OT: Jobs in Ottawa

[QuattroFTW]

Great point. College teaches you technical skills that University degrees often don't offer.

I remember back in high school people used to think college was for people too dumb to get into university. Now all those people who went to college have full-time jobs in the skilled trades industry making $30 per hour while all the university grads are stuck in debt with a piece of paper. I went to university so I could get into med school, but some people went to university simply because they thought they were too good for college

 

[tony d]

Use this website and good luck: http://ca.indeed.com/jobs?q=&l=Ottawa,+ON

 

[Upgrayedd]

I remember back in high school people used to think college was for people too dumb to get into university. Now all those people who went to college have full-time jobs in the skilled trades industry making $30 per hour while all the university grads are stuck in debt with a piece of paper. I went to university so I could get into med school, but some people went to university simply because they thought they were too good for college

I did both, and personally it's a no contest for me I learned and now apply much more from my college time/learnings than university.

 

[PullHard]

Moving to Toronto / the GTA is the best advice I can suggest

 

[Icelevel]

advice: avoid selling soul to government office

 

[LuckyPierre]

Breaking news: Ottawa may soon be JOBless.

 

[Cat Herder]

I want a job in Ottawa too, I speak American and Canadian and my biggest weakness is I work too darn hard. 100k and above offers only please.

What no "Australian" and "British" what a slacker you are

 

[booger]

Head down the road to T.O. I am planning on french in case I head that way after school.

I live in the GTA and work in AB. The Toronto job market is not good either. From the sounds of it, ON in general stinks.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

I live in the GTA and work in AB. The Toronto job market is not good either. From the sounds of it, ON in general stinks.

Overall Eastern Canada is sort of screwed: both Ontario and Quebec are a complete mess on a governance and in economic growth potential; Nova Scotia and the others don't have much to offer in terms of job prospects (well they did find a ton of oil of the coast of Newfound Land today)

Western Canada is doing better (Alberta is in a bit of a mess but it's not as bad) but I have no reason to go there: I don't know anybody out there and, generally speaking, don't get along with Westerners all that well (for whatever reason, I don't get it)

I'm thinking of either going to the Yukon (my sister lives there), Quebec City (my parents live there) or just giving up on North America altogether since I grew up in Europe. Lots of options and the world is a big place; it's easy to forget how big and amazing the world is after living in Ottawa for too long.

 

[Jerk Store*]

FCM is looking for a new social media assistant: http://www.fcm.ca/home.htm Let me know if interested, but don't PM, inbox is "full"

 

[PeterSidorkiewicz]

I live in the GTA and work in AB. The Toronto job market is not good either. From the sounds of it, ON in general stinks.

It's everywhere in north America minus the oil areas, the baby boomers ****ed us, at least in the u.s. they did.

 

[Ricky Bobby]

Federal government is by far the biggest employer in Ottawa.

The Federal Government has to run a competition to award permanent positions. They've currently got their post-secondary recruitment competitions on right now until October 4th. Federal government can take a long time to fill these positions so don't expect to even be contacted for an interview for 6 months or more if you even get that far but apply to any of the position you like or might like and are eligible for.

http://jobs-emplois.gc.ca/index-eng.htm

Temporary positions are filled through recruiters like Randstad, Excel, etc. and don't come with any job security but sometimes people do these types of contracts for years and have the potential to turn into permanent positions if they really like you and they end up having room in their budgets.

 

[Mercurial]

He wont be if picked up on waivers.

 

[BrawlFan]

I'm honestly considering this myself

I have a decent job in a government call (through an agency so no pension or benefits) centre but dear lord is it soul sucking

I've been in Ottawa since 2008, I think I need a change of scenery. This town ain't what it used to be (or maybe I'm just getting soft with being slightly older)

the call center is by far the worst place for the GOC, I've worked at various locations and in various positions in the government and def the call center was the toughest. It gets better as you move up haha I went from call center to collections to appeals to audit to resource to legislation to charities to where I am now...

to your second post that isnt mentioned I do agree the world is a wonderful place and everyone shoudl explore it. I would love to but I keep getting caught up in the game of trying to get that next big promotion so I can make an extra 100 a pay....meaningless I know

 

[booger]

I've had loads of trouble finding work out East. It's been probably 3 years since I've worked where I live. I would say that Ottawa is better for a software consultant such as myself though.

Here in AB, totally different story. Money flows here.

 

[Lyndon Slewidge]

Commercial HVAC

 

[enviro61]

advice: avoid selling soul to government office

so true

 

[CanadianHockey]

Bah, this isn't true, not at all.

I work as a section head in National Defence. Up until two years ago when the layoffs began, we hired about 10 people a year in my section and a second peer section we work closely with. Now we hire 1-2 a year and that will continue another two years or so when we expect growth to resume.

In this department less than 50% of jobs require some sort of bilingualism. The senior ones mostly do, but that's ok because you can get training as a junior employee. Even those jobs that do require french, few require you to be actually bilingual.

Seek out departments that do not interface with the public, or ones that do not do most of their work in Ottawa or Quebec. Far less bilingualism in those departments. DND, CSE, Fisheries, Coast Guard, Agriculture, things like that. Stay away from the ones that deal with people all the time (CRA, Customs) and ones that deal with inter-governmental issues (PWGSC, Privy Council Office).

Just my two cents. I don't speak a lick of french and about half of my colleagues are the same.

The current market is a buyer's market.

Two or three years ago, sure, bilingualism wasn't a huge factor for finding a job. That's because there were both more unilingual jobs and more bilingual jobs. More bilingual jobs means fewer bilingual candidates considering unilingual jobs, and more unilingual jobs on top of that means even better odds for unilinguals seeking employment.

Now, there aren't nearly as many jobs (you estimate just 10-20% of the jobs that were available just two years ago). The bilingual positions get filled up fast, and the remaining bilingual candidates end up applying for positions that are technically unilingual. Even jobs that are 'technically unilingual' are going to see bilingualism as an asset if all else is equal because it saves you money down the road and gives you linguistic flexibility. So bilinguals end up having a major competitive edge.

I agree that in a few years, the federal government will start expanding again and the job market will improve, but for right now, it's not a good market for unilinguals.


This isn't to say bilingualism is bad or Ottawa sucks or anything like that. Just, realistically, if you want a job in Ottawa, bilingualism is an asset, and unilingualism can be a hindrance.

 

[Indrew]

I got my soul-sucking federal government job through co-op at Algonquin College.

 

[Dysentery]

Everyone is doing it wrong.

You marry rich, then the jobs come to you.

 

[canadiancreed]

Unfortunately, I am not. This has been a huge hurdle for me, especially when applying to federal jobs.

As someone that was in your position a few years ago, has tried three times to make a go of working and living in Ottawa, and also uniligual, you have three options if you want to work in Ottawa:

1. Learn French
2. Learn IT skills (even this is not 100% though)
3. Stay west of Kingston.

NOt doing this I've found is an excersize in frustration.

EDIT: The market that I'm in (IT), if thats' an option, your choices are either the GTA or Alberta I'm told. Both are booming, at least in the IT space. Ottawa and Montreal have jobs, but they're not common, and you usually need to be bilingual, Waterloo/Kitchener is going to be flooded with people the way RIM is going, and the Maritimes are NOT an option. (Just came from there; the pay is 50% roughly less then Ontario work, and I know people that have been looking for years with no luck.)

 

[Here I Pageau Again]

I did both, and personally it's a no contest for me I learned and now apply much more from my college time/learnings than university.

I never went to college, but I learned more from my first year of work, than from University. And shockingly my University program was quite good.

It really depends on what you want to do, whether you choose college or university though. I am a nurse, and really, I needed a University degree (to do anything more than Retirement home nursing care). If you want to be an engineer, doctor, nurse, dentist -- you need university. If you want a job, but don't want the above ones... college is the place for you.

 

[MainDotC]

If you do not live in Ottawa, or Ontario for that matter, and you apply for a position at a firm in the O is it appropriate to mention on your cover letter that you're a Sens fan ?

 

[kohlmanator]

If you do not live in Ottawa, or Ontario for that matter, and you apply for a position at a firm in the O is it appropriate to mention on your cover letter that you're a Sens fan ?

No need, the "Leafs Suck" water mark is good enough.

Being bilingual in the Ottawa job market is definitely a plus. I got in the Government 3 years ago, as a uni-lingual. Even once you're in, it is still a struggle. Almost daily I have to ask people to keep the conversation in English. (Never mind reminding people that they get paid extra tax payer money to be in a "bilingual position").

A good way to get in to the Government would be through jobs.gc.ca. If you've graduated within the last 2 years (maybe 3?) you can apply to the post secondary recruitment positions. That's how I got in.

Good luck OP.

 

[Do Make Say Think]

To other posters in the government

How do you like it?

Both my brother and father worked almost their entire lives in the government; my dad was a diplomat from the 70's to 2006 and my brother currently works in IT for the Office Commissioner of Official Languages but has worked for the government since around 1998 and they offer very different views on government career

My brother says that right now it's a giant mess and that it is rather painful (he has to lay off people and he really has a hard time with it being at the top of his list) but my dad really enjoyed other than having to deal with other lazy workers (which is true of any job)

I've been told I should seek out a better job at the government since I'm bilingual, studied polisci and generally "get government" but I have huge reservations about how things are looking these days: it would make sense for me in a way since job security is nice, the pay is good, pension and benefits but I can't help but think that the inertia that is inherent to government will drive me bat**** crazy since I'm much more focused on efficiency than procedure.

One of the reasons I'm considering bailing on Ottawa is that, in this town, it's government or bust (unless you want to start a business, but these days starting a business in Ottawa seems like a silly idea unless you've got lightning in a bottle): I'm gonna be 30 in January and the time to make some important life decisions is coming, if I stay here it's going to be for a government job.

I'd like some other people's take on real government work and how it is this days: my brother and father absolutely hate everything about the Federal Conservatives (I'm no fan but I'm not as partisan as they are) so I'm a bit suspicious about how they see it.