Cdn. dollar: Affecting choice to take jobs in U.S.?

[sps]

Hey all,

I'm a reporter with a major Canadian news organization.

I'm researching a story, and have a question for those of you who have considered taking (or have taken) jobs in the United States.

Do you think the rise in the value of the Canadian dollar in recent years has affected career decisions by Canadians? When the Canadian and American dollars are almost at par, is there less of an incentive for Canadians to take a job south of the border?

Respond in the thread, or feel free to send me PMs.

Thanks!

[65505201]

Hey all,

I'm a reporter with a major Canadian news organization.

I'm researching a story, and have a question for those of you who have considered taking (or have taken) jobs in the United States.

Do you think the rise in the value of the Canadian dollar in recent years has affected career decisions by Canadians? When the Canadian and American dollars are almost at par, is there less of an incentive for Canadians to take a job south of the border?

Respond in the thread, or feel free to send me PMs.

Thanks!

I moved to the States due to better career opportunities. Since I will be making and spending in American, the rising value of the Canadian dollar has no effect on me.

In terms of buying big ticket items (computers, cars, etc.), it still seems that the Canadian dollar is stuck at 70c (the last time I checked). This is one of the reasons there is an increase in vehicle imports from the States.

What you should consider is the number of people that are working in the States but have family to support at home (home being in Canada in this case). I'm not sure where you would go to find the relevant stats, but my guess is that this is the population that is most affected.

[hoob]

I'm researching a story, and have a question for those of you who have considered taking (or have taken) jobs in the United States.

Do you think the rise in the value of the Canadian dollar in recent years has affected career decisions by Canadians? When the Canadian and American dollars are almost at par, is there less of an incentive for Canadians to take a job south of the border?

Yes, it was definitely an issue. I most recently declined on a job offer to relocate to a competitor based in Orlando, which would be a move south from my current position in Toronto. I have dual citizenship so even that aspect of relocation was a non-issue.

In the end it came down to money, and quality of life. The final offer, which I declined, was for about 25% more than I make now, in direct exchange rates. That wasn't enough for me to move, whereas the same gap 2 years ago would be a 35-40% increase. The money increase wasn't enough to outweigh the other downsides I saw in considering the offer. Two years ago it may well have been.

The ultimate factors that led me to refuse their job offers were that Orlando and the American work mentality really didn't appeal to me. The Orlando housing market is in taters, the climate isn't particularly enthralling. And the offer itself had issues, where health benefits were hugely complicated (to a Canadian, anyway); touted as an "excellent" plan, I could end up having to pay $4000 per year deductible if anything serious every happened to me. That's a money issue, though not currency-related.

And small subtle things like indicating right on the offer that I'd have to piss in a cup and pass a background check to get the job; neither of which would be an issue, but it just rubbed me the wrong way, and just show a different mindset south of the border.

So I guess overall I mean to say that for some people, such as myself, money isn't the only issue. But the recent currency trends mean it's less likely that job-seekers will be blinded by big-$$$ offers and truly have to weigh the other considerations as well.

[gei]

I can think of a million reasons to not want to live/work in the united states OTHER than our rising currency. Why leave the best country in the world to work down there?

[Starkicker]

hoob & 65505201,

I don't mean to pry, but I was curious - what are your jobs/what jobs did you turn down (or take) in the States?

[supergenius]

Hey all,

I'm a reporter with a major Canadian news organization.

I'm researching a story, and have a question for those of you who have considered taking (or have taken) jobs in the United States.

Do you think the rise in the value of the Canadian dollar in recent years has affected career decisions by Canadians? When the Canadian and American dollars are almost at par, is there less of an incentive for Canadians to take a job south of the border?

Respond in the thread, or feel free to send me PMs.

Thanks!

Absolutely. I was working in the US (Michigan) for over 5 years until last year when I decided that financially I could do better to return to working in Canada. I ended up leaving my job and moved to Calgary where I am much better off.

Just to illustrate, when I started working in the US in 2000 I was making 48k per year, which translated to about 72k CAD. After five years, I was actually making around 5k less than when I started. And this was even after several significant raises and salary adjustments over those years.

[Neovingian]

Yes, it was definitely an issue. I most recently declined on a job offer to relocate to a competitor based in Orlando, which would be a move south from my current position in Toronto. I have dual citizenship so even that aspect of relocation was a non-issue.

In the end it came down to money, and quality of life. The final offer, which I declined, was for about 25% more than I make now, in direct exchange rates. That wasn't enough for me to move, whereas the same gap 2 years ago would be a 35-40% increase. The money increase wasn't enough to outweigh the other downsides I saw in considering the offer. Two years ago it may well have been.

The ultimate factors that led me to refuse their job offers were that Orlando and the American work mentality really didn't appeal to me. The Orlando housing market is in taters, the climate isn't particularly enthralling. And the offer itself had issues, where health benefits were hugely complicated (to a Canadian, anyway); touted as an "excellent" plan, I could end up having to pay $4000 per year deductible if anything serious every happened to me. That's a money issue, though not currency-related.

And small subtle things like indicating right on the offer that I'd have to piss in a cup and pass a background check to get the job; neither of which would be an issue, but it just rubbed me the wrong way, and just show a different mindset south of the border.
So I guess overall I mean to say that for some people, such as myself, money isn't the only issue. But the recent currency trends mean it's less likely that job-seekers will be blinded by big-$$$ offers and truly have to weigh the other considerations as well.

Thats a big issue in the States, several large US companies they make employees take drug & sometimes blood tests. I've known many friends who had to take a piss test just to work retail. It isn't so prevalent in Canada, but I have heard that some CDN companies do and will in the future. Background checks are also not that uncommon in Canada either.

I've had 2 friends who took jobs in the US, recently return to Canada and make more or the same in the same or similar profession. One friend who is a Surgeon in California makes 3X's more than he would in Canada. Even with the exchange. He left and sacfificed a lot to move out there.

[supergenius]

[COLOR="Navy"]

Thats a big issue in the States, several large US companies they make employees take drug & sometimes tests. I've known many friends who had to take a piss test just to work retail. It isn't so prevalent in Canada, but I have herad that some companies do. Background checks are not uncommon.

Extremely common in the US. I had to give a hair sample before I could start working (allows them to get a longer history). Also, my company had the right to retest me anytime/anywhere.

I've had 2 friends who took jobs in the US, recently return to Canada and make more or the same in the same or similar profession. One friend who is a Surgeon in California makes 3X's more than he would in Canada. Even with the exchange. He left and sacfificed a lot to move out there.

Exactly my situation. When the exchange rate was @ 1.5 I was making a killing working in the US over similar jobs in Canada. But now, after returning to Canada, and with the exchange rate @ 1.05, I am making >40% more than I was in the US.

[hoob]

I don't mean to pry, but I was curious - what are your jobs/what jobs did you turn down (or take) in the States?

R&D tech/product manager for an IT shop (dedicated worldwide industry-specific focus.)

[pitz]

The high Canadian dollar has devastated the Canadian engineering employment market for potential job seekers, especially in the electrical/computer engineering end of things, as well as in higher-end IT functions.

The US used to consume a large number of relatively recent graduates and new grads due to their much higher salaries with the strong US dollar. Now, there isn't a lot of incentive for those individuals to move to the US once they graduate, and, as such, the Canadian market is in a severe glut.

And since a lot of domestic manufacturing is dissappearing, this is a double-whammy for EE/CompE grads who heavily participated in those sectors. That, and the demise of the Nortel hiring machine.

Once the oilsands are built out, I suspect the rest of Canada will be reduced to service jobs or financial industry jobs, because there won't be much else left. Kind of like Saudi Arabia, or Dubai, or those other middle east nations that have little other than oil and amusement parks as 'industry'.

[65505201]

hoob & 65505201,

I don't mean to pry, but I was curious - what are your jobs/what jobs did you turn down (or take) in the States?

My area of expertise is biomedical engineering - specifically RnD in medical devices. I'm still looking atm, but at least I am getting bites.

[hoob]

So, whatever happened to this story?

[65505201]

So, whatever happened to this story?

Dunno, but I'm happy to report that I've found a position with the biomedical institute at the University of Minnesota. SUPER flexible hours + FULL tuition benefits (US$15k/yr that I would've had to cough up) FTMFW.

[hoob]

Dunno, but I'm happy to report that I've found a position with the biomedical institute at the University of Minnesota. SUPER flexible hours + FULL tuition benefits (US$15k/yr that I would've had to cough up) FTMFW.

Congrats.... and I'm... indifferently able to report that I still have not determined if refusing the US job offer was the best thing to do.. And I get to meet them all at a professional conference next week too, wonder if they'll have any questions