Moving to Vancouver BC as an electronics engineer  - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: MrMetthew
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 13, 2019, 06:38:22 pm
content: Hi all,I am am a 27 old Belgian (European) male with a bachelor's and masters in electronics engineering. I have 3 years of professional work experience as an electronics design engineer in RnD for a big German automotive-like company. Designing, debugging, assisting production, guiding subcontractors, writing some firmware, the works. In my opinion, I have had some nice experiences and have some nice projects to show off (for a junior EE at least).I am currently planning to move to Vancouver BC after the summer and would like some advice from my fellow pixie wranglers who did a comparable move or maybe are native to the Vancouver BC area. The initial plan for me is to stay at a minimum of 1 to 3 years and then evaluate further.*How difficult is it to find a job in Vancouver BC as an expat with my experience? I preferably want to stay in an electronics RnD environment for now because that is were my experience, skills and interests lay.*Will my European work experience and degrees (top-level university) be recognized?*How much can I expect to get paid (after tax)? Do you get a company car, insurance, how many holidays? I need this for my financial planning.Any other advice is always welcome. Thanks a lot, I am doing as much research and preparation as possible and would really appreciate some insider advice from fellow colleagues in the industry!

author: Dundarave
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 13, 2019, 07:09:39 pm
content: Your best resource for an initial overview of the jobs situation here is probablyhttp://BCtechnology.com: check out their jobs pages.Every significant tech company in British Columbia (and down the US coast) posts their tech jobs there.For salary & benefits data, get in touch with Annex Consulting, a long-established technical head-hunter in Vancouver. I’ve used them for years to hire tech staff, you’ll be in good hands with them. Highly reputable and competent.They will help find you a job (assuming you have solid credentials) at no charge. They make their money by charging employers where they place candidates 20% of the first year salary as a recruiting fee.Check out their website and get in touch with them:www.annexgroup.com

author: MrMetthew
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 13, 2019, 10:43:27 pm
content: Thanks, that is some really valuable information! If you want, private message me your details and I will tell them you referred me when/if I get in contact with them.

author: duak
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: July 14, 2019, 08:03:21 pm
content: I retired from electronics engineering ten years ago so I don't know exactly what the current job market is like. Vancouver has, and I think still has, a small market for EEs. There are small companies here and there - I can't really think of any large ones, with say over 100 EEs. You would have to flexible and have experience with a number of fields. We would joke that an engineer would have be able to design, analyze and construct a complex circuit in the morning and be able to drive a delivery truck in the afternoon. My neighbour is an EE but has never worked as one here. Instead he works in building renovation and management.By law, you have to be paid for 10 vacation days per year, but we do have 11 statutory holidays as well. Living expenses are quite high here, almost the highest in Canada yet pay is not always proportional. Unless your job requires a car, there is no car allowance. Even then, you may be expected to provide one anyway. When I was helping set salaries about 15 years ago, someone in your position would probably start at CAD$50K before taxes. If you showed you were capable, it would move up quickly. I expect the starting salary has increased but I do not know how much.I don't know if your degrees will be accepted. You might try contacting the local Professional Engneers Society at:https://www.egbc.ca/You do not have to be a PEng (Professional Engineer) to do many engineering tasks in BC, but you do need to be a PEng for others because of legal requirements.Weather is similar to Belgium - not too hot, not too cold with wet winters. We do have 1000 m high mountains within sight of the city with skiing and hiking at appropriate times of the year.Best Wishes,Duane

author: basinstreetdesign
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: July 15, 2019, 02:06:55 am
content: Quote from: duak on July 14, 2019, 08:03:21 pmMy story is Toronto-centric but is similar to above. It sounds about right on all counts.

author: MrMetthew
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: July 15, 2019, 12:04:49 pm
content: Thanks, that is useful information! Seems like Vancouver is a difficult city to get started financially wise.