Jesusland and Careers

[danaeris]

Especially given recent events, the choice to apply to jobs in the US is becoming even more difficult. I'm already pretty picky about the jobs I bother applying to in the US; the most recent one was Science Writer for the American Institute of Physics, in College Park near DC.

The fact of the matter is that there are virtually no editorial science writing opportunities in Canada. I'll either have to go trade journal, become a Public Information Officer for a university, or go work for the government. Other options include doing normal journalism, trying to get in with one of the technology companies such as Digital Hub or Here's How or IT World Canada, or freelancing.

The US, however, presents the possibility of a wide variety of positions, with companies like Discover, Scientific American, Popular Science, Astronomy, and many more.

[Poll #835782]

Comments

[professor-booty.livejournal.com]

I totally understand your concern. This past August, I returned to Canada after working in California for a year and a half. The project was fun, the money was great, I made many connections....but I was so happy to be back on this side of the border again when it was over. And I'm currently considering whether to go down for another year or so.

The thing is, if I didn't read the news so much, I wouldn't have had a problem. Day to day life is the same as ever. It's not like I had to 'show my papers' just to go to the corner store. But every time I crossed the border, I began to fear that I might have been placed on the 'no-fly' list - because of something I'd written online, say. I kept waiting for a new 9-11, to rouse the necessary public enthusiasm for an invasion of Iran, or a draft. I wondered if some deal might have been cut that would oblige guest workers to participate in such an attack. I wondered if there might be a stock market collapse, or spike in the price of gas that would lead to rationing (a problem, considering I drove down there).

(As an aside, I also had to live with the knowledge that the tax on my income was helping to support war crimes)

So, it was a bit like playing a lottery. What, I had to ask myself, were the odds that hell would be unleashed while I was in the country? In light of the Bush Administration's enthusiasm for torture and illegal detention, things don't look good. I'm waiting to see what Karl Rove's 'October Surprise' is. Will they haul Osama's corpse out of the freezer for a photo op? Assassinate Chavez?

[etherial.livejournal.com]

Why would I abandon my country for a mediocre living in Canada?

[danaeris.livejournal.com]

Well, a lot of people are thinking about leaving the US. Just because it isn't something you would choose to do doesn't mean it is such a bizarre suggestion that it warrants this kind of question.

[etherial.livejournal.com]

I can understand leaving for a great job in Canada, or even a better one, but I am rather surprised you're getting maybes for a mediocre one.

[caprinus.livejournal.com]

Four easy reasons to consider a mediocre job in Canada:
a) legal/ethical reasons (draft dodgers, political activists)
b) health (of course if your US dream job = $$$$$$, you can afford super care in the States, but not every dream job comes with insurance)
c) love (your partner also has a dream job and doesn't want to move)
d) safety (your US dream job is in downtown Detroit and you don't want to force your family to live in some gated suburb)

I think a) is what danae was gunning for, but basically there's a variety of reasons people might settle for a mediocre job elsewhere, especially with the understanding that mediocricity doesn't have to last forever.

[etherial.livejournal.com]

If I was leaving because of A, employment would be the furthest thing from my mind.

[hellsop.livejournal.com]

The US is a pretty heterogenious country. The Upper Midwest (Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota) is very different from even someplace no futher south than Indianapolis. If Ottowa wanted three more provinces, though, I'd probably vote for secession...

Jesusland and bordering countries

[danaeris.livejournal.com]

Yes... hence



and



and (I'm not a fan of this one, but there's some truth to it...)

Re: Jesusland and bordering countries

[darkestembrace.livejournal.com]

Awesomeness!

Re: Jesusland and bordering countries

[marius23.livejournal.com]

That reminds me of something I've wondered; just how do Canadians view Alaska?

Re: Jesusland and bordering countries

[yaksman.livejournal.com]

Most of us?
From a distance.
Don't forget that our population is massed on the border in preparation for ... um ... a surprise party, yeah, that's it.

Alaska looks odd on a map, but I don't think most of us worry much about it one way or another. (although with ecological policies affecting the northlands, maybe we should)

[marius23.livejournal.com]

I wish I had more time for a longer and more thoughtful reply; if I get a chance, I'll post something in my journal.

I do empathize with and understand people who would consider leaving the US under the current circumstances...but I'm not one of them. I am lucky to be living in a relatively sane part of the country; while I might have disparaged the "People's Republic of Massachusetts" in the past, I'm now thinking that the "Independent Republic of Massachusetts" might not be so bad. So if I lived someplace else, I might think differently. But for now, though I fear my government (and, frankly, too many of the people living here) I still love my country. I'll leave the US when you pry it from my cold, dead fingers.

[plymouth.livejournal.com]

It would really depend on where in Canada and what sort of job. I already HAVE a mediocre job (pays well but kinda boring and while it is in my general field it's not in my specific interest within that field) - what really keeps me here is my friends. I don't know very many people in Canada and I'm not in a mindset recently of feeling like starting completely from scratch with the social crowd thing, having basically done that just a couple of years ago. Though there are definitely things about Canada that appeal greatly to me. IF I could convince, say, 50% of my friends to pack up and move to Vancouver with me within the next year I would do it though.

[caprinus.livejournal.com]

I said yes to moving to the US, but it would have caveats: West Coast. Anywhere north of the Great Sur and south of Canada within a 2-3 hour drive to the ocean. Great Lakes area -- maybe. The maps above have it right.

[zagatto.livejournal.com]

I think the key here is the "dream job" part of things. For me, the part that makes a job into a dream job is being surrounded by people whose company I enjoy and doing work that benefits others while earning enough money to be able to afford fun times and having the time to enjoy those times.

Currently, I'm lucky enough to have all of this in a job here in Canada. I grew up in Michigan so I know all sorts of great people down there already but I still prefer living this side of the border.

If I were faced with two equal jobs in either country I would continue to live in Canada. Overall, I feel that this country has values that are more in line with my own and would be reluctant to leave here unless I were truly offered a "dream job".

[geekosaur]

Problem is, the worse things get here, the more I suspect that the next election will be a complete sham in order to ensure that the Ruling Party continues to rule even after repeatedly kneecapping itself. Foleygate's making them desperate, and they've already demonstrated the capacity to do utterly stupid and dangerous things when desperate. :(

[danaeris.livejournal.com]

I'm not saying that I think things WILL get that bad, or that they ARE that bad... but I'm sure that's what some of the Jews, gypsies, black people, and queer people thought in Germany, a year or three before they got shipped out to concentration camps.

Some people saw it coming, and got out early. Others didn't, and many of them either died, or suffered severe trauma that leaves them both physically and psychologically damaged for life.

As a bipolypagankinky gal of Jewish descent, I can't exactly ignore these facts.

[lastmx.livejournal.com]

I said yes, but I really wouldn't want to live there permanently.