Any Canadians here? Even better Alberta?

Hey guys,

I'm looking to get into IT. I'm living in Fort Mcmurray, Alberta and work a 7 on, 7 off shift so plan to study for certs on the 7 days off. My job title is "Security Officer" but really for years I've been running the software we use for access control and Datacard management. In my office we use some access control software called Enterprise Building Integrator by Honeywell, Cisco equipment, Hyperion, Citrix and some more stuff. The IT guy (works for Honeywell) that takes care of that stuff in the office I've been friendly with for years but because I haven't been interested in it we haven't talked about IT stuff.

Anyway, I decided today to ask him a few things and he seemed excited that I was asking him things, told me he used to teach courses for certs (or something like that) and told me he would guide me and mentor me a bit and show me some things around the office that he does. He advised me to go and get some certs if I want to get into that kind of job ASAP and to later get a degree if I wanted but that it wasn't really necessary. We work on a big site here and he told me the people who work directly for the site that get good money doing basic things are mostly less qualified than someone with some decent certs and that I could get a job pretty easily to start.

Anyone else in this area? Even Edmonton or Calgary or anywhere else in Canada? What jobs do you currently have? What education? And how easily do you think entry level positions are to get?

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GAngel

I work throughout AB for none of the companies mentioned.

I'm assuming you're on one of the three main sites. I can only tell you what I know for Suncor as I know some people on there but it probably applies to the others as well. A+ and MCP for desktop. They have just switched to Win7 It's all contracted out though (sisystems). All the high end jobs are in Cgy or Denver but good pay to be made in FMM. A degree or a diploma is very helpful if you want to leave FMM in the future. 4x10 days typical 40hr weeks very easy work for server admin salaries in a typical city.

CCNA/CCNP for the network side and I think that's with telus.

newff

Yes, I'm at Canadian Natural. We switched to Win7 a few months ago. I did see a couple job postings from Si Systems today online. My plan was to eventually move to Calgary I think but maybe not for a few years because I have some saving to do, courses to get and my girlfriend will be going to school for 2 years here. I was hoping to land some kind of IT job here once I get some certs to give me experience and to also get out of the job I'm doing since I'm sick of it. I then plan to get some kind of degree but not sure about a 4 year (would I REALLY need a 4 year degree?).

Any advice would be great.

akazero

...Anyway, I decided today to ask him a few things and he seemed excited that I was asking him things, told me he used to teach courses for certs (or something like that) and told me he would guide me and mentor me a bit and show me some things around the office that he does. He advised me to go and get some certs if I want to get into that kind of job ASAP and to later get a degree if I wanted but that it wasn't really necessary...

I would start by figuring out what equipment or software in your environment that are in demand, and get more hands-on experience in those area. Get some certs along the way to complement your experience.

VM and storage (enterprise level) are pretty hot in Calgary according to my friends in consulting, far more demand than information security (my area).

newff

akazero wrote: »

I would start by figuring out what equipment or software in your environment that are in demand, and get more hands-on experience in those area. Get some certs along the way to complement your experience.

VM and storage (enterprise level) are pretty hot in Calgary according to my friends in consulting, far more demand than information security (my area).

Thanks, I will try and get an idea of what kind of equipment and software they are using. I just looked at the racks in out room here and this is what we have. I don't really know what all this is yet and it probably won't help me in this thread but figured if I wrote this stuff down I may as well post it.

Cisco Catalyss Express 520 Series
Cisco Catalyst 2950
Cisco Catalyst 3750
Cisco Catalyst 1750
Cisco Catalyst 2960-S PoE+
Symmetra RM APC Power Supply
Eaton 9170+ Backup Power Supply
Ditek DTK-RM12POE Surge Protector
Belden Patch Panels
ADC FL2000 Splice Panels
ADc FL2000 Termination Panels
Panasonic WJ-ND400 CCTV Disk Recorders

newff

Bump..

Would appreciate if any other Cnadians could chime in

antielvis

Hi Newff

I know both the Edmonton and Calgary job market rather well so I'll give you a short rundown & my opinions of each market. They are fundamentally different.

Calgary: Calgary is a white collar city & is home to most of the head offices for the oil and gas industry. Because of this reality, Calgary is going to be a better place for you to find a good entry level position. Help/Service Desks are usually found at a corporate head offices so much opportunity exists. The IT unemployment rate in Calgary is rather low apparently around 1%. Assuming you work in a corporate environment a wage in the low 40's within the first year is reasonable.

Edmonton: Edmonton's economy is more diverse than Calgary & in many ways more robust. The energy industry in Edmonton is focused more around oil services (drilling, infrastructure, etc). These are often smaller companies or they are remote offices of head office & may have an on-site tech. The city also has government work (substantial) and other industries. The city was flooded with techs a few years ago when Dell closed shop, but that has changed. Edmonton's population grows more slowly than Calgary because it's perceived to be a rougher, grittier working class city. It's also cold in winter & dark (much like Fort Mac).

Fort Mac: Most of the work in Fort Mac is at major players in the energy industry because oil sands extraction is expensive and requires large companies with deep pockets. Their head offices are likely in Calgary but they will have on site technicians. It's probably that the on site technical staff are more senior than junior as they often work alone or in small groups. A senior Desktop guy would make from 60 to 80K a year due to the high cost of living & difficulty in luring staff to live in the Mac.

For an entry level position, Calgary would be the smartest place to go. If you need to speak further, send me a private message, I'll give you names, leads of places to start.

antielvis

If you are going to stay in Fort Mac (seeing your GF is going to school), you might be wise to focus on desktop stuff, specific to Windows 7 & get a good grasp on remotely working.

There is also the option of looking for work at smaller SMB based companies (SMB means Small and Medium Business). Companies like this look after the networks of smaller companies, everything from doctor's offices to every type of small business. You'll need to be a good generalist & have good people skills. It's a great way to learn. For example, in a typical day you may visit 3 customer sites, fix a printer, help install software, or setup a new user in AD. You'll get a good grasp of IT and if you pay attention, you'll learn a bit about planning & developing a small network.

These jobs are usually tough, require long hours & you will be on call. The benefits will suck too. But they're often the incubation zones for great technicians. They demand you have good soft skills & "big picture" skills.

newff

Wow, that's some great posts. I really appreciate it.

I like it here in Fort Mac, especially because where I'm from Newfoundland and a lot of my friends that I grew up with in Newfoundland are almost up here in Fort Mac but I don't really think my girlfriend will want to stay here. She's originally from Toronto so this is like the middle of nowhere for her haha.

My old friend is also doing well in Calgary as a contractor and said he thinks it's the best place for IT. He goes to recruiting companies and get contracts with oil and gas companies and apparently when his contracts are up theres always another one waiting. According to him he is doing extremely well but he also has like 10 years experience or more. I was also thinking about Calgary because I'm not a city person and it seems nicer and safer than Edmonton. Also my friend telling me how good it was for IT was motivating.

I'm hoping to get some certs and get lucky and get some entry level position here in Fort Mcmurray maybe doing field work on site at least for a while until my girlfriend finishes school, that will be like 2 years though. I know I won't be able to get far with IT in the next 2 years here but that's all I can do. I was talking to a guy that work here on site where I am and he said he had CCNA, skipped ComTIA stuff and so on but not sure what education he had. I'm only making like

Another question.. for most jobs are you just working in 1 building in Edmonton or Calgary, I'm guessing so unless you are with a comapny that goes to a bunch of different offices? I have a little anxiety when it comes to driving in busy places so I don't drive in the city. I was assuming as long as my job was in one building I could get the city bus to work?

antielvis

I've lived and worked in both Calgary and Edmonton. The two cities are nearly the same size but they are very different. Calgary is a very white collar city and has a corporate environment much like Toronto does. While not quite as formal as Toronto, it's still home to many head offices so it's a dress clothes/formal environment. Calgary is often maligned with being a "redneck" city akin to Houston, Texas. That's a stereotype and not necessarily the case. The city is young & vibrant, but culturally it still lacks behind a Toronto or a Montreal. It IS a very "us versus the Jones" type of place so materialism is common.

Edmonton is much different. Ascetically, it's much more gritty than Calgary and rough around the edges. It's also rather cold and dark in the winter, but if you live in the Mac, you're OK with that. To understand Edmonton you need to live there. It's a city of hidden gems. It's filled with great food, great music & is rather cultural. I personally found it to be more sociable & more friendly than Calgary. It's also much more down to earth due to it's blue collar roots. That said, there are some hard neighborhoods in Edmonton so you need to know where to live. Edmonton is also much less cowboy than Calgary & more likely to be politically left wing.

You mentioned traffic. If you don't like traffic, then I would recommend Edmonton. Calgary has congestion issues, but the real problem is that the city was poorly designed to handle rapid growth. This has created a mishmash of roads that simply can't handle the traffic volume. It's not uncommon to have an hour long commute in Calgary. The transit system is worse. If you are taking a bus to your workplace (likely downtown) you will experience extreme crowding. It's common to have to let a train or 2 pass you buy because there is no space. The bus isn't much better. They are filled to the front door & in bad weather (common) full. When I lived there I sometimes waited 30 minutes for a bus with space.

Edmonton has much less traffic and getting around is much easier. There is traffic but generally people are more patient and will let you in. The road system is also designed better but due to the cold weather (and spring melt) the roads can be rough sometimes. Snow removal is poor in both cities but you just get used to it.

In both cities you'll probably find a job in an office and not travel extensively. In Calgary the office job will likely be downtown. In Edmonton it may be in any number of areas. If you want to bus it to work, Calgary is the place as you'll work downtown. But be prepared to start your day, EVERY DAY on a jam packed transit system that has problems. Trains fail frequently. Go to a Calgary forum and ask people about the transit system. Be prepared to get a very long and angry reply.

I no longer live in either city, but my own personal preference was Edmonton. While it was a rougher looking place, I found the food, music & culture to be more diverse than Calgary. The weather is also more predictable, but it can be very cold in 11:30 in the summer.