Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Zulethe]

http://www.canadavisa.com/social-workers-4152.html



Little background here: I'm currently in a MSW program and I'm set to graduate in May 2013. With the economic conditions in the states, I may have to consider jobs in Canada. I'm sure I could get some type of job here right out of college but maybe not THE job, i.e., two years post graduate work in a job which will put me into position to apply for my licensure.

I won't go into all of the details here but I've heard that social workers are in really high demand right now in Canada. I would work about anywhere right out of college for the right pay and experience. The first job out of college for social workers is critical in order to set the tone for the rest of one's career.

Any Canadians out there who know anything about this? I got my BA from Western Washington University in Bellingham, Washington, which is about 30 miles from the Canadian border so I've spent a lot of time in Vancouver and absolutely love the city.


thanks mates

sincerely,

Zulethe

[ttompatz]

https://search.employment.gov.bc.ca/cgi-bin/a/searchjobs_quick.cgi

You would be looking for "out of service" (hired from outside government service - not already employed by the government) jobs.

There ARE however visa issues. MOST of the government service (most jobs in social work) jobs require citizenship but some are open to permanent residence card holders. They typically do NOT sponsor a work visa/ work permit.

There are also jobs in the private sector (NGOs) doing similar tasks. The national job bank might be a good place to start your search. http://www.jobbank.gc.ca/prov-eng.aspx?OpPage=50&Stdnt=No

About work permits: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/work/index.asp

.

[northway]

Speaking French and going to school there seem make this significantly easier, at least from the anecdotal evidence I have.

[Redcap]

In most Canadian provinces, social work is governed by regulatory bodies, otherwise known as Colleges. For example, if you want to work in B.C., you should contact the British Columbia College of Social Workers.

I would recommend that your first course of action should be to contact a College in the province of your choice, and determine whether your U.S. MSW will be recognized. From there, the College can advise you on the job market and whether immigrating from the U.S. is a realistic possibility.

Good luck

[Joe Boxer]

10 years ago next month, I finished my BSW at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia. I was interested in child protection, as it was the highest paying area of the social work field.
At that time, there weren't many positions available in my city, and the the offers I received were lower than I was expecting. I interviewed in nearby
Maine, and received generous job offers, including an agreement to sponsor my visa. I ended-up doing some phone interviews for positions in Ontario, and negotiated a high (for a 1st year child protection worker) salary there. I believe I started at 45,000. Again, that was 10 years ago. Perhaps salaries are higher now?
Btw, I don't think French is a requirement, outside of Quebec and New Brunswick. I only know about 10 words in French. There may be different requirements for US citizens, though.

[Zulethe]

Thank you all for your responses, really good stuff. You saved me hours and hours of searching for that information and now I have a good base to start from.

@ Joe...45,000 for a starting CPS worker is high. I used to do that job and started at about 32,000 in Phoenix Arizona in 2006. But this is higly dependent on the state probably just like Canadian provinces.

The great thing about working in Canada is the exchange rate is now just about 1 for 1. I remember the days when 75 cents US could buy one Canadian dollar. From what I've gathered, I could start as high as 25 Canadian per hour, which I think is pretty darn good.

I'm currently interning in a state prison, which is awesome as far as clinical experience goes. If one can work in a prison environment, one can work anywhere.

That being said...Asia is still my long term goal for retirement...I can't get it out of my blood.

[Harpeau]

Remember that it is emigrate to Canada.
Seriously though, keep in mind that Canadians pay a lot higher taxes than the U$A. In addition, Vancouver is a very expensive city to live in. Housing has not gone down since the winter Olympics. I wish you the best of luck to you!

* Sorry for the spelling mistake.

[Joe Boxer]

[northway]

[ttompatz]

[Joe Boxer]

[Zulethe]

@ Harpeau...yeah your right about the expenses and the taxes which I didn't consider in the equation. Although I will do the research, I've heard that if one is willing to go to the ends of the earth, i.e., some desolate place where no one wants to live then the pay is substantially more and the competition is substantially less.

Keep in mind, although living conditions and pay are important, the most important aspect is the experience.

My brother works in Prudhoe Bay Alaska - the oil fields - and he makes well over $120,000 per year and only works two weeks on and two weeks off. Further, they pay for his plane ticket to Anchorage where he lives and all of his food is paid for while he's at work. My sister in law, an MD, also works there and flies into remote villages to provide health care.

It's pretty tough to attract certain professions to remote Alaska and I would imagine it would be the same in Canada, which is what I've heard anecdotally.

[silkhighway]

I can't comment on job prospects but if there are jobs available in areas that qualify for Northern Living Allowance, I assure you the money you'd be making would make anything an ESL teacher in Korea is making look like coffee money. The areas don't necessarily have to be that isolated either, and can only be a 3 or 4 drive away from Edmonton, for example.

[ttompatz]

Remember that it is emigrate from the US and immigrate to Canada.

[northway]

You also get a lot more bang for your buck from Canadian taxes than you do from American taxes (government subsidized health care, cheap university tuition).