations from every client i worked with. And even my Canadian sponsor is my ex-client.

It would be really nice and helpful if you all experienced people can guide me about this. 
Am i thinking right? or thinking on the right path? What all should I do?

Looking forward to hear from you all. I would appreciate your advices or views

Regards,
Dhaliwal


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## Hunter85 (Dec 5, 2013)

man this is hard to answer. If you hate cold and you want to live in a hot climate and you are ready to accept the challange to search for a job and stay unemployed at least for 1-2 months then ozzy, if you say, I dont care about the weather all I need is money then you can go to Canada because the salaries maybe different but expenses will be also very different (ozzy is really expensive). If you already secured a job in canada, I would say go for a vacation to ozzy to activate your PR then accept the job in Canada and see how it goes there, if you are happy in Canada stay there if not go to ozzy. Also please consider your options in Canada, if your employer fires you or if you get unemployed will your visa allow you to stay more and search for a job? And another thing (from my experience) generally when an offer comes from US or Canada it is highly related to costs. They simply couldnt find an American or a Canadian to work for the same job with the salary they offered to you. The salary may seem good now but once you go there you can also see that people who are doing the same job might be receiving twice the salary you have....


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## tipzstamatic (Aug 13, 2013)

Hunter85 said:


> man this is hard to answer. If you hate cold and you want to live in a hot climate and you are ready to accept the challange to search for a job and stay unemployed at least for 1-2 months then ozzy, if you say, I dont care about the weather all I need is money then you can go to Canada because the salaries maybe different but expenses will be also very different (ozzy is really expensive). If you already secured a job in canada, I would say go for a vacation to ozzy to activate your PR then accept the job in Canada and see how it goes there, if you are happy in Canada stay there if not go to ozzy. Also please consider your options in Canada, if your employer fires you or if you get unemployed will your visa allow you to stay more and search for a job? And another thing (from my experience) generally when an offer comes from US or Canada it is highly related to costs. They simply couldnt find an American or a Canadian to work for the same job with the salary they offered to you. The salary may seem good now but once you go there you can also see that people who are doing the same job might be receiving twice the salary you have....


i agree. go where the opportunity is at the moment but activate your PR. if it doesnt turn out well for you in Canada then move to Australia.  Not everyone can get an opportunity offered on the table like that so dont let it go to waste


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## soeid (Oct 19, 2012)

I am SAP Basis as well.
You are lucky to be sponsored a job in Canada. Can you tell us please how you did it?

Anyway, SAP Basis jobs in Australia is very few close to none. You may find several in SEEK but they could be referring only to one position in one client. SAP Basis jobs are mostly in Canberra and needs security clearance which is only for citizens.


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## tdhaliwal81 (Mar 10, 2014)

Thank you for your replies

Your answers seems logical to me. I also think that is right. But somehow in my heart I want to go to Australia 

Weather is not a constraint for me. My main concern is getting the job and in the same field I am working in.

Is it really true that Australian companies asks for local references? And without reference, they will not give you jobs?

@Goran, This job offer is from my ex-client with which I had worked earlier. Are you in Australia? Have you tried for job yet? I agree, there are very less jobs

Regards,


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## Hunter85 (Dec 5, 2013)

well i guess everywhere in the world they will ask for local experience (unless you get an invitation like your case)

meaning if you would have a canadian PR and moved to canada, i believe it would have been more or less the same like in ozzy.

So as I said friend, go to ozzy for a vacation (activate your visa) and then start working in Canada, if you dont mind the cold and if you find out that your salary is good according to what is paid in the market stay there. 

Or once you start working there and you realize it is cold and people dont go outside to party to walk in the park and to enjoy life and just sit home and play with their playstations and you want to have an active outdoor life, save some money in canada and then start your journey in ozzy.


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## footinmouth (Jun 10, 2012)

Hi Dhaliwal,

if your Aussie PR was granted recently that means that you have nearly 5 years until expiry. You can take the Canadian offer and take a 2 week trip to Australia before travelling to Canada to activate your PR. At the same time you can try and apply for job interviews in Australia and experience for yourself how the job market in Australia feels like.
After moving to Canada you can give it a shot for couple of years, and if you are still not satisfied with Canadar you have enough time to return to Australia and start your job hunt once again within the next 5 years.
I know it will be painful switching between 2 countries but atleast you would not live with the pain of Not knowing what life would have been like if you had done something else. 

and while you are in Canada, make sure to vacation and enjoy the sights and sounds around here, make the most of your time here. 

Try and make your life a vacation than trying to take time out of life for vacation. 

I came to US after activating my Australian PR, I am still trying to make up my mind whether to go to Australia or continue here. btw, am a SAP consultant too.


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## EE-India (May 16, 2009)

tdhaliwal81 said:


> Thank you for your replies
> 
> Your answers seems logical to me. I also think that is right. But somehow in my heart I want to go to Australia
> 
> ...


It depends which part of Canada you are talking about and whether you move there with family or single . Eastern Canada ( Toronto ) is very moderate weather and manageable , family will enjoy but West ( Alberta ) is too cold , it takes minimum 2 years for kids and Asian family to get used for cold weather , by that time you will be thinking about moving to Australia !

I worked in both counties , in my opinion ( though I am not in to IT ), salary in Canada is generally less but saving is more , especially when you incorporate a company or work as an independent consultant, but you may have to revalidate this if you work as a staff , u can use the online tax calculators 

At the moment Australian economy is struggling !


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## australia.ind (Jan 24, 2013)

tdhaliwal81 said:


> Thank you for your replies
> 
> Your answers seems logical to me. I also think that is right. But somehow in my heart I want to go to Australia
> 
> ...


I work in a company where they do only SAP.One of my teammate is on bench and then cudn't find any job here,hardly 1-2 openings in the whole country.(He got his citizenship and in Oz for 5 years)

Finally he applied for E3 and travelling to US.


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## espresso (Nov 2, 2012)

Hi tdhaliwal81, 

we love Australia but have never been to Canada, so it's hard to advise. Like everybody else said, I'd definitely recommend to activate your Australian PR, which gives you a 5-year time window to make up your mind. _footinmouth_'s advice is good - ideally, you check out both countries before you move .


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## ozbound12 (Mar 23, 2012)

As others have said, Canada is a big place and there are some distinct differences between say Vancouver and Winnipeg and Toronto. (I don't think you mentioned where the job is...)

I find Melbourne and Toronto to be very similar (climate aside obviously).


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## tdhaliwal81 (Mar 10, 2014)

Thanks You all for you replies.

I liked your views and I have said YES to my prospective employer. I will come to Australia and activate PR. Or Will try to search for work for a month or so. Because Canada process will also take sometime. Lets see how it goes. 

I would really like to know your experience about SAP BASIS jobs. We have couple of people (footinmouth and Goran) working on SAP BASIS who have replied on this forum. So how did it go with you? Have you got job or any interview calls?

Regards,
Tajinder


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## Karansehgal11 (Mar 10, 2018)

This is really helpful .🙏🏻


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