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Ask HN: How Are Salaries for Senior DevOps Engineers in Toronto?

4 points by shell0x ↗ HN
I'm planning to move to Toronto from Sydney, Australia. I got an offer from a company which is ~150k+bonus+relocation, but that's way lower than my current comp in Australia.

What would you say is a good salary for Toronto and which employers pay well?

Thanks!

5 comments

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brutus1213
How much is the bonus? Sadly, 150K-180K is not unheard of. If you are single, want downtown living and not save a lot, Toronto could be a fine place to be. The job market is also slowly getting better. However, do note that Toronto is fairly high cost-of-living if you have kids (i.e. aspirations for a house with a yard; houses went up over 20% last year and they were expensive before that), plan to drive (check out the vision zero plan which reduced speed limits all over the city to an unreasonable level IMHO). The elite employers will likely pay you more (e.g. shopify, google, layer 6) but will of course be harder to get a job. Canadian immigration is also not the easiest (though the reputation may seem otherwise).

I have heard great things about Sydney. May I ask why you want to move? To me, Sydney sounds like the place I'd move to after becoming a millionaire (no snow, beaches, nature).

brutus1213
I forgot to add one other factor .. taxes. The Canadian tax system is a bit weird when it comes to dealing with married people. Do understand that vs. USA. If you and your partner work, you might do pretty well making 150-180K (assuming partner makes same). The tax rate goes up pretty fast.
shell0x
Thanks for the answer. I will be moving with my partner.

If I accept the offer I got, I'd be on a work visa, so I don't plan to buy a car and live near a subway line until I get permanent residency.

The company is in the business of IT consulting and said the bonus can be 2 months, but this didn't get paid out last year due COVID.

I'm a German citizen living in Sydney on a work visa. You are right the weather is good, worker rights are better too(4 weeks annual leave guaranteed etc.), but to me Australia feels a bit monotone and isolated. I have lived in Sydney and Melbourne, but both places are getting really expensive and salaries just don't catch up.

Canada sounds more fun! I can drive to the US if I want to and flights to Europe don't take so long. I also miss having real seasons.

brutus1213
You will defn certainly seasons, and yes, driving to the US is pretty easy. The culture is definitely not monotone (Toronto is basically a mini version of NYC .. a real melting pot). If you stay in the downtown core and don't drive, your COL may be quite reasonable. So the offered salary might be okay. Just make sure they either pay you for overtime or don't make you do too much if you are an exempt worker (have heard some bad stories about IT consultancies). Here is an interesting video made by a British expat (a doctor who left to return to the UK; he was positive on Toronto and you might find it useful): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uML3Lmy19Po

Good luck whatever you decide!

shell0x
Thanks for the tips. Are you based in Toronto as well?

I figured I apply for the Canadian PR as soon as possible and after that I'm more flexible with location and may just do some remote work for an US company too. The work visa is the easiest way to get to Canada in the middle of a pandemic :)