Hi, I am a senior data analyst in Chicago, planning to move to Canada in 2021. I wanted to get some suggestions from the community on how is the market for Data science roles in Canada. Particularly,
What cities have more opportunities in this field?
What is the pay scale like? I am a master’s graduate from US and have 4 YOE.
I admit I am in my initial phases of research on this topic but gotta start from somewhere. Would appreciate the time taken to respond.
Montreal rocks in AI/ML/Deep learning. Toronto is good for data analysts/Data Engineers. Edmonton is also coming up in the race. Did you get your PR? It’s easy to get a job with PR. Thanks
If you don’t forsee having any Canadian employment lined up when you move (not the best scenario), it makes sense to go where the jobs are, start with the major cities/hubs - Toronto, Montreal, Ottawa/Kanata, Kitchener-Waterloo, Vancouver, Edmonton/Calgary. Al these cities have lots of data science and other tech opportunities. Look at job boards - LinkedIn, MovNorth (this very website), Indeed, etc. In particular, reach out to your professional network in Canada.
Another thing to consider - with COVID accelerating remote work opportunities, you can also weigh in your personal preferences - where would you like to live?
Hi @sumeetkukreja,
I am moving to Vancouver from Seattle. I accepted an offer there recently. I have not explored much in other areas as my wife and I want to settle in Vancouver. From my initial research I can say Toronto & Montreal definitely has more AI/ML jobs. Fortunately, I was able to interview with 3 companies (after applying to about 10 jobs) and receive 2 offers. Also as ak45 mentioned many companies are okay with remote work. One of the companies I interviewed was based in Toronto and they were okay with me working from Vancouver.
My experience tells me that Canada tech sector values US education and experience. So you should not find it hard to land interviews. Follow the usual techniques as you would in the US, namely updating your LinkedIn and networking by asking someone (via linkedin or email) to refer you to their organization.
In terms of pay scale, based on what I found from the companies I interviewed (2 software and 1 utilities companies) the software company will pay equivalent CAD value as your USD pay (for example if you were getting paid USD100K , you will receive CAD100K). However a Canadian utilities/energy/mining will pay way lesser than that. Having said that, the salary being satisfactory will depend on where you live etc.
Thanks for the suggestion! Yes i have applied for a Pr waiting for PPR approval…AOR was March 2020
That’s a great suggestion! thanks 
Hi @superishav!
Thanks a lot for a detailed overview - highly appreciated!
Do you mind me asking how was your job hunt process like? Did you see a common pattern among recruiters in how they approach a candidate?
No Canada recruiters contacted me and that is mainly because my LinedkIn location said Seattle and not Vancouver. Mainly US recruiters were reaching out and I would ask them if they have a remote opportunity to work from Canada or if they had a Vancouver office. The reason I did not update my location is because I was still employed to my former employer here in Seattle and I did not want them to see my updated address. I would recommend updating the location to get more visibility to recruiters and LinkedIn also has a badge for “open to work” and that would also draw some more recruiters.
In terms of my hunt process, I was merely casual about it. Mentally I was prepared to go to Vancouver and then start the serious job hunt process - apply and network every day, prepare for interviews etc. I was not really getting time to do all of that with my former employment. I probably spent 30 mins every day over maybe 2 weeks only to apply and connect with people on linkedIn from the same companies I applied to.
One of the companies had contacted me long back via email so I responded to them and got an interview with them. The second company had filled a position so they rejected me but asked me if I was interested for a senior data scientist position and I applied to that. For the third company, I could connect with a director of data science from the same company and he referred me for an interview.
Ideally it would be better if you can update your LinkedIn address to whatever city you want to move to. And if you are not sure with the city, a Canada location will help recruiters find you on their radar. Another quick tip that I learnt from forums like movnorth and canadavisa, mention that you are a Canadian PR on your resume/CV. Definitely makes it smoother for recruiters to consider you.
Hope this helps!