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Ask HN: Tech jobs in US vs. Canada

3 points by lunchbox ↗ HN
I'm a dual Canadian-American citizen and a senior at a US college. The jobs I'm considering most seriously after graduation are technical program manager positions at Google, Microsoft, Facebook, and other large tech firms.

Although macroeconomics is one of my weak subjects, the current economic situation has got me questioning whether I would be better off in terms of prosperity and job stability if I looked to start a career in Canada instead. What do you think?

8 comments

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aneesh
I don't see any of Google, Microsoft, or Facebook letting technical people go anytime soon, whether you're in the US or Canada. On the flip side, now is a bad time to get a job in investment banking regardless of whether you're in the US or Canada.

I don't think you'd find inherently more stability in either country, but you would probably have more options in the US.

lunchbox
By the way, one of the challenges I see in working in Canada is finding a software company that can compare to Google and Microsoft in terms of being both innovative and established. RIM is the closest I can think of.

Here's a neat ranking of Canadian tech companies.

http://list.canadianbusiness.com/rankings/tech100/2008/q1/pe...

aneesh
Working in Canada != working at a Canadian tech company

I'm not sure about facebook, but Microsoft & Google (and others) definitely have offices in Canada.

jwilliams
Yes, but if the intent is to find a safe haven in Canada from the US economy... well... you're in trouble either way as it'll affect everything... but if that was your intent you'd probably stick with Canadian tech companies.
jwilliams
A career isn't a job - it's a series of jobs. Sometimes at the same company, usually not.

Personally, I wouldn't worry about the far off horizon just yet - I'd focus on getting into the right roles where I'm challenged and can learn.

The economic slump is going to hurt, but there will be opportunities too. For example, US-based development probably will become more competitive with offshore development. Might take a while, but could actually stimulate parts of the IT economy.

If I were you I'd stick to the kind of role and experience I was after and leave worrying about stability down the track... I had several jobs after university, many of which were after the dotcom bubble. All good experience, and I got a lot out of it in the long run. If I'd tried to stick with stability in those times I'd have probably ended up somewhere very dull indeed (dull in my terms anyway).

But in the end that's just a matter of preference.

run4yourlives
You can get a program manager position right out of school these days? Damn I'm so cursed for being gen-x.
neilc
Making long-term decisions like where to live and work on the basis of short-term variables like the current economic climate is not a great idea, IMHO. It's hard to forecast economic conditions any significant time into the future, and the Canadian economy is deeply linked with the US economy anyway. In my experience (as a Canadian), you'll find more opportunities in the right areas of the US than you will in Canada, typically for better pay as well. There are lots of nice things about living in Canada, but purely for career advancement, I think the US is still the better choice.