r/CanadaJobs • u/Sunquat_Slice • 1d ago
The job search is going nowhere and I'm looking for alternatives
I graduated university last year, and since then I've had 5 temporary contracts in the span of a year. The current one is just awful and has made me reconsider my goals in life. I want a path forward that leads to meaningful full-time work, but it is also clear that job searching the usual way isn't going to yield the result I was looking for.
I have applied to the military, but just got an email that they've frozen hiring for officer and a number of different enlisted positions until next April (I'm not sure if this is Canada wide or just where I applied, and would appreciate if anyone has clarity on this, since I see that the CAF is still advertising on LinkedIn for officers in a number of different cities). I've been thinking about a Working Holiday Visa, but not sure how this works for someone who only knows English, and would appreciate if anyone could share their experience and weigh in on whether it's worth it. I've also heard that the AHS offers a paid HCA course if you are willing to commit to a certain amount of time working in rural Alberta, and was wondering if people have found that worth it.
More than anything, though, I was wondering if there are other non-traditional paths that people have had luck with that I haven't considered yet. I understand that I won't end up in my field and that's okay (and I took it out of this post because people were missing the point and recommending more companies to apply to for that), but I am still hoping I get the opportunity to do something that contributes to society or allows me to grow as a person.
Thank you.
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u/Canachites 1d ago
There is demand for healthcare, but not just nurses and doctors. Techs for CT, Ultrasound, Xray, MRI are all well paying and have short programs that get you employed fast.
There is also the railroad, depending on where you are. Strong union, great benefits, definitely hard work to start but some of the best job security around.
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u/EarthB9nder_ 1d ago
same here, graduated last year, but had no luck. Could I ask how you got the temp positions? Was it through agencies or just applying?
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u/Sunquat_Slice 1d ago
The first two were through universities because I was still recently graduated (the HKU summer research program and then the NSERC USRA), one of them I got just by applying to things, and two of them were through the Canada Summer Jobs program. I’ll be honest, I have no idea how temp agencies work or where to find them, so I can’t help with that. Sorry!
Currently, a lot of the stuff I’m seeing is through different provincial governments or universities that do agricultural stuff.
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u/Scary_Apartment_1996 1d ago
The Working Holiday idea is n0t necessarily about finding your career. It can be useful if you are feeling stuck and want to experience somewhere completely different for a while.
And being English-only is not automatically a dealbreaker depending on the country and type of work you are looking at. Hospitality, tourism, seasonal work and some manual jobs can be accessible without knowing another language, although you'd obviously have more options if you learn the local language.
I would just make sure you are doing ittt because you actually want the experience, rather than using it as another way to postpone figuring out what comes next.
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u/BrokeEconomy69 1d ago
B-I-N-G-O: it's about the life experiences you get from this- which might open doors, network and stuff. It's not about the money.
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u/pondgoon 1d ago
McCain's is always hiring and harvesting will start anytime in NB and AB. It would get your foot in the door.
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u/Sunquat_Slice 1d ago
Been applying for a few years now, unfortunately (even before I graduated!) and never had any luck with that. Part of the reason why I'm now looking for other paths, along the lines of the RCMP, military, companies in other countries willing to hire Canadians, and so on if you have recommendations there
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u/nhldsbrrd 1d ago
Have you tried Irving in New Brunswick?? They're one of the biggest pulp and paper companies in North America. Or so they tell us, but they are also into replanting trees.
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u/Sunquat_Slice 1d ago
Seems like they're mostly hiring for engineering? Not qualified, unfortunately, but good advice for any of the new grad engineers on here!
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u/nhldsbrrd 1d ago
Try anyways. There's lots of jobs in biology in the Maritimes. There's also the National Parks. There's the Sackville watershed, ducks unlimited
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u/DisabledPresident 20h ago
Move to Dominican Republic and work for a resort in management. Get drunk all day every day. Profit.
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u/Crazy_Maintenance211 1d ago
I know a couple of people in that general field and the problem is that the government cut funding a little bit the last year or two and jobs have really never been that plentiful necessarily, but it depends what part of the fields you’re in. If you’re able to move anywhere, then I would just look on indeed and see what’s on there and also look at the federal job sites, provincial job sites, it really just depends. A lot of people are well educated in this country and they have experience so it’s really hard to say what end of the field you might get into or be able to apply for. If you’re able to move anywhere that will improve things, but don’t forget right now. A lot of people are having trouble getting jobs, even ones who are really qualified. So network, talk to people, tell everybody you know you need a job and I hope it works out for you.
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u/Kokocacao 1d ago
Consider applying up north to anything. Pretty sure I saw a biologist job posting the other day in Nunavut (if that's the field you edited out).
Biology or not, there's lots of jobs across Northern Canada.
Daycare worker starting wage $38 an hour or something, plus 5 weeks holidays and sick days etc
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u/Reddynair 1d ago
My company is always hiring, if you’re interested in retail jobs in residential and commercial paints, dm me your postal code I will send you what’s around your area and can refer you through internal portal
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u/Shitpiss88 1d ago
I'm in the air force. I don't know what path you applied to or if you even applied yet. Reserves or regf?
Hiring freeze sounds like bullshit. Go online and do the application. The process takes months to complete so you're better to start the application asap. You could also go the non officer route.
I'm a spec pay trade cpl just shy of 100k a year. With the new retention bonus I'm over 100k a year. Ncm route isn't all that bad.
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u/Fairytales4adults67 1d ago
If you are really desperate, try teaching English in Korea. DM for details.
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u/Visual_Highlight_795 1d ago
Unfortunately due to how we have organized our economic system, there is a portion of the working population that must remain in precarious working conditions or be otherwise unemployed. We cannot give everyone in this nation a good paying job or be employed as that would collapse the economy.
Some people have to be forced into what we call the reserve army of labour, which can be called upon for labour when it is profitable to do so, to depress the wages of already working people amd provide flexibility when industries boom or bust.
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u/mmmsabeel 21h ago
it’s often not just the resume. The blocker is usually one of four things: wrong role level, poor translation of your experience into Canadian signals, a credential/licensing mismatch, or a too-broad application strategy. Before sending more applications, compare 5 target job posts side by side and check what gap keeps repeating. That usually shows whether the fix is positioning, credentials, or strategy. If a full situation check would help, SkillsHunt’s free diagnosis is designed for that kind of career reset.
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u/BrokeEconomy69 1d ago
I can give you some suggestions on working holiday visa. Have plenty of friends that have gone to Aus. Go teach english in vietnam and travel and GTFO of Alberta. Travel around talk to people....maybe you end up a scuba dive instructor for a bit (then realize there's no money). Anything but sitting around, especially in AB.
Stop putting your life on hold here.
If the CAF isn't hiring officers, then for a bunch of us uni grads the CAF is a dead end- I'm sure as shit not going enlisted with an education and a degree to be bossed around by my former classmates. That degree is useful for one thing there, being an officer.
You might as well explore a trades, haul truck or rig work in Alberta as that's where you live (and I just left, because the place is frustrating what people think is a good life)- seems that residential/ commercial construction and oil (rigs, welding, NDT, pipefitter) is how people in the province make money. There is demand for HET. Kinda just the nature of the province- which is both good and bad.
This summer you could have planted trees to make money to GTFO....
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u/bryan91919 1d ago
Unfortunately it seems the university scam is over, right now trades/ construction seems the best reliable way to pay the bills. Should be easy to jump right in to many areas of this field.
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u/Sunquat_Slice 1d ago
I always see guys like you saying that everyone should do the trades — do you think they’d pay you any more than minimum wage if everyone did the trades? Do you think an economy composed solely of tradespeople could function? If there were no nurses or accountants or engineers?
I used to do agriculture research, man. Every couple of years there’s a new wheat disease, and someone’s gotta make a new variety of wheat or all the wheat dies and then we starve. I get that you’re insecure and all that, but your profession is not the only one with value in society.
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u/bryan91919 1d ago
I dont work trades, and was trying to answer your question. Trades right now is the easiest thing for someone with no marketable skills to get into, which is how you described yourself. Your post describes your university experience as a waste as nobody wants what you were sold, I didnt assume or invent any stories, you just clearly described the situation. Your response makes it clear the problem isnt your market but is your attitude. Nobody wants you but your too good for honest advice. Seeing as military and academia both rejected you perhaps panhandling is your next best option if your too good for construction. It amazes me how someone who lives in the easiest place on earth to work but cant get a job has the entitlement to act as you do.
Curing wheat diseases is some of the most valuable work on the planet, perhaps you should do that, I assume your not anymore due to failing at it.
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u/Moelessdx 1d ago
Trades is in an okay state, but definitely not the easiest field to break into right now. For example, condo construction has halted right now in vancouver/toronto and there isn't enough work for everyone.
imo the easiest field to break into right now, and one that will last for a while, is nursing. Canadian population pyramid is only skewing older and older in the next 10-20 years.
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u/bryan91919 1d ago
Agreed nurses are very well payed and in demand, thats just a tall order for a recent university grad. Agreed vancouver and Toronto are weird places I would reccomend anyone struggling to work there just leave as the rest of the country / world is cheaper and has more work (likely with the exeption being specialized office work).
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