Moving to Edmonton, How bad is the idea

Formal training in Leadership, Communications, and Project Management
Formal Qualifications from a recognized institution in the areas of computer systems, file servers, network infrastructure, and IT business analysis
Strong leadership, coaching and mentoring skills
Excellent customer service, communication and interpersonal skills
Five plus years of IT Management and Leadership experience
Eight plus years in the analysis of company needs to make recommendations in the areas of software, hardware; file server, networking, and security needs and improvement
Eight plus years creating solutions and improving processes
Twelve plus years of work experience in the IT field
Experience working alongside operations and executive members to assess/execute needs
Experience with managing and issues resolution in a Windows 2010 environment
Experience supporting an ERP system. Maestro is an asset
Experience supporting a CRM system. Salesforce in an asset
Must thrive in a multi-divisional, fast paced, changing environment
Must work with a high degree of confidentiality

Bachelor’s degree.
10 years of relevant experience in IT infrastructure project management
3 to 5 years in managing and simplifying heterogeneous enterprise IT solutions
Experience in managing and leading infrastructure projects and provide appropriate level of guidance and oversight to ensure successful deliverables.
Possess relevant certifications in the ITIL framework, Project Management, IT Information Security, Microsoft and Storage products/platforms.

The Fall and (Partial) Recovery in Oil Prices: Pessimism and Cost-Cutting


Many jobs and incomes prior to the oil crash in 2015 aren’t coming back. The industry has learned to squeeze margins by drastically reducing costs (and desirability and happiness of jobs).


Flights usually at most are to Calgary or Edmonton - if that. Most jobs only recruit locals to save cost.


Blue-Collar & Trades in the Oilfield: High Pay, High Risk, High Misery


Most of the higher paying jobs are blue-collar, but they tend to have much higher turnover. Lower entry cost, and lower entry time (which is also cost), but lower stability. They are the kind of jobs where you can make $2,500-5,000 a week but you may not work for 6 months, or you work no overtime or just a compressed workweek, then get laid off after the project is done.

It is very hard to gauge how much you make in a year; can be $50,000, $70,000, 150,000, or 200,000.

For example: we are paid here $2,500-3,500/week, but the oil company only does drilling projects in the winter. In the spring, and fall, we then have “shutdowns”, where the plants go into a major maintenance period and have a surge in spending. These gigs usually last a month or less. Winter projects usually go for 2-3 months. All together, on a good one, we’d get 5 months of solid work in a year; approx. $60,000-70,000 of income, plus EI and/or some other odd jobs we do in between.
In the good years, us oilfield truckers and operators can see $100,000-150,000 over a year; $15,000 for a month of work when busy. The electricians or mechanics could see over 200,000 a year.


The New Normal: Happy to make $100,000, or Just to Work


Nowadays it seems like most people are happy just to see $100,000, or just to work.
This is the kind of money people are happy to be working for in the oil patch these days, doing 12 hour days in sub -40C weather, away from home. This around often terrible people who make your workplace seem like a paid prison.
I personally do not think spending years to get your experience built enough to be constantly employable, while going though the above, to be worth just $100,000/year, if that. If you are still in the position to start another worthwhile career and/or go to school, spend your grief, time, and money on that instead. This does not mean that going to school for 4-5 years and $30,000+ of tuition, to make $40,000/year, is a good idea either however. At that rate you may as well complete a trade.
The days of easy quick 6 figures or huge trades income are long gone. That earning power is more so reserved for those who’ve put their time in and also have had luck.


Many “permanent” camp jobs operate on set rotations, such as a week on and a week off. Many blue collar jobs sit in the mid $3x/hour range, and 12 hour shifts are standard. If you take the median, it comes to roughly $81,000 per year income. If you’re a journeyman tradesperson who gets around the $40-45/hour mark, this comes to $90,000-100,000 range. In the old days there was so much work that people could work almost as much as they wanted. This is where the stories of $200,000+ per year income tradespeople came from, as then they’d have their overtime kick in as well. This before many sites reverted to compressed workweeks to avoid paying overtime.


More stable 6-figure salary jobs are far in between but still exist, though more so for people with 5-10+ years of experience and an extensive list of credentials. Project managers, senior supervisors, to name a few.


Other Opportunities in Alberta Outside the Oilfield and Trades


There are still many traditional office jobs key to the functioning of industry in Alberta, such as CPAs, analysts, recruiters, controllers, payroll people, managers, bookkeepers, software engineers, IT people, etc. But competition is extremely fierce and apart from the tech sector, those people are happy to make $50,000-60,000/year. Closer to $70-80K for things like supervisors, operations managers or CPAs, but typically those in those positions have already put many years in.


CNeufeld wrote: ↑ My take, as someone who's worked in the Alberta IT market for the last 20+ years... I started in software development, then "evolved" to the BI/big data type positions. I also transitioned from full time employment to contract about 10 years ago.

I still get contacted on a reasonably regular basis by recruiters wondering if I know someone who might be looking for an opportunity. And over the past 20+ years, I've been without employment or a contract for at most 2 months at a time (knock on wood), and that was because my contract lapsed at the end of November, and it took until the end of January to get my butt back in a chair (poor timing).

As far as lower wages, when I talked to recruiters in the GTA a couple years ago, I found I would have had to take a 25+% pay cut to go east. Combine that with no provincial sales tax, and housing prices that are actually affordable, I think the wage issue is not as significant as some people think. We've got a $500k house in one of the nicest neighborhoods in Edmonton, with a 12 minute commute to downtown.

FWIW, Edmonton isn't my favorite city that I've spent time in, yet here I am. I prefer Calgary when it comes to Alberta cities, but Calgary's labour situation is worse than Edmonton's.

C

Walch1102 wrote: ↑ Don't do it. Edmonton (all of Alberta) is basically dying. You are about 10 years too late to move to Edmonton. It is one of the worst cities I've spent significant time in.

tmkf_patryk wrote: ↑ I think Calgary is nicer but I do think Edmonton is quite good. I mean if your comparing it to Toronto, Toronto is an ugly concrete jungle and extremely boring makes Edmonton look like paradise.
Bad drivers, check, but I had to drive in Toronto and it definitely makes me rethink about our own Alberta drivers. So many close calls and people who are brake checking at random times, and first day of snowfall, driving in Edmonton was like the autobahn compared to TO. I think I could have walked/ran faster.

OP, Edmonton may not be the best city in Canada, but it is pretty good. And weather, -40 aint that bad, after a while it doesn't feel as cold. I worked in -60 (12 hours day) in the territories and you get used to it, no complaints

GateGuardian wrote: ↑ I disagree. If his wife has a good opportunity, she should take it regardless of a down market. They can always find another job after if she gets laid off and have to move again that instead of working in a call center and hating it. Having experience as a professor will open doors to other academic positions at other universities/colleges across Canada.

IshfaqueR4678 wrote: ↑ Thanks to everyone for their feedback. I was trying to get an estimate of the job market in Edmonton. Unfortunately from what I am hearing, it's not that much good news. Nevertheless, let's wait and see what the future holds for us. But it's better to know all your options before jumping in.