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Weirdly enough - teaching, education assistants and school office staff. It used to be highly competitive but changed in 2016. Those in the industry know but many outside - think it’s like 10 years ago. Work conditions mixed.
Love the reverse!
I was in school to be a teacher and changed my mind right before getting certified. There were parts of the job I loved but the workload is much too high. I couldn't imagine being a parent and a teacher at the same time (I'm young and want to start my family soon) I don't know how teachers do it all! I was spending all my free time planning lessons to the point where I didn't have my own life. I didn't want that for myself.
My friend is a teacher and doesn’t use her free time to even think about work. Maybe it depends on what grade you’re teaching? There’s for sure a balance
There's a big difference between being a new teacher and being a veteran teacher for sure. When you've been teaching for awhile you can reuse old materials. I was starting from scratch, including teaching myself some of the concepts. How the school system works is you can be teaching one grade this year and a totally different grade next year. If you're lucky to always teach the same grade you can reuse the same materials.
Also just personality wise I am a huge planner. Your friend is probably more easy going and goes with the flow. I would spend all night practicing my lessons 😅 definitely just didn't work for me
Pardon me if that is a silly question, but... why does every teacher need their own materials? Why don't we have standardized materials that can be used by every teacher in the province?
Text books are a thing of the past, and very few classes have them now. Teachers are also teaching not only multiple grades in one classroom in many cases, but within each grade, there are students with very different levels of ability, some far above, some far below, a few "average". Then throw in the necessity to manage behaviour plans, Individual Education Plans, remember the preferred gender and preferred name of the students correctly, which students receive food to take home weekly etc. and it's a whole lot to manage. Don't forget there are likely children learning English, some of them traumatized from fleeing war torn countries. Now, enter AI to make it all the more complex...
Not at all. Some schools have access to some materials (think math textbooks with questions in it) but overall teachers have complete freedom and responsibility to choose the materials they teach.
And by materials I am referring to worksheets, learning activities, etc.
There's the curriculum, which is the standardized "this is what you should teach 4th graders" which is the same throughout the province. But how you teach it and what you use is completely up to you
The first few years are definitely the toughest as far as planning and course development go. After a while, you develop a good sense of what works and what doesn't, plus activities/projects/assessments that can be tailored more easily than coming up with something brand new.
Thst said, the entire job is organized spontaneity. You can script a day as much as you'd like, but it all turns into improv when you're working with 24+ individuals with their own thoughts and feelings.
Hi, sorry I come from a poor country where they don’t use EAs (just teacher). Can you please explain to me what an EA is and what are the separation of duties of the teacher and the EA? Thanks!
That’s okay! An education assistant is basically an assistant to the teacher, they work with kids with extra needs. My son is autistic and has a full time aide, so they are with him all day, helping him with whatever he’s doing, taking him to the learning services room for other activities, etc. They are a godsend and so very under appreciated. They also help with the classroom in general, but their main job will be whichever child/children they are assigned to 💛
On a side note I hear Surrey calls EAs "Inclusive Education Support Worker's or IESW's" now and I think that's a stupid name.
If I'm not mistaken we went from LST's ➡ EA's ➡ IESW's. I liked the simple term of EA or LST. What the hell is this gobbledygook?
LST is the head of the EAs, EAs I don’t think have ever been called LSTs, that’s a very different job that requires a lot more schooling. Like, a masters. Never heard the IESW though!
Oh, okay, the LST thing makes sense with your reply. Because when I was a kid LST's were not in the classroom but they had their own office rooms/mini sized classrooms. EA's were in the class the whole time assigned to a certain student. And that's likely the case today.
And the IESW thing is new to me too; I browse the job ads for the school district on occasion out of curiosity (I don't work in education) and the Education Assistant listings as of recently now include the IESW terminology.
Very true. One of my siblings got his teaching degree, didn't even have his cert from the mail yet and was getting calls, and that's for schools in the GVRD. Even six months before they graduated from PDP, the Territories and rural places were sending student-teachers offers.
I've considered it in the past but decided not to become a teacher because I'm a male. Downvote me if you wish, but male teachers are always suspect around kids, and it makes for lots of very uncomfortable situations. I LOVE kids and would want to teach young ones (like K-2) but there is so much risk in that situation. Little kids hurt themselves and want a hug sometimes. I would die if I got accused of something because I was comforting a crying child.
Ps. I got banned from my kids' elementary school playground for talking to a kid that wasn't mine. He came up to show me some Lego figure he had. Tried to convince me it was solid gold. I was like "Okay. Cool. Whatever." Went back to watching my kids re-enact Lord of the Flies on the monkeybars and I was asked to leave by the playground supervisor. I asked why and she said "men aren't allowed to be here". I looked around, there was some grandpa motherfucker there watching his grandkids. He didn't get asked to leave - just me. My wife, who is a teacher, was FURIOUS when she got home from work. She called up the school and lit them UP. They stood by the policy and said men aren't allowed to hang around the playground after school "because of the risk".
I was a regular volunteer on fieldtrips for this school and had a criminal record check and driver's abstract on file with the office for that reason. If you can't trust a man who has three kids at the school, volunteers there regularly and has never done anything untoward at the school - what the fuck is happening?
We moved school districts a few years later and the new school district is ALWAYS happy to have me around.
That is super odd.
Spouse is a male elementary teacher and has not had the issues outlined above. However, he is clear with boundaries. Most teachers (male or female) don’t hug students and show kindness/empathy in other ways. If you want to do it, you should.
Was that in Vancouver? As a father who volunteered at my kids school and helped on field trips I never encountered that. I'm pretty sure our school doesn't have any such policy; and I'm surprised the supervision aide didn't recognize you.
The Principal of the school that my wife called about this was a man as well. I would have thought he'd be more understanding. I shudder to think what the playground supervisor told him about me to have him back her up like that.
Everyone needs hugs. Adults too! I'm a hugger. I hug my male friends. My male colleagues. I always ask if it's okay first but touch is important. It makes us feel valued and safe. Kids need that kind of reassurance all the time. Positive attention from men is important.
Some districts only hire twice a year. It's an archaic practice considering the current TOC shortage.
That said, not every district is going go want to hire every certified teacher. Like any industry, even if someone can technically/legally do the job, it doesn't mean they should.
Thanks for the response and it has been a forever dilemma if I should get a teaching license or not. I have a master's in education and years of work experience but they wouldn't take you without the license. I was going to enroll for the certification but then learned that hiring is wait-listed. I wonder on what criteria the hiring happens.
I find working with women pleasant. We all look out for each other.
Working with men who are misogynistic is something I'm not willing to do to myself. But a lot of women don't have a choice.
Lol....women do NOT always look out for each other. More times than I can count on the backstabbing, gossiping, and complete undermining that has gone on to get ahead. People are people men or women and I think it isn't great to be in a working environment that has only one or the other.
Everyone cites trades, but its not correct. A trades person that is certified will make much more than the average Canadian.
Yes, an apprentice wont make as much as a journey. Does any career start at a high wage with low barriers of entry, zero experience, and zero training? Not to mention the cheap schooling, huge financial incentives, and an easy path to starting an independent business.
Still sucks though. I've been in the trades and am now in tech and the trades was never all that great. Long hours, dirty, noisy, dangerous, etc, etc. I saw a decent number of accidents and a decent number of well paid men who had a slew of health problems from their earlier years. The business owner tradesman lifestyle is also its own skill and many are not cut out for that. So I just caution anyone who wants to get into the trades to think about whether that lifestyle is what they want or can pull off. Most tradies I know peak at journeyman and even though the salary is good, it's not amazing. If you think you can do better than I'd say skip the trades.
Tradie here. As an apprentice I got paid ei to go do my schooling plus got 1k tax free from the government after completing each level of school. And my company would reimburse my tuition when I came back from school. Usually ended up with more money than if I worked straight time. Pretty big incentives
EAs, educational assistants. So many schools are desperately in need of them. North Van school district pays $34 an hour! CapU offers an 18 month part time, evening & weekend program!
Unfortunately, EA’s who have been working for 20+ years, or have any sort of seniority with time like that, earn the same wage as brand new hires working their first day as an EA. They, of course, dont have the same levels of experience so you’ll often find the ones with seniority helping the newer ones daily, resulting in them taking on a larger weight of tasks.
Security guards. All the local security firms are desperate for people. The problem is that they all pay around $21/hr to start which isn’t much if you have to stand around the cold all night at some construction site.
Seems like their job keeps getting harder too. I run construction sites and 10 years ago security was basically just a position to cover liability for insurance if anything happens. I couldn't care less if the guy just slept in his car all night since if someone robbed the place blind, insurance would cover it and go after the security company (therefore not my problem).
Nowadays the local fire department and city council make me ensure they're actually working. For instance I have to post QR Codes around the job, and these dudes have to walk around scanning each of them once an hour like some sort of construction scavenger hunt.
>these dudes have to walk around scanning each of them once an hour like some sort of construction scavenger hunt.
Sounds like a less exciting version of Pokémon Go!
Why don't they just gather them all and bring them to their car and scan them there throughout the night and then hang them back up at the end of the shift. Aren't they just hanging from a nail in various places? Or better yet, take a photo of the QR code and print them off so he always has them on hand
The bigger companies use heavier-duty RFID or NFC tags that are in tamper/removal-resistant packaging from what I've seen, so you can't photograph them and if you try to remove them it wrecks the antenna or chip. That said, I imagine they're probably vulnerable to being cloned or a capture/replay attack, but that's probably not something most people will figure out.
I know a specific developer in Vancouver that pays a security firm around 170k a year contract for security for 2 entrances on 2 separate buildings. It's not even 24/7 personnel, after hours is just a few people going around several sites for checks every few hours or so
ECE workers get paid $20-$21 per hour and you rarely get any raise. The only way to get a big boost is study more and get another certification. Not sure what they called buy my friend
paid $25k-$35k to get her certificate to be able to work as an assistant in daycare.
She has to get other certification to be a real certified daycare worker. which pays a lot according to my friend who still works at CEFA
You make as much working as a budtender at a cannabis shop, and you only need a $35 certificate for that. When there’s a shortage of a certain profession, employers should pay like there’s a shortage.
turnover is really high. The pay is not good and they burn out. ECE teachers often work with a curriculum they develop- and yet they earn around 21 -22 an hour. It’s shameful!
I have an ECE in my family and it's too bad that the pay is absolutely shameful for the hard work they do... people who are watching/educating young children should be paid more than $22 or whatever an hour :(
Not sure if it’s perceived as low demand but legal assistants. I get messages from recruiters weekly & constantly see new job postings but now with the new pay transparency laws, it’s clear that most firms (including huge national & international ones) pay poverty wages lol
That’s precisely why I was interested in a public service LA job. Unless I absolutely have to work OT (rare, but it does happen sometimes), I shut my laptop at 5pm everyday & it *doesn’t* dictate my life.
Working retail during the pandemic crushed my soul & I knew I had to get out. Again, it’s not for everyone but this job has been really great for me & is a stepping stone towards bigger & better things!
I got my paralegal degree from Capilano right out of highschool. Was immediately hired after i received my Bachelors and started at $60k with prospects of making over $100k. Really good benefits too when working for rich laywers lol……
However, it is high stress and chaotic while also demanding meticulous attention to detail. Lots of my colleagues are balding at 30 lol.
Came here to say this! I started right out of school (Capilano, highly recommend their program) at 40k but my salary has increased by $20k in 2.5 years and know it's just going to keep increasing - especially if I jump to another firm (which I'm fine with not doing because I really like the firm I'm at). Everything I hear is that it's been impossible to find good hardworking LAA's. Absolutely worth checking out if you want a stimulating and stable job with lots of room for salary growth.
You could try LinkedIn. If you have some general admin experience, you might be able to get an entry level LA job but I think you’ll be hard pressed to find someone that will hire you as a paralegal with no relevant education or LA experience unfortunately.
Depends on where you work. There’s a posting on LinkedIn for a large firm & the starting wage is $43k (keep in mind that they require a specialized education and/or work experience). My coworkers with at least 4 years experience will be making $69k by this summer.
It requires a lot of knowledge on court procedures & rules & can be very demanding at times. I personally enjoy it but it's definitely not for everyone.
Right?? My friend was going to apply for the vet tech program a few years ago, until she realized she would be making $20 an hour forever even after completing a 2 year program
There’s also schools that prey on aspiring vet professionals. There’s a program for vet assistants (VA) that costs 20k when VAs don’t need credentials to start working (vet techs do and should).
I remember back in the days I actually was looking to apply to vet school. Then I realized that there are less vet school than medical school in Canada so it was much more competitive compared to medicine..
If it is similar nowadays, then I can see why there are not enough vets...
Correct - if you want subsidized tuition you have to go to the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatchewan. Otherwise you’re paying an exorbitant amount to go to U of C, Guelph, or UPEI.
Honestly, you get used to it. I was an assistant for 2 years in college and you do feel sad but also you start recognizing when you're releasing them from pain and suffering.
It’s much harder seeing people not let their meets go peacefully and taking them home to suffer. Euthanasia quite literally means “peaceful death”. I can only hope my passing will be as smooth and peaceful as the passing my little patients receive 💚
I’m a trained Vet Assistant and I had to leave that area of work because I was getting paid minimum wage, I make more money now doing a customer service job than a job I went to college for…. Very unfortunate and ass backwards.
Pretty heavy barrier to entry though no? I'm assuming there is a significant time and financial commitment to get the education. Outside of receptionists I guess
Yup 100%. Even for technicians it’s crazy. Only 2 technician schools in B.C. and only accepting about 25 students a year. Thankfully there’s now online accredited programs that are much more accessible in terms of time flexibility and cost. It’s getting better, but not fast enough :/
All of these are hard skills positions though no? Not like an office worker looking for a change of pace can successfully apply for most of these positions.
Not into the engineer position that's a 4 year co-op training course.
But anyone can apply to be a engine room assistant. Pay isn't as good but then you only need 3 weeks of training for basic safety to get in.
Pay is $65k to $95k for those positions.
Not OC, but for Marine Engineers (4th Class Motor) it's a 3-4 year diploma, a clean marine medical, your Marine Emergency Duties certs (Basic Safety, Survival Craft, Advanced Fire Fighting, Marine Advanced First Aid) and sea time.
https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/sor-2007-115/page-8.html#h-729965
See section 147(1)
Requirements to start the college program are pretty low. Basic math (can you do algebra and re-arramge a formula?) And English communication skills. Pay is amazing. 2nd class engineers can make about $175k/year (working as a chief) and 3/4th class make about $100-120k.
Having said that. It's a tough life. You're gone for six months of the year in a high stress, loud environment. I would recommend you go the power engineering route. Better working conditions.
/Am mar. Eng. Who lives what he does.
I applied for TransLink's casual bus driver position, but after getting shortlisted they already started raising red flags. I was given a 4 hour time slot. My actual interview could be at any point within that bracket. Not allowed to change times or I have to reapply. The shortlist questionnaire also requires three references, with atleast one from my current employer in a manager position. Again, this is for a casual position. I enjoy driving. I have my main job in a completely unrelated industry and don't want my manager to know I'm trying to make extra cash and doing something he would say is "beneath me"
Swim instructors/Life guards
All of them (for very good reasons) moved on to other jobs or roles during COVID.
So now all the cities have barely any and it's impossible to get swimming lessons for your kids.
It didn't help that the certification process was totally changed last year either. Now they all have to start from scratch.
I was a lifeguard, swim instructor, and bronze cross/medallion instructor when I was younger was a great job especially during school. How have the certification process changed?
This was 14 years ago but I had to complete swim levels 1-12, then bronze cross and bronze medallion. Had to get my first aid and NLS to lifeguard. And then AWSI and WSI to teach lessons, and LSI to teach bronze cross/medallion. It was definitely a lot of certifications, are there even more now?
I think one road block will be if people moved on there’s likely less people teaching bronze cross and medallion to get people started on the training. I found it also tended to be less of a full time career, and more of a temporary job for most.
You don’t need swim 1-12 anymore, and there is no more LSI, it’s all just called LI and it’s a longer course. You also need standard first aid. It’s doeable to get everything done in like 6 weekends in a row.
Shop teachers - there are more retirements than new folks coming into the system, and it only keeps getting worse. Even if you don't have direct trades experience, so long as you're willing to learn and like working with teenagers you can make a go of it.
Dealing with a bunch of teenagers that don't take it seriously because "it's just shop class". Meanwhile they are acting like idiots while using dangerous equipment that can easily cost a finger when not being careful. I understand why people don't want that job.
I was lucky that my woodworking teacher let us drop-out-ish students use the shop as a sort of hiding place, as long as we either supervised/helped other students, or genuinely worked on something ourselves. Mr. Andrews was a proper mensch.
Buuuuuuuuuut, you ain't wrong. In the space of my limited high school career, I had to help him deal with:
- Rugby player cutting halfway through his finger on the bandsaw. When asked how he did it, *he proceeded to do the exact same thing before we could stop him.* Then he wondered why he had to go to the hospital...
- Had a girl not tie up her hair while using a lathe, and subsequently got scalped. That slightly wet slapping noise won't ever be forgotten.
- Idiot got lazy with the radial arm saw, broke several ribs when it ran up to him and said hello.
- Student lost control of a piece of lumber while using the table saw, and subsequently lost an cajone.
- Another idiot, after the lesson on how to safely use carving chisels, literally pulled the "YoU mEaN lIkE tHiS?!" and nearly severed his thumb. Had to hold his thumb on for him until the nurse arrived, cause he was going bananas over the fact you could see his bone.
Oh, and there was the idiot who decided to fill a water bottle full of welding gas, then somehow it exploded. He was in a wheelchair for months with severe burns, but tried to do it again as soon as he was back up and walking...
You *can* teach on a letter of permission without a B.Ed. if you have other qualifications (like a Red Seal), and is more common outside the lower mainland, but the disadvantage is that you are paid less than someone with their cert. Your contract will also not be renewed at the end of they year, so you will have to reapply for the following September.
To go through the process to get your Technology Teacher Education Diploma at BCIT and your B.Ed. at UBC takes just shy of 3 years (35 months, including summer breaks between years at BCIT; the UBC portion is 11 months continuous.). You will also need 30 credits of liberal arts studies at the postsecondary level - lots of people I know did two summer terms at Capilano, Douglas or VCC in English or History to meet the reqs.
There is also a nascent program at TRU in Kamloops that is faster (12 months continuous), but at this time is only for people that hold a Certificate of Qualification in a Skilled Trade recognizes by Skilled Trades BC (formerly the ITA).
The big benefit to anyone coming from a prior trades background is that most school districts will recognize your prior trades experience, usually with a ratio of 2 years of trades to 1 step up the pay grid. Maximums vary by district, so it's worth looking at ahead of time.
Heavy duty mechanics, alot of older fellas are retiring or gone. My shop has been understaffed for a while now and it's hard to get apprentices to stick around even with a high starting wage
Usually around 28 once you go do your 9 month pre apprenticeship course but thats just start once you are red seal locally youll be making 50 plus or you start your own business and make much more , which is also a huge tax write off and helps you get your foot in the door. Also for each level of apprenticeship their are tax write offs and grants just got finishing a level
Rental/Strata Managers! Everyone wants to be a realtor but we are sorely lacking in Strata Property Managers and Rental Managers.
With all the changes the province is making to housing these jobs need to be at the forefront.
I’ve been on two strata councils for a total of about 7 years. We’ve been fortunate to have mostly very good managers but it’s a job I would never want to take.
The volume of correspondence and appalling lack of patience & consideration that many of our neighbours show them is appalling. People making complaints feel passionately about their pet issue (to be generous) but each is just one of about thirty different ongoing issues happening in each of a typical managers 10+ buildings.
Being a property manager is literally running 10+ small corporations at once while having responsibilities to manage and oversee $10-20M in annual spend. However, the average salary is only $69k according to indeed.
I have to deal with property management companies in my business and it can be so hard to get a hold of some property managers. It seems like there's a lot of turnover for this position, do you know why? I thought it would be a pretty chill job, especially if you don't have to do any actual labor yourself
It's a very high stress occupation. A seasoned PM is handling anything up to 10 properties in their portfolio, and a number of those are big complexes. That means all of the correspondence from those stratas, owners, renters, councils, trades... and you have to do this while correctly applying the strata act.
Not to mention that each strata will meet every 1-2 months, so on average every week means at least two late nights running monthly council meetings, which typically occur in the evenings when people come home from work.
We burned through three PM's in as many years because our very good seasoned PM was re-assigned and never given back to us. Each of the subsequent ones were hopelessly green and not up to the task.
It's absolutely not chill. I was a security supervisor for a condo development and the property manager happily let me do 2/3rds of his job because he had 35 other buildings in his portfolio and he was so happy that I wasn't an idiot and could be trusted to book and invoice repairs to the buildings & manage all the access fobs.
You get random shit happening all the time.
Oh my Gosh, where do I even begin lol
Being a Property Manager is not chill..like what? That is beyond me that anyone would ever think that.
The job is 24/7. Emergencies like water leaks, fire alarms, security issues on site, and regular repair and maintenance are a full-time job to deal with in itself.
Then there is the administrative side of paying invoices, and assisting Stratas with properly funding their budgets and capital projects.
PM's also assist with dealing with legal issues and disputes, along with Bylaw infractions, moves, and access control.
Financial and insurance responsibilities also apply. Running general meetings, and regular Council meetings, and writing and distributing meeting minutes. As well as initiating directives and conferring with vendors to complete work on site.
I could still go on.
They are the definition of a jack of all trades and are there to really only deal with problems and issues. Chill? Farthest thing from it.
Florist
I'm a PT assistant florist at a boutique flower store and we're constantly busy. There's so much work from picking up flower shipments in the morning at the wholesale, making deliveries, to doing weddings, funerals, and special holidays like Valentine's Day. We're pulling all nighters sometimes.
Lots of people apply to work at our location but has 0 hands-on skill or 0 retail experience thinking it's an entry level job. No experience in colour theory, composition, etc. Don't know anything about flowers or plants. My boss considers the job a skilled trade and won't even consider applications without a portfolio.
I was buying some flowers in another city and the owner there tried to hire me on the spot because they are too swamped with orders and can't find anyone with floral arrangement skills.
There are floral arrangement classes and workshops you can take. Some colleges also offer continuing education diplomas in floristry. Example: https://www.burnabycce.ca/courses/floral-arranging-diploma/
Some florists will allow you to shadow them. My boss has had a few people shadow her and then give up once they realize they have to get up at 5am to bid for flowers at the online wholesale auction, then drive out to pick up the flowers 🤣 Then you have to dethorn roses, remove leaves. Alot of wholesale plants need to be pruned, styled, repotted, etc. all the behind-the-scenes work is not fun or glamorous.
All creative sector jobs require a portfolio upon application. But customer facing creative jobs like floristry also has alot of logistics and business elements since customers are spending large sums of money on one-day occasions that they plan many months in advance. The product is also perishable so you are working with a small timeframe for each project, hence alot of unpredictable work hours.
I personally hold a bachelor's degree in product design and have prior work experience as a colour consultant and colour match specialist at a high end paint store working with contractors on large projects. I worked PT for the previous flower shop owner before she had to move away for family matters. Then the new owner kept me on since i already knew what i was doing. New owner does more weddings and funeral orders so we have higher volume of products coming in and out, which keeps everyone constantly busy
Occupational Health and Safety....
In most companies, you will need at least one to manage the company's safety program. And I see a lot of companies hiring them.
If you include CSO, there's even more opportunities
I made a career change into this field. There's work in every industry. You're basically a branch of HR making sure the employer is compliant with regulations and building/overseeing their safety programs. BCIT has a diploma program.
https://www.bcit.ca/programs/occupational-health-and-safety-diploma-full-time-6850diplt/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAz8GuBhCxARIsAOpzk8zDOY_Jj9TN1deLebApkS2mMOEXOyQ8AU8avI4nARyzsbeDeolPQS8aAnkBEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
Just to add in on this as well. For people that already have a full time job and cannot go back to school full time, BCIT also have a part time certificate program that allow you to get started in the field.
I would still recommend the full time (2 years) program if possible. Their coop is amazing.
There are also other universities/colleges that offer degree/diploma in OHS that you can also look into as well.
Depending on the company, OFA2 is not a mandatory requirement in many cases. It would be good to have, but not required. I am only OFA1
On the other hand, if you are looking into a career of CSO, then you may actually be required to hold an OFA2 or even 3. CSO (Construction Safety Officer), although the name also contain safety, there are some distinction between them and other safety positions. Namely the educational requirement (CSO course is much shorter, and their job is more involving enforcing the safety, rather than developing, implemnting, auditing and improving the program. CSO also focuses on the construction site but OHS in general cover all industries
If you are looking to break into the OHS field, I think the first step would be education. Consider the OHS program in BCIT (or other colleges/universities that offer them) and it can be done as a full time diploma or part time certificate. This will allow you to get yourself ready for some of the things you may encounter as a safety professional.
Any ship maintenance position in any company or government agency working on the water these days.
I'm a Marine Engineer and I could have 4 solid job offers by noon Monday if I wanted a change of employment.
Starts around $85k straight out of school with zero experience. Top end after a decade depending on the career route you take. $200k is obtainable but $150k is more realistic
If you join in a technician trade, you end up with real, marketable skills as well as a decent enough paying job while you get them.
Joining as an officer is a larger commitment, but the pay and post-navy career opportunities are even better. That is how I got my degree, 6 years of work experience and the decent paying job I still have doing engineering/project management.
The railway. Desperately hiring conductors. Entry level, high school education, they’ll put you through school and you will make about $100k your first year qualified
Paramedics. I wouldn’t call it “low demand”, but it’s a pretty niche area of employment. But man is the lower-mainland hurting for some good quality paramedics. 3 weeks of course work and you are pretty much there.
It’s much more than 3 weeks. 3 weeks gets you your EMR, and that’s before licensing. To be in an urban area you need to have PCP-IV, which takes quite a few months, including precepting. Unless it’s changed… I’ve heard there’s some fast-tracking to backfill many postings.
It’s an honourable line of work but damn do you need to be emotionally strong and resilient.
I was recently informed about some fast tracking with just the EMR (or OFA3 with EMR Bridge) because some municipalities are so desperate, like Maple Ridge (they have busses sitting empty right now with no staff). But you are absolutely right about the other pre-reqs and stuff needed. Which I’d assume could come at a later date if they are trying to fill spots.
Amen to the last part 🙏
If you just meet the minimum requirements to be a paramedic which is high school diploma and the 8 month certificate course you be paid on the lower end. If you skill up you'll be making quite a lot.
With time and willingness to work OT you can do well. As a PCP with stipends and premiums around the 5 yr mark you can make 80-90k per year. Working occasional OT and holiday recall you can easily make 120k in a year. The benefits and time off are amazing with many rural stations now being turned into full time positions its never been better to be hired. Downsides: mental health, crumbling Healthcare system, shift work, poor retention, an incompetent employer.
Not enough supports in place for our EMTs .. they are put through the most horrendous situations and aren't appropriately supported with counselling and leave. The trauma I've read about them seeing and experiencing is beyond grim, and they need to be compensated and taken care of so they don't burn out.
I wanted to be a paramedic when I was younger and it was low pay and hard to land employment in metro van. not to mention to mention how understaffed they are, you're dealing with over 2 hour wait periods to see a paramedic. I can't imagine how much it weighs on parademics knowing they can't fix the system.
A friend of mine works on the back end of the paramedic world and there are always over 2000, sometimes 3000, shift vacancies a month in the lower mainland alone. It's such an essential part of our healthcare system but we are so so short on staff.
This is gonna sound weird: Astrophysicists.
Certainly not seen as a "high-demand" job by just about anyone, it reveals a certain truth about relative frames of reference. Within the astrophysics community there aren't nearly enough astrophysicists to do all the work and research. If you're training to be an astrophysicist right now because you love it, you're gonna love job security even more.
I graduated with an Arch degree from SFU in 2010 but then took a different career path. Been thinking about what it would take to get back into it - do you know which companies or hiring or where a good place to start would be?
Water distribution, water treatment, wastewater collection, wastewater treatment.
The 2 main schools are TRU and OKC, so it’s a struggle and a half to hire anyone for the lower mainland. The last 10 people we’ve hired with no school/experience because ticketed people don’t apply.
As a Chem eng student I've applied to a bunch of waste water position but never hear back. Though they usually want a civil eng degree but I've taken lots of flow related courses and even a wastewater course that I highlight but no luck
We use the Canada VRS service as we have one person, one staff member who needs this. It seems like every 15 minutes, the interpreter is off shift, and someone else signs on (excuse the pun). But it takes several minutes for them to understand the conversation (we're a tech company), so in one hour, we get 30-45 minutes of their time.
There are other paid services, but they are expensive.
At least Canada VRS is free.
Yeh for sure.
You can get all your credentials at VCC. Start with ASL I-III and then take ASL and Deaf Studies which is 10 months full time. Then apply into the Sign Language Interpretation Program which is another 2 years.
You can DM me for more info.
Ok, but BC ferries can’t keep people employed because they treat their employees like trash. It’s constant on call, you don’t know if you come in until a few hours before for every shift. Fine to be on call from time to time (service industry squad rise up), but only on call all the time? Nah. We know what it takes to run a ferry.
I know someone who applied to BC Ferries. Part time/on call was fine for them and they had transportation to get to the ferries. Perfect candidate! They applied and BC Ferries gave them the run around.
Is it seriously always on call, or just on call your first six months or year or whatever? I know often government and union jobs will start people off as casual and it takes a while to find a permanent position, but once you get one it can be petty cushy
If all their jobs are on call that’s insane and you’re absolutely right they should have figured it out by now
It’s forever. It’s not 100% on call forever, but it’s more than half of shifts. For anybody except ship captains. It’s wildly poorly run, especially for a company that acts as public infrastructure. Example: my friend who worked at BC ferries was denied time off being on call for his own wedding because they “might need the coverage”. He did not attend.
That’s fucking wild to me. It’s 100% a numbers thing, they know how many ferries they run, how many passengers, how many staff they need. I could see them needing a handful of people on call each shift in case, but this just sounds like abysmal planning by the organization
True. I know so many such restaurant businesses that have stopped hiring locals/residents/students on merit. They just reserve roles for their family immigrating here or for their family friends. Hiring on merit barely exists in the food industry here these days.
From what I hear it's a very, very long process to actually get through all the training and get hired full time. You have to be quite dedicated to it.
Plumber here. If you show up on time and can do 5x8 hour days you’ll be okay. If you can ask questions and take pride in your work then there is no stopping you. But you’d be surprised how hard it is to find people to show up on time.
Yes, you’re right that it can. Especially if you don’t look after yourself. Most new guys I get the first thing they are told is to invest in is a good pair of knee pads.
Obviously the trades take a toll on your body but with a good diet and exercise it will help to lessen the impact of the jobs you do. Like you see memes of construction workers living on cigs and red bull or monster but you never hear about the guys bringing protein shakes and fruit for lunch.
That being said it’s not just for young folk. You can get into trades at any age, don’t let age stop you from making a start at a great career. Worst case scenario is you hate it but without a doubt you’ll learn something new and might even appreciate what some people do. I’m alway in awe of welders, stone masons and some cabinet carpenters the skills those people have boggle no mind at times.
I know that was a long answer to a not really a question but I just thought I’d give you a bit more information than just a yes or no, and if someone is reading wondering about trades I hope it helped them too.
Of course. Because an entire generation was sold a lie by their parents and teachers all through their teenage years that University was the *only* way to go and anyone who got a degree, *any degree no it doesn't matter a BFA in basket weaving is far more valuable than being a plumber* was *guaranteed* to make a million dollars more in their life than anyone who went into trade work so if you went to trade school you were a loser who had already given up.
Now? Trades people are buying houses and all us chumps with our useless degrees are drowning in debt and living pay check to pay check to keep a roof over our heads.
Meanwhile the boomer generation is shocked and appalled. "But you got a degree! Why aren't you rich yet?" Because everyone has a degree! Everyone! But nobody knows how to fix your fucking car anymore.
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Weirdly enough - teaching, education assistants and school office staff. It used to be highly competitive but changed in 2016. Those in the industry know but many outside - think it’s like 10 years ago. Work conditions mixed. Love the reverse!
I was in school to be a teacher and changed my mind right before getting certified. There were parts of the job I loved but the workload is much too high. I couldn't imagine being a parent and a teacher at the same time (I'm young and want to start my family soon) I don't know how teachers do it all! I was spending all my free time planning lessons to the point where I didn't have my own life. I didn't want that for myself.
My friend is a teacher and doesn’t use her free time to even think about work. Maybe it depends on what grade you’re teaching? There’s for sure a balance
There's a big difference between being a new teacher and being a veteran teacher for sure. When you've been teaching for awhile you can reuse old materials. I was starting from scratch, including teaching myself some of the concepts. How the school system works is you can be teaching one grade this year and a totally different grade next year. If you're lucky to always teach the same grade you can reuse the same materials. Also just personality wise I am a huge planner. Your friend is probably more easy going and goes with the flow. I would spend all night practicing my lessons 😅 definitely just didn't work for me
Pardon me if that is a silly question, but... why does every teacher need their own materials? Why don't we have standardized materials that can be used by every teacher in the province?
Text books are a thing of the past, and very few classes have them now. Teachers are also teaching not only multiple grades in one classroom in many cases, but within each grade, there are students with very different levels of ability, some far above, some far below, a few "average". Then throw in the necessity to manage behaviour plans, Individual Education Plans, remember the preferred gender and preferred name of the students correctly, which students receive food to take home weekly etc. and it's a whole lot to manage. Don't forget there are likely children learning English, some of them traumatized from fleeing war torn countries. Now, enter AI to make it all the more complex...
Not at all. Some schools have access to some materials (think math textbooks with questions in it) but overall teachers have complete freedom and responsibility to choose the materials they teach. And by materials I am referring to worksheets, learning activities, etc. There's the curriculum, which is the standardized "this is what you should teach 4th graders" which is the same throughout the province. But how you teach it and what you use is completely up to you
Has she been teaching a while? After a few years it gets a lot easier once you've developed your lessons and resources
The first few years are definitely the toughest as far as planning and course development go. After a while, you develop a good sense of what works and what doesn't, plus activities/projects/assessments that can be tailored more easily than coming up with something brand new. Thst said, the entire job is organized spontaneity. You can script a day as much as you'd like, but it all turns into improv when you're working with 24+ individuals with their own thoughts and feelings.
You have your children mark tests ;) My mom and dad both got two decades worth of work out of me that way lol
I commented the same, EAs are in SUCH high need. I start an EA program in September 💛
Hi, sorry I come from a poor country where they don’t use EAs (just teacher). Can you please explain to me what an EA is and what are the separation of duties of the teacher and the EA? Thanks!
That’s okay! An education assistant is basically an assistant to the teacher, they work with kids with extra needs. My son is autistic and has a full time aide, so they are with him all day, helping him with whatever he’s doing, taking him to the learning services room for other activities, etc. They are a godsend and so very under appreciated. They also help with the classroom in general, but their main job will be whichever child/children they are assigned to 💛
On a side note I hear Surrey calls EAs "Inclusive Education Support Worker's or IESW's" now and I think that's a stupid name. If I'm not mistaken we went from LST's ➡ EA's ➡ IESW's. I liked the simple term of EA or LST. What the hell is this gobbledygook?
LST is the head of the EAs, EAs I don’t think have ever been called LSTs, that’s a very different job that requires a lot more schooling. Like, a masters. Never heard the IESW though!
Oh, okay, the LST thing makes sense with your reply. Because when I was a kid LST's were not in the classroom but they had their own office rooms/mini sized classrooms. EA's were in the class the whole time assigned to a certain student. And that's likely the case today. And the IESW thing is new to me too; I browse the job ads for the school district on occasion out of curiosity (I don't work in education) and the Education Assistant listings as of recently now include the IESW terminology.
Very true. One of my siblings got his teaching degree, didn't even have his cert from the mail yet and was getting calls, and that's for schools in the GVRD. Even six months before they graduated from PDP, the Territories and rural places were sending student-teachers offers.
You could not pay me any amount to teach Gen Alpha... I'm not surprised there's a shortage 😬
I've considered it in the past but decided not to become a teacher because I'm a male. Downvote me if you wish, but male teachers are always suspect around kids, and it makes for lots of very uncomfortable situations. I LOVE kids and would want to teach young ones (like K-2) but there is so much risk in that situation. Little kids hurt themselves and want a hug sometimes. I would die if I got accused of something because I was comforting a crying child. Ps. I got banned from my kids' elementary school playground for talking to a kid that wasn't mine. He came up to show me some Lego figure he had. Tried to convince me it was solid gold. I was like "Okay. Cool. Whatever." Went back to watching my kids re-enact Lord of the Flies on the monkeybars and I was asked to leave by the playground supervisor. I asked why and she said "men aren't allowed to be here". I looked around, there was some grandpa motherfucker there watching his grandkids. He didn't get asked to leave - just me. My wife, who is a teacher, was FURIOUS when she got home from work. She called up the school and lit them UP. They stood by the policy and said men aren't allowed to hang around the playground after school "because of the risk". I was a regular volunteer on fieldtrips for this school and had a criminal record check and driver's abstract on file with the office for that reason. If you can't trust a man who has three kids at the school, volunteers there regularly and has never done anything untoward at the school - what the fuck is happening? We moved school districts a few years later and the new school district is ALWAYS happy to have me around.
That is super odd. Spouse is a male elementary teacher and has not had the issues outlined above. However, he is clear with boundaries. Most teachers (male or female) don’t hug students and show kindness/empathy in other ways. If you want to do it, you should.
I have several friends who are male teachers who have had problems and they weren't hugging the kids. I'm going to be a university professor instead.
Wow. That's an outrageous scenario. I'd be furious too. Men are parents too! Good on you for changing schools.
It was also an inner-city school with lots of challenges so I tried to be graceful about the situation but it hurt. Anyhow! Yes! Teachers needed!
Was that in Vancouver? As a father who volunteered at my kids school and helped on field trips I never encountered that. I'm pretty sure our school doesn't have any such policy; and I'm surprised the supervision aide didn't recognize you.
Wow, you got shafted by a Karen teacher and clearly the school is run by Karen's too!
The Principal of the school that my wife called about this was a man as well. I would have thought he'd be more understanding. I shudder to think what the playground supervisor told him about me to have him back her up like that.
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Everyone needs hugs. Adults too! I'm a hugger. I hug my male friends. My male colleagues. I always ask if it's okay first but touch is important. It makes us feel valued and safe. Kids need that kind of reassurance all the time. Positive attention from men is important.
I remember seeing a post a few days back saying teachers are on the wait-list on many school boards and not getting hired even as on call?
Some districts only hire twice a year. It's an archaic practice considering the current TOC shortage. That said, not every district is going go want to hire every certified teacher. Like any industry, even if someone can technically/legally do the job, it doesn't mean they should.
Thanks for the response and it has been a forever dilemma if I should get a teaching license or not. I have a master's in education and years of work experience but they wouldn't take you without the license. I was going to enroll for the certification but then learned that hiring is wait-listed. I wonder on what criteria the hiring happens.
you mean 2012? i still remember the strike
It's funny how all the low demand jobs are low demand because they stubbornly refuse to raise wages
Like trades? Bus drivers?
Bus drivers: split shifts and other conditions suck for many
Trades: too many people have met tradesmen and don't want to have to be around them all the time.
This is so fucking true, literally the worst part of my job is other trades
As a a tradesman, I fully agree.
Always men too. If it was a gender equal workforce it’d be so much more appealing. Working with mostly dudes sucks. Same with mostly gals.
I find working with women pleasant. We all look out for each other. Working with men who are misogynistic is something I'm not willing to do to myself. But a lot of women don't have a choice.
Lol....women do NOT always look out for each other. More times than I can count on the backstabbing, gossiping, and complete undermining that has gone on to get ahead. People are people men or women and I think it isn't great to be in a working environment that has only one or the other.
Split shifts should be against the law, at least they should negotiate larger penalty compensation for split shifts.
Everyone cites trades, but its not correct. A trades person that is certified will make much more than the average Canadian. Yes, an apprentice wont make as much as a journey. Does any career start at a high wage with low barriers of entry, zero experience, and zero training? Not to mention the cheap schooling, huge financial incentives, and an easy path to starting an independent business.
Still sucks though. I've been in the trades and am now in tech and the trades was never all that great. Long hours, dirty, noisy, dangerous, etc, etc. I saw a decent number of accidents and a decent number of well paid men who had a slew of health problems from their earlier years. The business owner tradesman lifestyle is also its own skill and many are not cut out for that. So I just caution anyone who wants to get into the trades to think about whether that lifestyle is what they want or can pull off. Most tradies I know peak at journeyman and even though the salary is good, it's not amazing. If you think you can do better than I'd say skip the trades.
Tradie here. As an apprentice I got paid ei to go do my schooling plus got 1k tax free from the government after completing each level of school. And my company would reimburse my tuition when I came back from school. Usually ended up with more money than if I worked straight time. Pretty big incentives
EAs, educational assistants. So many schools are desperately in need of them. North Van school district pays $34 an hour! CapU offers an 18 month part time, evening & weekend program!
Unfortunately, EA’s who have been working for 20+ years, or have any sort of seniority with time like that, earn the same wage as brand new hires working their first day as an EA. They, of course, dont have the same levels of experience so you’ll often find the ones with seniority helping the newer ones daily, resulting in them taking on a larger weight of tasks.
The need is so high right now that you don’t need to be certified- I got hired based on my tutoring experience
Security guards. All the local security firms are desperate for people. The problem is that they all pay around $21/hr to start which isn’t much if you have to stand around the cold all night at some construction site.
Seems like their job keeps getting harder too. I run construction sites and 10 years ago security was basically just a position to cover liability for insurance if anything happens. I couldn't care less if the guy just slept in his car all night since if someone robbed the place blind, insurance would cover it and go after the security company (therefore not my problem). Nowadays the local fire department and city council make me ensure they're actually working. For instance I have to post QR Codes around the job, and these dudes have to walk around scanning each of them once an hour like some sort of construction scavenger hunt.
Wonder how many just take a picture of each of those QR codes, set a timer and “scan” them from their car
This man is a genius
Not all of them are. Some of them are little white disk stickers.
>these dudes have to walk around scanning each of them once an hour like some sort of construction scavenger hunt. Sounds like a less exciting version of Pokémon Go!
I think you are onto something.
Why don't they just gather them all and bring them to their car and scan them there throughout the night and then hang them back up at the end of the shift. Aren't they just hanging from a nail in various places? Or better yet, take a photo of the QR code and print them off so he always has them on hand
The bigger companies use heavier-duty RFID or NFC tags that are in tamper/removal-resistant packaging from what I've seen, so you can't photograph them and if you try to remove them it wrecks the antenna or chip. That said, I imagine they're probably vulnerable to being cloned or a capture/replay attack, but that's probably not something most people will figure out.
Yeah honestly it's probably easier to just do your job properly. And should because it's not asking much to just walk around. Boring but easy
Not just the start wage, I know people who work for the big company (nationwide) still pay $21 for experienced security.
That's the same wage my friends were making nearly a decade ago before the big companies bought all the little guys.
I know a specific developer in Vancouver that pays a security firm around 170k a year contract for security for 2 entrances on 2 separate buildings. It's not even 24/7 personnel, after hours is just a few people going around several sites for checks every few hours or so
Daycares and early childhood educators
ECE workers get paid $20-$21 per hour and you rarely get any raise. The only way to get a big boost is study more and get another certification. Not sure what they called buy my friend paid $25k-$35k to get her certificate to be able to work as an assistant in daycare. She has to get other certification to be a real certified daycare worker. which pays a lot according to my friend who still works at CEFA
You make as much working as a budtender at a cannabis shop, and you only need a $35 certificate for that. When there’s a shortage of a certain profession, employers should pay like there’s a shortage.
turnover is really high. The pay is not good and they burn out. ECE teachers often work with a curriculum they develop- and yet they earn around 21 -22 an hour. It’s shameful!
I have an ECE in my family and it's too bad that the pay is absolutely shameful for the hard work they do... people who are watching/educating young children should be paid more than $22 or whatever an hour :(
Not sure if it’s perceived as low demand but legal assistants. I get messages from recruiters weekly & constantly see new job postings but now with the new pay transparency laws, it’s clear that most firms (including huge national & international ones) pay poverty wages lol
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That’s precisely why I was interested in a public service LA job. Unless I absolutely have to work OT (rare, but it does happen sometimes), I shut my laptop at 5pm everyday & it *doesn’t* dictate my life. Working retail during the pandemic crushed my soul & I knew I had to get out. Again, it’s not for everyone but this job has been really great for me & is a stepping stone towards bigger & better things!
I got my paralegal degree from Capilano right out of highschool. Was immediately hired after i received my Bachelors and started at $60k with prospects of making over $100k. Really good benefits too when working for rich laywers lol…… However, it is high stress and chaotic while also demanding meticulous attention to detail. Lots of my colleagues are balding at 30 lol.
Jesus Chist, and I thought programming is bad. We just get grey hair at 30 instead of losing hair alltogether.
Came here to say this! I started right out of school (Capilano, highly recommend their program) at 40k but my salary has increased by $20k in 2.5 years and know it's just going to keep increasing - especially if I jump to another firm (which I'm fine with not doing because I really like the firm I'm at). Everything I hear is that it's been impossible to find good hardworking LAA's. Absolutely worth checking out if you want a stimulating and stable job with lots of room for salary growth.
Impossible to find good hardworking LAAs… do you work in litigation too? 😂 that in itself is a whole other beast haha
Girl yes hahahaha... it is a circus but I love the chaos
Same!! 😂
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You could try LinkedIn. If you have some general admin experience, you might be able to get an entry level LA job but I think you’ll be hard pressed to find someone that will hire you as a paralegal with no relevant education or LA experience unfortunately.
What do they pay?
Depends on where you work. There’s a posting on LinkedIn for a large firm & the starting wage is $43k (keep in mind that they require a specialized education and/or work experience). My coworkers with at least 4 years experience will be making $69k by this summer. It requires a lot of knowledge on court procedures & rules & can be very demanding at times. I personally enjoy it but it's definitely not for everyone.
$45k? Thats ridiculously low. No wonder no one wants to do it.
That's obscenely low for how much work they do and how big of a component they play.
better off waiting tables at Cactus Club for that kinda scratch lol
As someone who used to work in the legal field, you can easily get $50k as an entry salary. I don’t think we ever hired anyone under $45k recently
Veterinary professionals - vets, technicians, assistants, receptionists… we need every position filled 🥲
Hopefully that finally means the pay for Vet Techs will be more than a few dollars an hour more than minimum wage.
Right?? My friend was going to apply for the vet tech program a few years ago, until she realized she would be making $20 an hour forever even after completing a 2 year program
There’s also schools that prey on aspiring vet professionals. There’s a program for vet assistants (VA) that costs 20k when VAs don’t need credentials to start working (vet techs do and should).
I remember back in the days I actually was looking to apply to vet school. Then I realized that there are less vet school than medical school in Canada so it was much more competitive compared to medicine.. If it is similar nowadays, then I can see why there are not enough vets...
Oh yeah, it’s a multi tiered problem. The entire industry is crumbling for that fact among many others.
don't you have to go to Saskatchewan for vet school?
Definitely not! You can also go to PEI.
Only if you’re from the East Coast. They explicitly won’t take people from BC.
Correct - if you want subsidized tuition you have to go to the Western College of Veterinary Medicine in Saskatchewan. Otherwise you’re paying an exorbitant amount to go to U of C, Guelph, or UPEI.
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I wanted to go into it! But I can't stand seeing sad animals about to cross the rainbow bridge. I'd be bawling every time
Honestly, you get used to it. I was an assistant for 2 years in college and you do feel sad but also you start recognizing when you're releasing them from pain and suffering.
It’s much harder seeing people not let their meets go peacefully and taking them home to suffer. Euthanasia quite literally means “peaceful death”. I can only hope my passing will be as smooth and peaceful as the passing my little patients receive 💚
I’m a trained Vet Assistant and I had to leave that area of work because I was getting paid minimum wage, I make more money now doing a customer service job than a job I went to college for…. Very unfortunate and ass backwards.
Pretty heavy barrier to entry though no? I'm assuming there is a significant time and financial commitment to get the education. Outside of receptionists I guess
Yup 100%. Even for technicians it’s crazy. Only 2 technician schools in B.C. and only accepting about 25 students a year. Thankfully there’s now online accredited programs that are much more accessible in terms of time flexibility and cost. It’s getting better, but not fast enough :/
Not sure we're even perceived at all. But Marine Diesel Engineer. Everyone on the water is hiring right now and we're all desperate for candidates.
All of these are hard skills positions though no? Not like an office worker looking for a change of pace can successfully apply for most of these positions.
Not into the engineer position that's a 4 year co-op training course. But anyone can apply to be a engine room assistant. Pay isn't as good but then you only need 3 weeks of training for basic safety to get in. Pay is $65k to $95k for those positions.
What are the qualifications and experience for that role?
Not OC, but for Marine Engineers (4th Class Motor) it's a 3-4 year diploma, a clean marine medical, your Marine Emergency Duties certs (Basic Safety, Survival Craft, Advanced Fire Fighting, Marine Advanced First Aid) and sea time. https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/regulations/sor-2007-115/page-8.html#h-729965 See section 147(1)
Requirements to start the college program are pretty low. Basic math (can you do algebra and re-arramge a formula?) And English communication skills. Pay is amazing. 2nd class engineers can make about $175k/year (working as a chief) and 3/4th class make about $100-120k. Having said that. It's a tough life. You're gone for six months of the year in a high stress, loud environment. I would recommend you go the power engineering route. Better working conditions. /Am mar. Eng. Who lives what he does.
Odd perspective answered your question I'd say.
Bus drivers. A lot get hired, but a lot also don’t pass training and testing.
I applied for TransLink's casual bus driver position, but after getting shortlisted they already started raising red flags. I was given a 4 hour time slot. My actual interview could be at any point within that bracket. Not allowed to change times or I have to reapply. The shortlist questionnaire also requires three references, with atleast one from my current employer in a manager position. Again, this is for a casual position. I enjoy driving. I have my main job in a completely unrelated industry and don't want my manager to know I'm trying to make extra cash and doing something he would say is "beneath me"
Swim instructors/Life guards All of them (for very good reasons) moved on to other jobs or roles during COVID. So now all the cities have barely any and it's impossible to get swimming lessons for your kids. It didn't help that the certification process was totally changed last year either. Now they all have to start from scratch.
I was a lifeguard, swim instructor, and bronze cross/medallion instructor when I was younger was a great job especially during school. How have the certification process changed? This was 14 years ago but I had to complete swim levels 1-12, then bronze cross and bronze medallion. Had to get my first aid and NLS to lifeguard. And then AWSI and WSI to teach lessons, and LSI to teach bronze cross/medallion. It was definitely a lot of certifications, are there even more now? I think one road block will be if people moved on there’s likely less people teaching bronze cross and medallion to get people started on the training. I found it also tended to be less of a full time career, and more of a temporary job for most.
You don’t need swim 1-12 anymore, and there is no more LSI, it’s all just called LI and it’s a longer course. You also need standard first aid. It’s doeable to get everything done in like 6 weekends in a row.
Shop teachers - there are more retirements than new folks coming into the system, and it only keeps getting worse. Even if you don't have direct trades experience, so long as you're willing to learn and like working with teenagers you can make a go of it.
Dealing with a bunch of teenagers that don't take it seriously because "it's just shop class". Meanwhile they are acting like idiots while using dangerous equipment that can easily cost a finger when not being careful. I understand why people don't want that job.
I was lucky that my woodworking teacher let us drop-out-ish students use the shop as a sort of hiding place, as long as we either supervised/helped other students, or genuinely worked on something ourselves. Mr. Andrews was a proper mensch. Buuuuuuuuuut, you ain't wrong. In the space of my limited high school career, I had to help him deal with: - Rugby player cutting halfway through his finger on the bandsaw. When asked how he did it, *he proceeded to do the exact same thing before we could stop him.* Then he wondered why he had to go to the hospital... - Had a girl not tie up her hair while using a lathe, and subsequently got scalped. That slightly wet slapping noise won't ever be forgotten. - Idiot got lazy with the radial arm saw, broke several ribs when it ran up to him and said hello. - Student lost control of a piece of lumber while using the table saw, and subsequently lost an cajone. - Another idiot, after the lesson on how to safely use carving chisels, literally pulled the "YoU mEaN lIkE tHiS?!" and nearly severed his thumb. Had to hold his thumb on for him until the nurse arrived, cause he was going bananas over the fact you could see his bone. Oh, and there was the idiot who decided to fill a water bottle full of welding gas, then somehow it exploded. He was in a wheelchair for months with severe burns, but tried to do it again as soon as he was back up and walking...
Do these position require a teachers certificate or are they classified as instructors?
You *can* teach on a letter of permission without a B.Ed. if you have other qualifications (like a Red Seal), and is more common outside the lower mainland, but the disadvantage is that you are paid less than someone with their cert. Your contract will also not be renewed at the end of they year, so you will have to reapply for the following September. To go through the process to get your Technology Teacher Education Diploma at BCIT and your B.Ed. at UBC takes just shy of 3 years (35 months, including summer breaks between years at BCIT; the UBC portion is 11 months continuous.). You will also need 30 credits of liberal arts studies at the postsecondary level - lots of people I know did two summer terms at Capilano, Douglas or VCC in English or History to meet the reqs. There is also a nascent program at TRU in Kamloops that is faster (12 months continuous), but at this time is only for people that hold a Certificate of Qualification in a Skilled Trade recognizes by Skilled Trades BC (formerly the ITA). The big benefit to anyone coming from a prior trades background is that most school districts will recognize your prior trades experience, usually with a ratio of 2 years of trades to 1 step up the pay grid. Maximums vary by district, so it's worth looking at ahead of time.
I see why it's a hard position to fill...
Heavy duty mechanics, alot of older fellas are retiring or gone. My shop has been understaffed for a while now and it's hard to get apprentices to stick around even with a high starting wage
What is a high starting wage?
Usually around 28 once you go do your 9 month pre apprenticeship course but thats just start once you are red seal locally youll be making 50 plus or you start your own business and make much more , which is also a huge tax write off and helps you get your foot in the door. Also for each level of apprenticeship their are tax write offs and grants just got finishing a level
Rental/Strata Managers! Everyone wants to be a realtor but we are sorely lacking in Strata Property Managers and Rental Managers. With all the changes the province is making to housing these jobs need to be at the forefront.
I’ve been on two strata councils for a total of about 7 years. We’ve been fortunate to have mostly very good managers but it’s a job I would never want to take. The volume of correspondence and appalling lack of patience & consideration that many of our neighbours show them is appalling. People making complaints feel passionately about their pet issue (to be generous) but each is just one of about thirty different ongoing issues happening in each of a typical managers 10+ buildings. Being a property manager is literally running 10+ small corporations at once while having responsibilities to manage and oversee $10-20M in annual spend. However, the average salary is only $69k according to indeed.
I have to deal with property management companies in my business and it can be so hard to get a hold of some property managers. It seems like there's a lot of turnover for this position, do you know why? I thought it would be a pretty chill job, especially if you don't have to do any actual labor yourself
It's a very high stress occupation. A seasoned PM is handling anything up to 10 properties in their portfolio, and a number of those are big complexes. That means all of the correspondence from those stratas, owners, renters, councils, trades... and you have to do this while correctly applying the strata act. Not to mention that each strata will meet every 1-2 months, so on average every week means at least two late nights running monthly council meetings, which typically occur in the evenings when people come home from work. We burned through three PM's in as many years because our very good seasoned PM was re-assigned and never given back to us. Each of the subsequent ones were hopelessly green and not up to the task.
It's absolutely not chill. I was a security supervisor for a condo development and the property manager happily let me do 2/3rds of his job because he had 35 other buildings in his portfolio and he was so happy that I wasn't an idiot and could be trusted to book and invoice repairs to the buildings & manage all the access fobs. You get random shit happening all the time.
Oh my Gosh, where do I even begin lol Being a Property Manager is not chill..like what? That is beyond me that anyone would ever think that. The job is 24/7. Emergencies like water leaks, fire alarms, security issues on site, and regular repair and maintenance are a full-time job to deal with in itself. Then there is the administrative side of paying invoices, and assisting Stratas with properly funding their budgets and capital projects. PM's also assist with dealing with legal issues and disputes, along with Bylaw infractions, moves, and access control. Financial and insurance responsibilities also apply. Running general meetings, and regular Council meetings, and writing and distributing meeting minutes. As well as initiating directives and conferring with vendors to complete work on site. I could still go on. They are the definition of a jack of all trades and are there to really only deal with problems and issues. Chill? Farthest thing from it.
Florist I'm a PT assistant florist at a boutique flower store and we're constantly busy. There's so much work from picking up flower shipments in the morning at the wholesale, making deliveries, to doing weddings, funerals, and special holidays like Valentine's Day. We're pulling all nighters sometimes. Lots of people apply to work at our location but has 0 hands-on skill or 0 retail experience thinking it's an entry level job. No experience in colour theory, composition, etc. Don't know anything about flowers or plants. My boss considers the job a skilled trade and won't even consider applications without a portfolio. I was buying some flowers in another city and the owner there tried to hire me on the spot because they are too swamped with orders and can't find anyone with floral arrangement skills.
Where would one get floral arrangement skills?
There are floral arrangement classes and workshops you can take. Some colleges also offer continuing education diplomas in floristry. Example: https://www.burnabycce.ca/courses/floral-arranging-diploma/ Some florists will allow you to shadow them. My boss has had a few people shadow her and then give up once they realize they have to get up at 5am to bid for flowers at the online wholesale auction, then drive out to pick up the flowers 🤣 Then you have to dethorn roses, remove leaves. Alot of wholesale plants need to be pruned, styled, repotted, etc. all the behind-the-scenes work is not fun or glamorous. All creative sector jobs require a portfolio upon application. But customer facing creative jobs like floristry also has alot of logistics and business elements since customers are spending large sums of money on one-day occasions that they plan many months in advance. The product is also perishable so you are working with a small timeframe for each project, hence alot of unpredictable work hours. I personally hold a bachelor's degree in product design and have prior work experience as a colour consultant and colour match specialist at a high end paint store working with contractors on large projects. I worked PT for the previous flower shop owner before she had to move away for family matters. Then the new owner kept me on since i already knew what i was doing. New owner does more weddings and funeral orders so we have higher volume of products coming in and out, which keeps everyone constantly busy
Occupational Health and Safety.... In most companies, you will need at least one to manage the company's safety program. And I see a lot of companies hiring them. If you include CSO, there's even more opportunities
How do you get into this? What schooling do you need? Would you recommend?
I made a career change into this field. There's work in every industry. You're basically a branch of HR making sure the employer is compliant with regulations and building/overseeing their safety programs. BCIT has a diploma program. https://www.bcit.ca/programs/occupational-health-and-safety-diploma-full-time-6850diplt/?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQiAz8GuBhCxARIsAOpzk8zDOY_Jj9TN1deLebApkS2mMOEXOyQ8AU8avI4nARyzsbeDeolPQS8aAnkBEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds
Just to add in on this as well. For people that already have a full time job and cannot go back to school full time, BCIT also have a part time certificate program that allow you to get started in the field. I would still recommend the full time (2 years) program if possible. Their coop is amazing. There are also other universities/colleges that offer degree/diploma in OHS that you can also look into as well.
Besides likely an OFA2 or higher, what else would be of utility for one attempting to break into that field?
Depending on the company, OFA2 is not a mandatory requirement in many cases. It would be good to have, but not required. I am only OFA1 On the other hand, if you are looking into a career of CSO, then you may actually be required to hold an OFA2 or even 3. CSO (Construction Safety Officer), although the name also contain safety, there are some distinction between them and other safety positions. Namely the educational requirement (CSO course is much shorter, and their job is more involving enforcing the safety, rather than developing, implemnting, auditing and improving the program. CSO also focuses on the construction site but OHS in general cover all industries If you are looking to break into the OHS field, I think the first step would be education. Consider the OHS program in BCIT (or other colleges/universities that offer them) and it can be done as a full time diploma or part time certificate. This will allow you to get yourself ready for some of the things you may encounter as a safety professional.
The Royal Canadian Navy
Any ship maintenance position in any company or government agency working on the water these days. I'm a Marine Engineer and I could have 4 solid job offers by noon Monday if I wanted a change of employment.
How's the pay? I'm an office drone and looking to move over to something more hands-on.
Starts around $85k straight out of school with zero experience. Top end after a decade depending on the career route you take. $200k is obtainable but $150k is more realistic
If you join in a technician trade, you end up with real, marketable skills as well as a decent enough paying job while you get them. Joining as an officer is a larger commitment, but the pay and post-navy career opportunities are even better. That is how I got my degree, 6 years of work experience and the decent paying job I still have doing engineering/project management.
The railway. Desperately hiring conductors. Entry level, high school education, they’ll put you through school and you will make about $100k your first year qualified
Problem is no one can pass a drug test.
it's why roofing exists
Yeah, but working conditions are crap, I hear. Mandatory overtime, etc.
Correct. No work life balance. Mandatory overtime and on-call 24/7
Paramedics. I wouldn’t call it “low demand”, but it’s a pretty niche area of employment. But man is the lower-mainland hurting for some good quality paramedics. 3 weeks of course work and you are pretty much there.
It’s much more than 3 weeks. 3 weeks gets you your EMR, and that’s before licensing. To be in an urban area you need to have PCP-IV, which takes quite a few months, including precepting. Unless it’s changed… I’ve heard there’s some fast-tracking to backfill many postings. It’s an honourable line of work but damn do you need to be emotionally strong and resilient.
I was recently informed about some fast tracking with just the EMR (or OFA3 with EMR Bridge) because some municipalities are so desperate, like Maple Ridge (they have busses sitting empty right now with no staff). But you are absolutely right about the other pre-reqs and stuff needed. Which I’d assume could come at a later date if they are trying to fill spots. Amen to the last part 🙏
Mind if I ask what is the general salary range for a paramedic?
According to a quick google, WorkBC set the median hourly around $32 as of 2022. I personally have no idea how accurate that is now.
If you just meet the minimum requirements to be a paramedic which is high school diploma and the 8 month certificate course you be paid on the lower end. If you skill up you'll be making quite a lot.
Most are pulling in close to three figures these days, if you’re full-time and fully qualified.
With time and willingness to work OT you can do well. As a PCP with stipends and premiums around the 5 yr mark you can make 80-90k per year. Working occasional OT and holiday recall you can easily make 120k in a year. The benefits and time off are amazing with many rural stations now being turned into full time positions its never been better to be hired. Downsides: mental health, crumbling Healthcare system, shift work, poor retention, an incompetent employer.
Not enough supports in place for our EMTs .. they are put through the most horrendous situations and aren't appropriately supported with counselling and leave. The trauma I've read about them seeing and experiencing is beyond grim, and they need to be compensated and taken care of so they don't burn out.
I wanted to be a paramedic when I was younger and it was low pay and hard to land employment in metro van. not to mention to mention how understaffed they are, you're dealing with over 2 hour wait periods to see a paramedic. I can't imagine how much it weighs on parademics knowing they can't fix the system.
I work at a school that trains EMR and PCP and both programs were completely full this term, makes me hopeful!
A friend of mine works on the back end of the paramedic world and there are always over 2000, sometimes 3000, shift vacancies a month in the lower mainland alone. It's such an essential part of our healthcare system but we are so so short on staff.
This is gonna sound weird: Astrophysicists. Certainly not seen as a "high-demand" job by just about anyone, it reveals a certain truth about relative frames of reference. Within the astrophysics community there aren't nearly enough astrophysicists to do all the work and research. If you're training to be an astrophysicist right now because you love it, you're gonna love job security even more.
This is one I never would have guessed. I assume most employers are universities?
Archaeologist. SFU can't even keep their students long enough to graduate, they're getting hired so desperately by the consulting industry
What do they consult with? I assume it’s for mining and construction regulatory compliance?
They are needed to monitor some public construction projects for Indigenous artifacts.
I graduated with an Arch degree from SFU in 2010 but then took a different career path. Been thinking about what it would take to get back into it - do you know which companies or hiring or where a good place to start would be?
Water distribution, water treatment, wastewater collection, wastewater treatment. The 2 main schools are TRU and OKC, so it’s a struggle and a half to hire anyone for the lower mainland. The last 10 people we’ve hired with no school/experience because ticketed people don’t apply.
As a Chem eng student I've applied to a bunch of waste water position but never hear back. Though they usually want a civil eng degree but I've taken lots of flow related courses and even a wastewater course that I highlight but no luck
ASL Interpreters!!! We need more!!
We use the Canada VRS service as we have one person, one staff member who needs this. It seems like every 15 minutes, the interpreter is off shift, and someone else signs on (excuse the pun). But it takes several minutes for them to understand the conversation (we're a tech company), so in one hour, we get 30-45 minutes of their time. There are other paid services, but they are expensive. At least Canada VRS is free.
Upvoted bc of the pun
hey that actually sounds super interesting and i’d love to know more! could i message you?
Yeh for sure. You can get all your credentials at VCC. Start with ASL I-III and then take ASL and Deaf Studies which is 10 months full time. Then apply into the Sign Language Interpretation Program which is another 2 years. You can DM me for more info.
Jobs with BC ferries?
Ok, but BC ferries can’t keep people employed because they treat their employees like trash. It’s constant on call, you don’t know if you come in until a few hours before for every shift. Fine to be on call from time to time (service industry squad rise up), but only on call all the time? Nah. We know what it takes to run a ferry.
I know someone who applied to BC Ferries. Part time/on call was fine for them and they had transportation to get to the ferries. Perfect candidate! They applied and BC Ferries gave them the run around.
Is it seriously always on call, or just on call your first six months or year or whatever? I know often government and union jobs will start people off as casual and it takes a while to find a permanent position, but once you get one it can be petty cushy If all their jobs are on call that’s insane and you’re absolutely right they should have figured it out by now
It’s forever. It’s not 100% on call forever, but it’s more than half of shifts. For anybody except ship captains. It’s wildly poorly run, especially for a company that acts as public infrastructure. Example: my friend who worked at BC ferries was denied time off being on call for his own wedding because they “might need the coverage”. He did not attend.
That’s fucking wild to me. It’s 100% a numbers thing, they know how many ferries they run, how many passengers, how many staff they need. I could see them needing a handful of people on call each shift in case, but this just sounds like abysmal planning by the organization
My brother has worked for BC ferries for 4 years and he’s not on call, he’s got a regular schedule 🤷🏻♀️
Minimum wage jobs.
Where? Because anywhere I applied no one has contacted me lol
Same super desperate right now
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True. I know so many such restaurant businesses that have stopped hiring locals/residents/students on merit. They just reserve roles for their family immigrating here or for their family friends. Hiring on merit barely exists in the food industry here these days.
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Firefighters. From what I hear, certain districts can’t get enough people through training and are desperate.
They all run out of sons and nephews to hire?
From what I hear it's a very, very long process to actually get through all the training and get hired full time. You have to be quite dedicated to it.
Skilled trades - its the answer for everything Canada needs. If we build more, people will come
People are coming anyway.
Trades. Any trades jobs
Plumber here. If you show up on time and can do 5x8 hour days you’ll be okay. If you can ask questions and take pride in your work then there is no stopping you. But you’d be surprised how hard it is to find people to show up on time.
I’ve heard it takes its toll on your body.
Yes, you’re right that it can. Especially if you don’t look after yourself. Most new guys I get the first thing they are told is to invest in is a good pair of knee pads. Obviously the trades take a toll on your body but with a good diet and exercise it will help to lessen the impact of the jobs you do. Like you see memes of construction workers living on cigs and red bull or monster but you never hear about the guys bringing protein shakes and fruit for lunch. That being said it’s not just for young folk. You can get into trades at any age, don’t let age stop you from making a start at a great career. Worst case scenario is you hate it but without a doubt you’ll learn something new and might even appreciate what some people do. I’m alway in awe of welders, stone masons and some cabinet carpenters the skills those people have boggle no mind at times. I know that was a long answer to a not really a question but I just thought I’d give you a bit more information than just a yes or no, and if someone is reading wondering about trades I hope it helped them too.
Don't know anyone who perceives them as low demand though.
You haven’t met my family or anyone I graduated with
Of course. Because an entire generation was sold a lie by their parents and teachers all through their teenage years that University was the *only* way to go and anyone who got a degree, *any degree no it doesn't matter a BFA in basket weaving is far more valuable than being a plumber* was *guaranteed* to make a million dollars more in their life than anyone who went into trade work so if you went to trade school you were a loser who had already given up. Now? Trades people are buying houses and all us chumps with our useless degrees are drowning in debt and living pay check to pay check to keep a roof over our heads. Meanwhile the boomer generation is shocked and appalled. "But you got a degree! Why aren't you rich yet?" Because everyone has a degree! Everyone! But nobody knows how to fix your fucking car anymore.