Canada v Australia after graduation

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>Good afternoon CC. I've recently come across a conundrum I'm hoping your collective wisdom can give me some insight into.
I'm currently a undeclared engineering freshman at UCB. After graduation i plan on moving abroad. I've lived the majority of my life in the US and although I love my country I feel like we need to take a break from each other. I've been looking into Canada and Australia as possible destinations after graduations. Here's what I've got so far: </p>

<p>Population Growth, Financial rating and Quality of Life: </p>

<pre><code> Canada and Australia are very much alike in several aspects. Both are English speaking developed countries with vast expanses of land. Both populations are projected to increase drastically. Canada currently has 35.3 million ppl and Australia has 23.4. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canada
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<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia"&gt;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Australia&lt;/a> </p>

<pre><code> Projections put their populations at 52.2 and 42.5 million ppl respectively by 2060.
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<p><a href="http://www5.statcan.gc.ca/cansim/a05?lang=eng&id=0520005"&gt;http://www5.statcan.gc.ca/cansim/a05?lang=eng&id=0520005&lt;/a>
<a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/3222.0main+features52012%20(base)%20to%202101"&gt;http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/3222.0main+features52012%20(base)%20to%202101&lt;/a> </p>

<pre><code> Both countries are listed as AAA credit ratings by Standard and Poor's with stable economies.
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<p><a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_credit_rating"&gt;http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_credit_rating&lt;/a> </p>

<pre><code> Both have very high HDI indexes and pretty good Gini coefficients. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gini_coefficient 

Both countries have universal health care systems.  I hear a lot of good things about Canada but  I haven't hear much about the Australian system.  Perhaps it's due to the geographic distance.

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<p>Immigration Policy: </p>

<pre><code> Like most developed countries they are faced with an aging population and have immigration programs for skilled workers. Canada has a annual quota of 300 engineers per category (civil, mech, petro, etc) with the added option for permanent residency if you can secure employment and are eligible for permanent residency in Canada (no criminal history, etc)
Australia grants engineers a one year residency so you can live there while trying to secure a job.

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<p>IE is notably absent from both websites while CE, ME and other disciplines are clearly noted. </p>

<p>Climate and Global Warming: </p>

<pre><code> In the off chance i decide to permanently reside in either of those countries I looked into the future climate outlook for both countries.
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<p>The cold never bothered me. Global warming would only cause Canada's climate to become milder which is a good thing. And Canada has vast reserves of fresh water. Given the increased frequency of droughts in the US, their severity and depletion rate of groundwater reserves I can totally see water as a commodity to be traded between the US and Canada. Which might translate in more jobs in engineering. </p>

<pre><code> Australia is on the complete opposite spectrum. Someone once described Australia's location as 20 miles from the surface of the Sun. With that said that's not a far cry from Southern california where i lived for 10+ years. We commonly has temperatures of 100 to 110F. LA's record high was 122F while Australia's is 125F? Global warming has been blamed for many of the extreme weather events in recent Australian history. There was a severe drought there which prompted the construction of several desalination stations in all major metro areas to combat rapidly declining reservoir levels. Only upon completion of most plants Australia suffered torrential floods....

So the weather is extreme and a little crazy. But one thing is for sure. Australia has limited water resources and an increasing population which will place ever greater demands on the water infrastructure. (profit for us?)

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<p>Cost of Living: (I'm using LA for cost comparison) </p>

<pre><code> Canada's cost of living is comparable to the US. Both economies are closely tied and prices of goods and services seem to be on par with most metropolitan areas in the US. I understand Toronto and Vancouver are notably very expensive in terms of rent.

Australia's cost of living appears to be crazy. Due to it's isolation, shipping costs add a premium to most goods imported into the country. Everything from food to clothes to beer seems to be about 50% more expensive in Australia compared to the US. Rent in the major metro areas seems very high as well. BUT working in autralia you get paid in Australian dollars which should offset the increased cost of living. (hopefully?)

One concern is offshoring of engineering jobs from Australia. Again, i dont live there so rarely i hear news about it, but if it's a problem in the US which is across the Pacific from Asia, i can only imagine it's a even bigger problem for Australian engineers, given the close proximity to the sources of offshoring AND the fact that the Australian dollar is so expensive, it would only accentuate the savings from offshoring engineering work.

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<p>So what do you think CC? Where should i go? I'm also undeclared as an engineer so any insights into which branch to go into are welcome. Not CS tho.<br>
Thx!</p>

2

<p>Canada hands down. Way too many of my wife’s Indian virtual coworkers (living in India originally) are now in Australia… I spent a couple days in BC, awesome place. If you don’t like it just drive back. </p>

3

<p>As a young person, the best place to be is where the best working environment is for your career. If you are going to be enroling in EE/CompE/CS, probably the best place is in your own backyard in silicon valley. As young person, the formative years of your career are critically important and it is these aspects that should drive your decision making. </p>

<p>Don’t put too much stock in public health systems - most are buckling under the strain for the simple reason that they were conceived when health costs were low relative to expenditures and were not intended to keep up in a modern world when designed back in the 1950’s. For example, modern cancer care and related costs simply did not exist back then. Public health care does cover the basics and usually does a good job with acute emergencies (it has helped me a great deal for 2 surgeries and mutiple ER visits) but obtaining specialized care can be difficult and subject to waits. With a good job and insurance, your health care will be much better in the USA than Canada or Australia and you will have access to the lastest innovations. </p>

4

<p>Well i kinda have my heart set in going abroad and seeing what else is out there. I never get sick. I eat healthy, exercise but i do worry about getting older in a country where companies pay for your insurance. I keep hearing about older engineers being replaced by younger ones because they cost a lot more to insure. I’m hoping that won’t be an issue in a country with universal healthcare</p>

5

<p>between Canada and Australia then, I would choose Australia. For one thing, Canada is too similar to the US. We sound the same, eh? You will have a different experience in Australia on this front alone, riigghht mate?. Right now, Australia is richer than Canada buoyed by 10 or 15 years of crazy growth. Canada has a well documented problem with oversupply of engineers overall (but some specific market shortages, typically in mining, geological and petroleum engineering). Alberta remains a good market overall in Canada though with the growth in oil sands and resource sector generally. </p>

6

<p>I’d try to study abroad or get an internship abroad if I were you, then you could get a better feel of the country.</p>