What's a good salary for vancouver?

ripcord

Hi!

Thinking of moving to Canada in the next few months. More than likely Vancouver, but if I can't get work there, probably Toronto.

I work in IT (computer programmer) and have 10+ years of experience. I've seen jobs I've been qualified for, advertised with salaries of 80k to 90k.

Was just wondering if 85k Canadian dollars is a good salary for Vancouver? I've visited there, but don't have a grasp of the cost of living. Would it allow for a social life and saving a bit? Don't need to live in a penthouse in the city just somewhere safe and clean maybe 30/40 mins outside on the subway.

Thanks!

fergusb

IT Salaries vary a bit in Vancouver, but 80-100 for 10+ years I would say would be reasonable, if you have management experience etc could get more. In terms of if its a good salary.... again depends on who you talk to. House prices are crazy, and rent isn't cheap either, nor are groceries. But you'd definitely have decent disposable income. You can get a decent 1 bed apartment for around 1k a bit outside downtown (Main st).

Many companies also include Bonus's, health care and sometimes gym memberships which probably wouldn't be included in the base wage quoted. But then holidays are often a premium, many companies advertise 10 days, but with negotiation 3/4 weeks should be achievable.

What area of IT are you in? There are plenty of jobs in Vancouver and lots of big name companies constantly looking for people.

ripcord

To be more specific, I'm a computer programmer specialising in front-end UI. Several years of Java but last few years have been JavaScript, HTML etc. It's actually 14 years experience at this point but I never moved into management (no interest to be honest).

Have worked in major multinational companies. Obviously I haven't researched this much - I just love Vancouver! I have 1 and a half years left on my IEC visa so I thought I'd give it a go!

Good to know there are opportunities for me - I heard in passing that it it tough to get a job in Vancouver.

Faith

They say that minimum living wage in Vancouver is $19/hr, so with that upwards, you can lead a comfortable life. I've found that to be true, for sure.

wittyusername

ripcord wrote: »

To be more specific, I'm a computer programmer specialising in front-end UI. Several years of Java but last few years have been JavaScript, HTML etc. It's actually 14 years experience at this point but I never moved into management (no interest to be honest).

Have worked in major multinational companies. Obviously I haven't researched this much - I just love Vancouver! I have 1 and a half years left on my IEC visa so I thought I'd give it a go!

Good to know there are opportunities for me - I heard in passing that it it tough to get a job in Vancouver.

I have very similar experience to yourself - I was able to live quite comfortably in Toronto on $85,000 but I started off making $5000 less than that. Make sure you start on at least $85,000 - I believe Vancouver is a little more expensive than Toronto.

circular flexing

Looks like $85000 works out just over $5000 a month after tax/cpp/ei. You should be able to live quite comfortably on that, assuming no dependents and depending on your lifestyle.

onworld

There are tonnes of front-end development jobs available in Vancouver at the moment. Salaries range from 70-90 from what I can see. If you earned 80-90 you could have your own one bed apartment, live comfortable and save some money too very easily.

ripcord

onworld wrote: »

There are tonnes of front-end development jobs available in Vancouver at the moment. Salaries range from 70-90 from what I can see. If you earned 80-90 you could have your own one bed apartment, live comfortable and save some money too very easily.

Great news thanks! Now I just need to figure out where to start looking!

onworld

ripcord wrote: »

Great news thanks! Now I just need to figure out where to start looking!

Try these sites:

bctechnology.com
techvibes.com/vancouver
ziprecruiter.com
glassdoor.com

Here are a list of tech companies in Vancouver/Burnaby you could target directly. Best of luck!

A Thinking Ape
Absolute Software
Advisor Websites
airG
Allocadia
Amazon Vancouver
AppNeta
Archiact
Arista Networks
Avigilon
Awesense Wireless
Axiom Zen
BAMSAS
Bandai Namco
Bench
BitLit
Blackbird Interactive
BroadbandTV
Broadcom
CA Technologies
Capcom Vancouver
Central 1 Credit Union
Chimp
Clevest
Clio
CounterPath
D-Wave
Dali Wireless
DemonWare
District
EA Canada
East Side Games
Elastic Path
Email2
Engenic Communications
Ericsson
Eventbase
Facebook Vancouver
Fortinet
Global Relay
Honeywell
Hootsuite
Hothead Games
HSBC
Intel Vancouver
iQMetrix
IUGO Mobile Entertainment
jSonar
Lightspeed GMI
MailChannels
MDA
Metafor
Microsoft Vancouver
Mimik Technologies
Mobify
Mozilla
NuData Security
OpenDNS
OSI Maritime Systems
PayByPhone (PayPoint)
Picatic
Ping Identity
Plentyoffish
PMC-Sierra
Point Grey Research
Procurify
Recon Instruments
Relic Entertainment
Roadhouse Interactive
Safe Software
Salesforce
Samsung Canada
SAP Vancouver
Siaras
Sierra Wireless
Simba Technologies
Sony ImageWorks
Sophos
SpaceList
Star Solutions
StemCell
TELUS
Teradici
Thales Group
Trader Corporation
Trulioo
Unbounce
Visier
Vision Critical
Wishpond
X Plus Z / Ratchet Health

ripcord

onworld wrote: »

Try these sites:

bctechnology.com
techvibes.com/vancouver
ziprecruiter.com
glassdoor.com

Here are a list of tech companies in Vancouver/Burnaby you could target directly. Best of luck!

A Thinking Ape
Absolute Software
Advisor Websites
airG
Allocadia
Amazon Vancouver
AppNeta
Archiact
Arista Networks
Avigilon
Awesense Wireless
Axiom Zen
BAMSAS
Bandai Namco
Bench
BitLit
Blackbird Interactive
BroadbandTV
Broadcom
CA Technologies
Capcom Vancouver
Central 1 Credit Union
Chimp
Clevest
Clio
CounterPath
D-Wave
Dali Wireless
DemonWare
District
EA Canada
East Side Games
Elastic Path
Email2
Engenic Communications
Ericsson
Eventbase
Facebook Vancouver
Fortinet
Global Relay
Honeywell
Hootsuite
Hothead Games
HSBC
Intel Vancouver
iQMetrix
IUGO Mobile Entertainment
jSonar
Lightspeed GMI
MailChannels
MDA
Metafor
Microsoft Vancouver
Mimik Technologies
Mobify
Mozilla
NuData Security
OpenDNS
OSI Maritime Systems
PayByPhone (PayPoint)
Picatic
Ping Identity
Plentyoffish
PMC-Sierra
Point Grey Research
Procurify
Recon Instruments
Relic Entertainment
Roadhouse Interactive
Safe Software
Salesforce
Samsung Canada
SAP Vancouver
Siaras
Sierra Wireless
Simba Technologies
Sony ImageWorks
Sophos
SpaceList
Star Solutions
StemCell
TELUS
Teradici
Thales Group
Trader Corporation
Trulioo
Unbounce
Visier
Vision Critical
Wishpond
X Plus Z / Ratchet Health

Wow thanks!! I really appreciate it!

(Surely one of them will employ me! :pac:)

AmyPL

If you're interested in working in a startup, set up a profile on Angel.co- lots of companies use it here and I was able to organise some interviews through it before coming over. It also shows salary ranges which can be handy.

MarkJD

I work for Dell and transferred from Ireland to Canada and im also based in Vancouver. Couldnt reccomend the company enough and we do have multiple openings for Vancouver but mostly based on the Sales / Pre Sales / Product Specialist side of things but i do know we have a development hub in Vancouver for the West.

http://jobs.dell.com/ca/vancouver-jobs

From that list i do see two programming / scripting roles if they fall under your area (Sorry im a specialist on the Server / Storage / Networking for Hardware)

The thing i will say is that while we do have an office it would be most likely a work remote based role as HQ is out of Toronto for Canada. People do go into the office though but just thought id point it out as some people either love that or hate that. Let me know if your interested or anyone else for that matter. If you are interested in applying get me your CV and ill make sure it goes straight in front of the hiring manager

ripcord

MarkJD wrote: »

I work for Dell and transferred from Ireland to Canada and im also based in Vancouver. Couldnt reccomend the company enough and we do have multiple openings for Vancouver but mostly based on the Sales / Pre Sales / Product Specialist side of things but i do know we have a development hub in Vancouver for the West.

http://jobs.dell.com/ca/vancouver-jobs

From that list i do see two programming / scripting roles if they fall under your area (Sorry im a specialist on the Server / Storage / Networking for Hardware)

The thing i will say is that while we do have an office it would be most likely a work remote based role as HQ is out of Toronto for Canada. People do go into the office though but just thought id point it out as some people either love that or hate that. Let me know if your interested or anyone else for that matter. If you are interested in applying get me your CV and ill make sure it goes straight in front of the hiring manager

That's great, thanks! It will take me a while to get up to speed on things and get my CV together but I will be in touch!

ripcord

Hi all,

Based on responses here, I would be comfortable on an annual $90K salary.

I'm now wondering how this equates to a contract role?

Is it the same as Ireland, where a full-time role would have an annual salary + benefits, but a contract role would be higher gross yet not include benefits?

What daily rate should I hope to get to equal the 90K per year (assuming a standard number of days holidays)?

Sorry for all the questions. I'm just starting to look in to this and don't know the actual ins and outs of working over in Canada. If anyone has a link for info on paid holidays, sick leave, company benefits etc. it would be much appreciated!

fergusb

Thats correct. as a contractor you don't get any benefits, holidays or sick leave. You are also the first to go in tough times. The other side of that is you can in theory take whatever holidays you want in between contracts (just unpaid).

Standard in Vancouver is 10-15 days leave, so on the assumption you are doing a 35 hour week, and taking in 15 days plus 12 Bank Holidays, plus 3 sick days which would be not working for 30 days. it would be a bit less than 48 weeks, so round down to 47 weeks.... which if you want 90k pre tax will be around $55 per hour (maths could be wrong....).

Also bear in mind the tax rate as a contractor is lower and you can write down rent, internet, computers, phone bills etc etc as company expenses. But on the other side you have to create a company which costs money and takes time and do annual corporate tax returns, which take time and cost money as well.

Faith

Depends if you mean contractor as in self employed, or working but not in a permanent position (I'm not too familiar with the different terms, tbh). I have a 1-year contract with my job and I get full benefits, vacation time, sick pay, bank holiday pay etc. All the same as a permanent employee, but I'm just not guaranteed of having a job next year.

If you're planning to come over on an IEC, I'd double check whether you can set up a business in Canada. I seem to remember someone telling me that there are restrictions around it.

ripcord

Faith wrote: »

Depends if you mean contractor as in self employed, or working but not in a permanent position (I'm not too familiar with the different terms, tbh). I have a 1-year contract with my job and I get full benefits, vacation time, sick pay, bank holiday pay etc. All the same as a permanent employee, but I'm just not guaranteed of having a job next year.

If you're planning to come over on an IEC, I'd double check whether you can set up a business in Canada. I seem to remember someone telling me that there are restrictions around it.

Hi! Thanks for the info. I'm looking at contract roles - they seem to advertise salary per hour, as opposed to annually. So I'm assuming its the same as here, where I wouldn't get any benefits (as they are just "contracting" the work to me).

You seem to be a permanent employee, who has a time limit on their contract. This might be different again. Do you need to fill in your own tax returns? Did you setup your own company?

Thanks for info - I'll look into setting up a business on the IEC.

Faith

Maybe it depends on the company. I get paid by the hour because (in theory) my hours are variable. I've just applied to another job that is a maternity leave position, and that was also advertised as an hourly wage, but full time hours with full benefits.

I am an employee - I didn't set up my own company. But everyone does their own tax returns in Canada, also. I imagine it's just more simple when you're an employee rather than self-employed.

fergusb

My info above is based on being Self-Employed.... paid by the hour etc.

I setup my own company when I first arrived, there is no issue being on IEC Visa and had no issues setting the company up. One very important not however is if you want to stay longer, owning a company (which you work through) does not count for Permanent Residency. You are just receiving dividends, so not a salaried employee therefore you are not getting Canadian work. A friend of mine worked as a contractor for 2 years, but could not get PR so had to leave after trying to get PR down many routes.

That's the main reason I stopped contracting and went permanent.

Frank Bullitt

Working for yourself, as mentioned already, has huge benefits. You really can write off anything and everything, so if you were to do that it might be an idea to meet an accountant about it so you know fully what you have to keep tabs on, know what is eligible to be written off and also how to do your deductions for tax.

I worked for myself for my first year here (UI designer with a bit of UX), found lots of opportunity and am now working in a good company who are helping me out with sponsorship, very good wage and benefits (which kick in once my residency is sorted out).

I know a fair amount of developers and its a great city for it. It would depend if you were interested in staying longer in Canada, so figuring out if the self route or full-time would be better. As mentioned, working for yourself doesn't really help you with residency.

Lots to consider, but its a great city for your position. And working in that area as well, I can tell you that you won't be short on choice.

ripcord

Gintonious wrote: »

Working for yourself, as mentioned already, has huge benefits. You really can write off anything and everything, so if you were to do that it might be an idea to meet an accountant about it so you know fully what you have to keep tabs on, know what is eligible to be written off and also how to do your deductions for tax.

I worked for myself for my first year here (UI designer with a bit of UX), found lots of opportunity and am now working in a good company who are helping me out with sponsorship, very good wage and benefits (which kick in once my residency is sorted out).

I know a fair amount of developers and its a great city for it. It would depend if you were interested in staying longer in Canada, so figuring out if the self route or full-time would be better. As mentioned, working for yourself doesn't really help you with residency.

Lots to consider, but its a great city for your position. And working in that area as well, I can tell you that you won't be short on choice.

Great news there, thanks. I was still unsure what the market was like for UI work. Personally I'm trying to branch from development into UX, but I doubt I will get a UX role with only pure development experience. I've resigned to the fact that I'll have to get a development role first, then try to move from there.

I would be interested in staying long term, and would like to get PR as soon as possible. I sent out a few short emails to a few recruitment agencies. Only got one reply so far. They advised that most of their clients will only offer permanent roles to those with PR, but getting PR will be harder if I can only get contract work!!

I checked the new Express System for the Federal Skilled Worker visa. With my 15 years experience, Masters degree and fluent English, My score is just over the required level. Now obviously, a full year work experience in Canada would get me extra points and put me ahead of the queue, but I might try that route now and see how I get on.

Frank Bullitt

ripcord wrote: »

Great news there, thanks. I was still unsure what the market was like for UI work. Personally I'm trying to branch from development into UX, but I doubt I will get a UX role with only pure development experience. I've resigned to the fact that I'll have to get a development role first, then try to move from there.

I would be interested in staying long term, and would like to get PR as soon as possible. I sent out a few short emails to a few recruitment agencies. Only got one reply so far. They advised that most of their clients will only offer permanent roles to those with PR, but getting PR will be harder if I can only get contract work!!

I checked the new Express System for the Federal Skilled Worker visa. With my 15 years experience, Masters degree and fluent English, My score is just over the required level. Now obviously, a full year work experience in Canada would get me extra points and put me ahead of the queue, but I might try that route now and see how I get on.

If you decide to head to Van, drop me a PM and we can chat.