Other than the lucky few who really do become rock stars, the path to the future as a grown up is straight, narrow and predictable: go to school, get into university, land a decent job.
But before rushing off to get that degree in English Literature, wise high school students and their parents might want to listen to an influential group of US-based economists who are pushing for alternatives like vocational and career training or corporate apprenticeships. This makes good sense in Canada, where the bulk of skilled workers – plumbers or electricians for example – are nearing retirement age.
“It is true that we need more nanosurgeons than we did 10 to 15 years ago. But the numbers are still relatively small compared to the numbers of nurses’ aides we’re going to need. We will need hundreds of thousands of them over the next decade,” economist and professor Richard K. Vedder, told the New York Times. He’s the founder of the Centre for College Affordability and Productivity, a research nonprofit in Washington. According to US stats, of the top ten growing job categories only two require university degrees: accounting (a bachelor’s) and postsecondary teachers (a doctorate). But this growth is expected to be tiny compared to the need for registered nurses, home health aides, customer service representatives and store clerks – jobs where a bachelor’s degree is strictly optional.
Further, this coterie of contrarian economists parade evidence such as statistics showing the high likelihood that no more than half of those who began a four-year bachelor’s degree program in the fall of 2006 will get that degree within six years – that’s a lot of time and money spent with no degree, or job opportunity, to show for it.
In this country, about two thirds of all job openings over the next several years will be in occupations usually requiring postsecondary education, but that can mean college or apprenticeship training, not just university, according to studies by Human Resources and Skills Development Canada. The two areas facing imminent labour shortages? Management (what with all those Boomers retiring) and health care.
The HRSDC suggests shortages will mean an acute need for physicians (obviously this requires a university education), therapy and assessment professionals, head nurses and nurse aides (which may not). Other health occupations, such as registered nursing assistants, audiology technicians, physiotherapy technicians and medical radiation technologists, are also facing shortages.
Outside of the health care system, the HRSDC predicts shortages in oil and gas drilling and services, home builders and renovators, contractors and supervisors in trades.
So, while a university education may still be its own reward, it is no longer the one and only way to a bright shiny future. In fairness however, for most of us, it remains a better bet than rock stardom.
I live in the USA and I have a Master of Library Science degree. While I see a fair amount of positions open at libraries of various kinds in Canada, I was wondering if anyone with a background in librarianship living outside Canada (especially from the US or Mexico) actually can obtain employment in a library in any Canadian province. Even though I am not foolish to think that NAFTA would benefit average citizens of either the US or Mexico looking for employment in Canada, I still think it’s an outrage that I (& others like me) are unable to benefit from NAFTA, especially since not only do I live very close to Canada but librarians in Canada have close ties to the ALA & other American library associations. I have also tried (in vain) to find employment in Canada in any library.
So true………………………………
Barley finished high school, Being a hardcore Dyslexic University was not an option.
10 years working in a factory was enough. Became self employed in a small mfg company. While doing that taught myself to program using VB, VBA , went on to work for the largest trade floors in the world as a consultant, made well over 200k on most gigs.
Schooling is one way to learn, it does not work for everyone. Find something you love doing, do it, you will find after awhile that you have become one of the best, after that you need not worry about money.
Apply to more rural areas of each of the provinces and you will find a very positive welcoming committee if you have the qualifications. There are alot of beautiful areas in Canada that have Universities in the Northern parts of the provinces that would be happy to see your application.
My Dear Jeannine,
Save your money and do what I am doing, creative freelancing work and operating an elite gentlemen’s after-work club for all the hard-working business execs in Canada. It no longer pays to spend hard earned $$$ to get university degrees in CA as there are NO jobs in Canada unless you luck out and can go via the ‘inside job’ route; someone knows you etc…
And so many business are closing down here or laying off certain sectors to ship work overseas where they can pay someone $6/hr as opposed to the minimum legal standard wage here of $10.25/hr. It is plain ridiculous especially with the heavy, continuous arrival of immigrants. So think in terms of free lancing in an area that you enjoy and that elites really need. It really pays to be a fun bunny these days. Many have spend their savings to do programs in CA that told them a job is guaranteed, only to be told no job, a month before program completion while doing their clinical internship. And these are graduates with distinc!
tion; straight A students! Why spend $500-600 to vet a degree from another first world country when they cannot guarantee a job in writing? The more you do the research, the more you realize the situation. Canada is really a great place for simple families, refugees fleeing abuse and or dangerous foreign countries; it will take years to land that $$$ position without someone helping you out from the inside. Network and join non-profit organizations related to library work.
Good luck. Things take time; hang in there.
You have to have a bachelor’s degree to become a registered nurse
Regarding my particular case, with a Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Toronto, I never could get a decent job in Canada. That’s the reason why I decided to leave Canada for good. I don’t see good job opportunities there, and I don’t think that will change soon.
This is one of the worst industralised nation (Canada),my sentiments are based on the fact that there is NO fairness when it comes to honoring the learned.There is so much hidden marginilization. My advice is get your Masters and leave this country for good and never think of coming back. And when you decide to come back come and get your PHD then go somewhere else where you will be appreciated. If we “foreigners” keep on doing this for the next few years I think the law makers(only those with Vision) might change their attitudes.
I have a PhD in Chemistry from a reputable Canadian school. Unfortunately there are few jobs in Canada for PhD level chemists so it seems that it was a waste of time and effort for me. Don’t do it if you are thinking about it! Canada’s economy won’t support you.
Canada is a terrible place to work. In Canada a degree is irrelevant without work experience. In Canada the general state of affairs is to pay a university grad much less than a carpenter or a plumber.
As a foreign-trained electrical engineer, I realized my license and diploma is not recognized in Canada. But I was able to get a project coordinator job through free online learning.
This website is a great help
http://electricuniversity.blogspot.com/
Free Continuing Education and E-learning for Electrical Engineer
I have lived in Canada for 22 years (coming from the U.S.), was let go from an engineering position a year ago after 20 years there. At my age (54) I find that I am unemployable in any engineering job now due to age discrimination and I have been job searching in both countries with no luck. I will be looking to work overseas in the Middle East or Africa even in some non-engineering role because I certainly cannot obtain any offers in North America. What I have experienced in increasingly common among engineers today.
All the education in the world can’t help you if the demand for your particular career is poor, it’s a supply-and-demand world and if what you do can be easily done much cheaper overseas you will also be out of luck. A lot of engineers are finding that out.
University is a joke! I recently graduated from university here in Toronto, receiving a degree in commerce (won’t say where…wouldn’t want to damage their reputation). I can honestly say that it was a waste of 4 years time.
The norm in society nowadays is exactly as this article states: do well in high school, get into university, and land a great job. The problem? The whole education system is messed up. Many students and I spent more time feeling stressed out and confused ‘learning’ vague theories from professors who didn’t teach (and didn’t care about education in general) than actually absorbing useful material that can be applied to the real world – partly because useful material was never on the agenda!
The result? The system produces individuals ill-prepared and not qualified to ‘land a great job.’ On top of it all, practically every employer out there is looking for candidates with 3-5 years of solid experience – who on earth can obtain that amount of industry experience while juggling 10-15 courses per year?
This leaves most university students – particularly those who didn’t specialize in a specific professional area like say accounting – having to hustle and fight for measly $20-$30K a year contract jobs. Not bad, but much less than what was promised by career and student counselors back in high school and everyone else who touted taking this damn route to life. A person fresh out of high school could have easily worked their way up the corporate ladder in 4 years time and ultimately earn more than someone like myself who just graduated!
Final Word: A university degree isn’t worth the paper it’s printed on.
I’m a Mechanical Engineer but I now realise that Engineering isn’t a job to depend on because it is an Art of Applied Science.
Our current world need more Service and Entertainment jobs than creative jobs ( Like Engineering ). That’s why we need electricians, plumbers, nurses, physicians, technicians and Entertainers.
I hate to see the new tiltles like ” Sales Engineer ” and ” Project Engineer ” . Engineers are only supposed to apply principles of Science where needed.
Discover your talents, make use of your resources and develop it and you will be better than any Engineer.
And I thought I just had bad luck!!! I came to Canada as an international student to do a Masters degree in Economics. I finished my program back in December. To date still no meaningful work and seriously thinking about going to learn a trade or something like that. My former classmates who are also international students aren’t doing much better either. I try not to view this Masters degree as a waste of money especially since I think I spent almost $30,000 to get the paper. Also to echo the sentiments of some of the posters before me – a university degree is worthless in Canada if you don’t have RELEVANT work experience to go along with it.
agree with all the comments before. A university degree is a waste of time. Experience doesn’t even seem to mean anything either. I’ve worked a few years after i left high school before i decided to go to university. I thought it would be a terrific idea to broaden my knowledge and land a much better job. What do i get in return? I get to be in debt for no reason. I can hardly find a decent job that pays well. I get to sit with people who have less experience than me in the financial industry and those that don’t have a university degree but for some reason are getting paid more than i am. What else do it get? I get contract jobs. For some reason i can’t seem get something permanent. This has been going on ever since i left university 3 years ago.
I do sympathize other engineers out there. I have also a degree in the engineering but I have also experienced these frustration feelings. My advice is, do not give up.
Thank you guys for your comments. I am a newcomer arriving in Canada three years ago. I hold a master degree in agronomy from Russia and worked overseas as an agronomist for eight years. For my supprise, My degree and my foreign work experience is not recongnized here in canada. In addition, there is many barriers to get started in my field in Canada. Another thing, an agronomist has also to be licensed in each province in which he decide to live in. Why there is no commun ground within all the agrology institutes in Canada. I think that is not fair. So I have to start a new career . I was considering going back to get an university degree! don’t really know now!
Fascinating reading…we all seem to be living the same life in various ways! I have experienced all of the frustrations that have been outlined, but I am surviving…and am well paid. What I have found is that the piece of paper may help, but is not necessary if you take the attitude that you must determine what needs to be done and get on with it. The discipline is not important, nor is whether you work for someone else or yourself. If you see something that needs to be done, just do it! Create a work group to join all the agronomist colleges together and change the rules about what education is recognized in the place you want to work. Design something useful – it has not yet all been done! Improve something that already exists – soft or hardware. Network like crazy. Develop several ways of earning money. Stop complaining…no one is listening. Don’t expect me to…I’m off earning my next dollar!
Some times you see that there is no need to go to school.You spent alot of your time to go to College or University but you end up working in the factory with high school drop out who are supervisors and managers after working for many years gained experiece or were taken by relatives. It becomes very hard to penetrate the barrier to the top jobs. If you talk of Education the next thing in line is to find away of kicking your ass away especially when you are a visible minority in particular those of the African decent.
The bad news is that this times not even experience helps.
I have more than 5 years of succesful experience in a high tech industry and I lost my job due to outsourcing. After one year still no job (I did somne other school in between to enhance my employment chances).
In most interviews I was mostly asked soft skills questions, that I master (my opinion:), and no interest in job skills?
If no connections, no jobs. Period. No PhD helps you unless they know you and want to help you, and that’s sad when you have soo much to offer.
Now I work on knowing people and get “known” whatever that means
and master the HR BS for interviews.
Good luck to all !!!
It’s a very sad thing when a person graduates at a Canadian University and has second class ESL skills. Yet this happens all of the time. Landing a good job sometimes just depends on the level of aggression the person takes. University pays out to the people who know this, and why not be proud of accomplishing your degree instead of whining. Even if your english skills are at a grade 5 level. You can slip through as long as you’re agressive as well. Learn to be fluent in English before complaining because communication in the workplace is probably one of the most important things. And if you can’t learn English try getting work where you can communicate effectively.
I graduated last May, with an emphasis in microelectronics and power, no one has called me back. I am actually working at Wal-Mart, it is the most humbling thing to have an exceptional degree and have to stock shelves. If I don’t get a job soon I will be applying for Army.
Some wise person defined education as the process by which you learn more and more about less and less until you know everything about nothing. A sad consequence of specialization is that very few people end up with a job that is closely related to what they studied in university, especially at the post grad level. But speaking from the perspective of having hired a large number of new grads over the years, a degree is proof that you can learn. If you go into the job market with an attitude of being ready for whatever challenge the employer wants to put in front of you, you will find openings in areas that you probably don’t even know about right now.
Best of luck (yeah – it takes that too).
Just a little reality check for some of the posters.
There is a very clear process for non-CDN trained engineers to apply to get their foreign credentials reviewed and to obtain your license to practice here. If your qualifications are truly up to the required standards, you’re good to go. Or maybe you may be asked to take an exam or two. The reason for the process’s existence is to try to prevent unqualified people from practicing engineering and to try and maintain a certain level of quality in the profession. If your application gets turned down, well……maybe your qualifications just aren’t up to our standards??? It hasn’t come up for me (yet) but if I was to emigrate to say Germany, I would kinda expect that I might have to prove that my Ontario qualifications meet their standards – I wouldn’t expect to just walk in and get the OK to practice automatically.
As for not being able to find suitable employment in your field: Please bear in mind that, particularly today, there are tons of Canadian born and Canadian trained people in every field including engineers, new grads up to senior management types, who are either unemployed or under employed out there – everyone is having it hard including me. The only comfort I can offer to others is, I’ve seen demand cycle up and down 4 or 5 times over the years – I for one still believe it will swing the other way within the next year or two.
I am amazed over all the complaining about work in Canada. Ever since I arrived with my european education, the only concern was “can you do the job?”. Now after more than 40 years of full time work, I am semi-retired and have no problem finding small contract jobs.
It has a lot to do with attitude … and not only on the prospective employers side ;-)
And by the way, I do not have university education.
There is a greater demand for trades people than engineers.
A lot of it has to do with how you do your job searching. I graduated from engineering last may, and live in a small city with no industry. Consulting is pretty much the only engineering work around here. Most of my friends went to other provinces to look for work, some more successfully than others. I didnt want to leave, so I applied to all the consulting firms that hired people in my field, regardless of if there was a specific job opening posted for an entry level engineer or not. Most places I just left it at that and never heard back from again. There was one company that stood out to me as a great place to work though, so I applied in person, develloped a personal connection with the receptionist, kept calling every couple weeks to see if they had had a chance to look at my resume yet, and after a career fair I let them know I was looking into other opportunities but would really like to hear back from them first. They called me the next day for an interview.
The in terview went great, but I had to keep calling every few weeks to see if they had gotten the budget to hire a new person yet. Eventually a few days before I graduated they called to ask if I could start the next Monday as they had a lot of new projects coming up and thought I could help. Moral of the story is persistance, good communication, and positive attitude paid off. I never heard back from any of the employers where I submitted a resume and never followed up. It’s a rough economy right now, and most of the people I know who didn’t get jobs out of school are the ones who were not as aggressive pursuing them.
I have a Masters in Psych. Counselling plus two post-graduate degrees in Play Therapy and Art Therapy. After graduation my career for the next two years was looking for a job – each day, every day. Finally landed one at $25.00 per hour – the same I was making as a Day Care Educator before my 8 years of university and many years of student loan debt. Now, unemployed again. I have spent more years looking for a job than actually having one. It is my view that University is only for the rich because there is no guarantee that you will be able to support yourself when you get out.
I wanted to express my deepest sympathies to all of those who have posted here expressing their frustrations about finding work in their chosen field. It’s important to keep in mind that in the current state of the Canadian economy with a relatively high national unemployment rate of 7.8%, finding a job is a considerable challenge, whether you have a university degree or not (I recall that I have spent a period of 6 months unemployed between my one job and another, and I know how draining it can be).
I am currently employed as a statistician in the health sector (where a Masters degree is an absolute must), and there does seem to be a relatively healthy demand for people of my services, given the number of recruiters from both Canada and the US who have contacted me about possible opportunities. So the simple answer is that a university education is still critical for a wide range of possible professions out there, so I would hardly call it a waste of time.
I think the key thing to keep in mind is that demand for various positions ebbs and flows, and a position that is not in much demand now can be in critical demand in another year or so, especially as the Canadian and American economies is set to improve in a few years time. Another thing is that your education or training does not end with a university degree — it’s always important to keep learning new skills to make yourself even more marketable, and to demonstrate those skills in whatever you are doing.,
For those currently unemployed right now, I would greatly recommend doing volunteer activities — employers often look very favourably at those who are actively involved in these areas, and demonstrates your work ethic and your skills as well. Also, do not dismiss contract work or even low-end jobs — despite not being in your chosen field, even these types of jobs can provide an opportunity for you demonstrate your work ethic and time-management skills. Networking is key as well.
The key thing is NEVER to give up — keep persisting, and usually after some time things tend to work out.
Unfortunately, our school system seems to promote a university education over College. I went to college with a university graduate who couldn’t find a job. Going to college and getting a co-op diploma in three years beats a four year degree because your get experience and an education in a shorter period of time.
In many industries you become obsolete quickly so what you learn in your first year of school is already outdated. Nothing stops you from obtaining a degree after you get a diploma.
I was earning $16.50/hour in my co-op placement which provided an education, experience and funding. I was hired two weeks after I completed my Computer Programmer / Analyst program and completed against candidates with degrees.