Technician Support in School and Educational Institution

KAEW 1

Hello All,


I need advice from you. I don't have any experience in the real work environment on IT. I'm new resident in Canada anyway I have a permanent residency and live here for five years. I have a Master degree in Education that is accredited from WES (World Education Service in Canada to have equipvalency to Master Degree in Canada. I also have ten years of teaching Experiences in Teaching English as a Foreign Language from my country of origin. It is very hard for me to land my permanent job in the field that I have experienced . So I decide to change my Career to a Computer. I hope I could find one job to be just technicain support in Educational Institution or for some school board in my community. I live in Gatineau, Quebec clost to Ottawa just across the bridge.I still love teaching and want to be in educational environment. I apply for a job in many places but I have not even interview. Now I just stay home study in my own lab after apending one year in technical school in Ottawa and plan to get cert on MCSA at the end of this year. Do you have any advice for me to start my first job? I hope to get it in Winter Semester somewhere. Do you have any ideas to help me?

bighornsheep

Hey! Welcome to Canada!

You have a M.Ed. and you cant find teaching job in Canada? That's odd....Have you tried other district school boards in Ontario? I know that alot of the smaller towns surrounding Ottawa is actually paying teachers from Toronto extra money because not alot of teachers want to go up there.

Anyway, about your IT situation, about how about combining your IT knowledge with your education interest? ALOT of high schools will want to hire teachers with IT experience because they can become the system administrator......

Good luck!

binarysoul

I would say virtually all employers ask for 'Canadian experience', so the fact that you don't get interviews is not because you're not qualified for the job per say, but because of 'lack of Canadian experience. There are thousands of people in the same situation, so you're not alone. I believe you may have to volunteer to teach for a while as I think your education is valueble.

Another option is to focus on e-learning. Most universities/colleges now focus on e-learning and they need people who have IT and education background.

KAEW 1

Thank you very much.

Your ideas give me more mind power and confidence to hunt for a job. I plan to volunteer somewhere close to my house. Do you think should I go volunteer in what level of educational institute that will support me the most. I have experience in teaching in primary school, secondary school and even in the university from my country of origin. I also finished two courses in Master Degree in Distance Learning Education from Athabasca University Alberta .

binarysoul

You can probably go and teach ESL with the government. I used to live in Ottawa and there is an immigration center near Tunnys Pasture, close to China town.

http://www.ociso.org/

There are many immigrants who come here and they must learn English. You may want to teach at secondary school, colleges/universities may be tough. I've never seen a volunteer college/university prof. So talk to some ppl at immigration services

bump

I am in a similar situation but I have a bit more to share with you.

First on IT track. You may try a call centre tech support job answering incoming PC/Network troubleshooting calls. Job angents in Toronto are crazy looking for people to fill that positions. If you speak French, you will make probably 20+ per hour. Doing the call centre job, you can work toward your next stage in IT. Actually it is close to what I am doing.

On teaching prospect, it is rather pessimistic. Teaching in School Board shools require teaching certifications regardless of your experience and certification in your country of origin. You may visit the Ontario College of Teachers for requirements. In my research, I found it almost a dead end. Since it will takes at least 3 years for application, training and waiting as supply teacher before there is an opening for a permanent position. However you may try private schools or colleges, but it depends on what subject you can teach.

Teaching ESL require TESL certificates which take about CAD4000 for training. After that, you will get sporadic employments. Nothing permanent or full time. You got to find a second job to make ends meet.

KAEW 1

How about not teaching just help support teaching work as an network administrator for school network? Is it enough if I only have an A+,MCP and MCSA ? Do I need to get more certs? I would like to work on what I have studying now.

bump

As far as I know, you need someone inside to refer you. Jobs inside shools are very stable. It also means it is very difficult to get in.

KAEW 1

I plan to volunteer in Western English School board close to my house. I 'm not sure to get in. I will do police clearlance first and then apply for the IT department for the school after I get MCSA.