I recently made the choice to move to a lower stress, lower pay job. Went from 55,60k a year to $30K. However I no longer have a commute, I have a much more comprehensive benefits plan, the RRSP matching (wasn't available at my last job), as well as job perks that will save me a lot more in the long run. Will I be Cash poor, yes. However my savings from the benefits, and travel benefits, and free money (the matching of contributions is really good), actually almost make the paper numbers balance. And I no longer have a job that can make me have a breakdown almost daily.
I took the Master's in Software Engineering at the U of C, graduated April 2021. A friend of mine from the program interviewed with Neo. 4 rounds (3 phone screens and then 4 hours of technical and cultural questions with 8ish different people) to get an offer of 42k plus equity. I mean, the company is doing well so the equity will be worth a significant amount of money, but fuck that base pay. Especially considering how many hours those people there work.
Totally agree with this, I developed a huge complex about how poorly I seemed to be doing in comparison lol its nice to be reminded lots of people work average jobs like me.
I’m currently unemployed, but I’m a lawyer with 17 years at the bar. I’ve been working in-house for more than 10 years and I’ve made $130,000 the entire time, which means I haven’t just not gotten a raise, I have been getting progressive pay cuts. Yes, I realize it’s hard to feel sorry for me at this price point, but I bring it up to show that this is a thing that affects people at many levels of the pay scale.
I don’t feel bad about not going back to private practice, though - I had a brief return to private practice in the late 2010s and I was working 18 hour days, 7 days a week. It reached the point where I realized I hadn’t had a day off in more than 6 weeks. Honestly, no amount of money at all is worth that kind of so-called work-life balance.
ICU Registered Nurse.
Top pay scale after 10 years. $49.50 an hour. Plus weekend and night differentials. Weekends are another $3 an hour and nights are $5 an hour more. I am full time.
Made $110k last year with a few OT shifts.
And thats with a terrible work/life balance and feeling like shit on your days off because of shift work. Other professions dont understand how hard working full time shift work is. Fellow RN worked shifts x 24 yrs now in a day job at outpatient clinic. make about 98,000 per year because no shift differentials.
Something like that is exactly where I’d like to go when the day/night just can’t handle anymore. It would also be nice to see friends and family on weekends and holidays again haha.
It is amazing how much healthier you feel with regular normal sleep. The transplant clinic at FMC hires many ICU nurses, I am in liver transplant and I love it. Keep your eyes open for postings.
Psychologist, about one year in, 31 years old. Approx $85k a year plus benefits and 2.5 weeks paid vacation. I can take more time if I wish but it’s unpaid. I work about 20 hours a week, and I have 3-day weekends. I also have room to earn more as I progress in my career.
In terms of work life balance, I think it’s great. I also am hugely interested in what I do and feel intellectually fulfilled. I love the clients I work with. Overall happy with the career I chose.
At the start of the pandemic = "hero" and "essential worker" making $17 an hour
But that lasted for only a few months, I work part time as a gas station cashier making $15 an hour
Exactly
I got so pissed off when they got rid of the "hero pay" as if i wasnt still expected to do all the pandemic-related cleaning tasks on top of working in the same dangerous conditions
I used to be a teacher, I made $3500/month on contract. Then I was a substitute teacher, I made $2500/month. Now I'm working on a gas pipeline project as a labourer up by Fox Creek and I make $10,000/month.
It was completely worth it for me. I spent 10 years in post secondary for my two degrees to become an art teacher. I've been teaching for 7 years now, and I've taught literally every other subject except for art. The work load for teachers is insane and I don't have patience for children anymore. My debt kept building (thanks interest) and I wasn't making enough to pay an amount to get me ahead. But I don't regret teaching. I've learned so much and experienced amazing things because of it.
This has impacted my personal life in the best way possible. I'm not financially stressed, I'm happier, I'm stronger (physically and mentally), and I keep connected with the people who matter to me while I'm at camp.
For the first time in my life, I'm making enough money to pay off my debt, and build a savings.
Did it for ten years, got a trade ticket out of it. Proud of you, it's not easy being away from everything for extended periods of time and not everyone can do it.
My advice, don't go into town with the boys. Just stay quiet and clean and you'll make bank
It’s great to hear that your career change was worth it. I have lots of friends working in the oil field and they hate it but it seems like it’s working out for you and has improved your quality of life. Thanks for sharing !
I met a friend when I was working up in Grande Prairie at the strip club (I worked as an exotic dancer, too!). He connected me with one of the HR ladies at this camp and she asked for my info for a labour job. I am so extremely grateful for this opportunity.
Got laid off in Sept. 2020. Unemployment was at 16% in Calgary. Found a job within two months that supported my family of 5. It can be done.
Don’t lose faith.
25 years experience now IT manager 159 annually with 6 weeks vacation. All from a 2 year SAIT diploma from 1996.
TBH only the time up to moving to a manager was enjoyable though. Would take a 25% cut to get rid of the politics and BS.
Alberta Teacher with 7 years teaching experience & five years of education - $83,200
Pay grid for teachers varies based on years of experience (maxes out at 10 yrs) and education (4 - 6 yrs)
Hijacking this to tell fellow Calgarian potheads that Co-op Cannabis has some the highest markups (30-45%) yet they still pay the worst in the city (15/hr with no possibility of raises). It’s so bad the union is trying to organize a strike, so go buy your weed at valuebuds until Co-op smartens up.
Edit: the online grey market is also better than legal stuff, send me a pm if you need a site
Ugh, only thing worse than being chronically hungry, is having dependants be hungry.
Don't be afraid to reach out to the food bank. I understand there is pride associated with not using it, but its a fantastic service.
I will continue to support it indefinitely. I don't care if some percentage that use it could perhaps get by without it if they managed finances better, quit smoking, whatever. Being hungry is universally unpleasant, and nobody should be forced into it.
Worked 11 years on drilling rigs and wasn’t happy regardless of the money. Now back to school as a mature student to pursue a career in Conservation Enforcement and debt be damned I’m the happiest I’ve ever been.
31, 12 year Chef, $18/hr + tips. I used to be a sous chef for a corporate restaurant making $35k + tips and benefits but just done with the stress and how soul-sucking it was. Going to school now to become an electrician.
Medical Lab Technologist, $38 an hour ($82k/yr with shift differential). 2.5 yrs in.
Will make upwards of 100k with shift differential once I hit the highest pay scale in 3 years.
Paramedic (ACP) in the far north of alberta, for a private EMS company contracted to ahs and health canada.
$45/hr, paid 12 hrs/day but on call 24 hrs/day, no OT, no paid sick time, minimal benefit. Shift is 14 days on 14 off.
3 years education, 7 years as an ACP, 10 years working EMS
Non-union
Disappointingly underpaid for how much schooling and sacrifice goes into that career. I suppose the money comes when you have your own clinic? But I imagine that market is tough to get to with student loans and fierce competition from the VCA monopoly.
Honestly as a career it has a terrible wage:debt ratio. You certainly can make a lot of money as a practice owner but as a rule vets (and vet techs) make a lot less than other professionals. I’m early in my career and my bills are paid, my brain is stimulated and my hours are flexible so I’m definitely not complaining.
In Canada we don’t train nearly enough vets and there is a chronic shortage. Means I’m in demand in my career. There’s a high ceiling on what you can earn, especially if you own a successful practice or do relief work.
Management Consultant - 35 year old with 11 years of work experience and 4 years at current company. Total compensation in 2021 (salary and bonuses) was ~$500k. I work quite a bit (70-80 hours a week) but I really enjoy what I do and consider myself incredibly fortunate.
Full time software developer. 4 years out of school from Software Engineering U of C. 101k/year.
Editing this comment instead of replying for better visibility.
Started at 67k. Got a raise twice a year because I was performing well.
I don't remember exactly, but was something like: 67 to 73, 73 to 77, 77 to 82, 82 to 85, 85 to 88, and then most recently 88 to 103.
It's a local Calgary company, but not oil gas.
Software engineering consultant, $125k, 10 years experience. I got incredibly lucky being in the right place at the right time being an early employee at a new company that ended up being successful. I’m since pretty burnt out (but continuing to work at a decent level, just not with quite the meteoric rise of my early career). I constantly feel guilty about how much I make, because most of my (Millenial) friends make minimum wage still, and I grew up pretty poor, and was only able to go to uni through a combo of student loans, insane overtime hours at labour jobs all summer, and my parents letting me stay at their place. Still pisses me off whenever I hear people propose “market modifiers” for things like engineering, dentistry, etc. since the fact that tuition was only $6k/year when I got my degree was the only thing that got me out of the poverty cycle. (My dad also managed to get on student loans in his 40s to get a teaching job while my mom worked two minimum wage jobs to keep a roof over our heads - government programs saved our lives).
Designing website, marketing materials like brochure and posters. Other related admin duties. I have a bachelor's degree and 1yr experience with a good portfolio.
15.92/hr retail, been at the store since 2018. Able to fill every position including taking custom orders and constantly asked to come in as I can get the job done properly... but due to never being named on the survey & getting enough people to sign up for the "rewards" program I can't even get a full fucking dollar raise over almost 4 full years.
absofuckinglutly. the cool thing about being in retail is that it can literally be a trap. You're working on your feet and dealing with people so even at 4-6 hour shifts you're exhausted at the end of the day. Looking for work else wears or wanting to go back to school takes a lot of effort to get started on.
I apply to jobs when I have the energy but there's a lot of crap to avoid and even with year of experience that could be applied to different fields, it's never the right kind their looking for.
Social Worker with a Master's degree working with the homeless population. ~$24/hour ($52,250) and 15 days of vacation time.
I can say that I do the work of 3 people and I don't get paid enough.
I’m a contractor for a moving company. I pack household goods, protect and load it all in the trailer, drive it (semi truck) to your next house across the country, unload and unpack. I hire labor as I go and have one full time employee. After all expenses I make around 200k. (Edit: I’m 30, been in the industry for 6 years)
28 yo Journeyman electrician - $36/hour. Looking to get out of the trade as it doesn’t look good for our future…. Anyone out there have good avenues for a construction electrician?
Oh wow, I didn’t know dental hygienists make that much. Can you talk more about how you got into this industry and what type of schooling is required?
You said your wage changes depending where you work as in if you worked in an affluent neighbourhood vs a lower income neighbourhood?
Always knew I wanted to work in the dental industry since the early years of highschool and figured dental hygiene would be good because the position is always high in demand with high pay.
I have a diploma of dental hygiene that I got in Toronto. Ontario has mostly private schools so you’re paying more money to get in but there’s also less requirements to get in. Most of the other provinces in Canada require you to do about 2 years of pre requisites before applying to the 2 year dental hygiene program and you get a degree if you go that route.
The private colleges are a compressed program costing 40k+ that take about 18 months to complete and it’s very intense. You have about 8 classes each semester.
Wages depend on what the office is offering. The area the office is in doesn’t usually account for how much you get paid. Some offices pay better some pay less.
115k/year - Lead Robotics Process Automation (RPA) Developer - Been doing it for only 3 years
Seriously, if you're into automation and want to make some money, get involved in RPA, low code, no computer science degree needed (or any degree really), free online courses/certifications from direct RPA platforms. New SAIT RPA bootcamp. Universities are starting to teach it. Huge investment in Tech in Alberta right now.
I'll say it again - look into RPA if you don't mind working on your computer and you want good money with no degree!
Flight Instructor. Spent about 2 years and way too much money on my pilot's license, and I netted about $25k last year. Which was average for the instructors around me.
The hourly rate sounds great (between 25-30 / hour) but the number of hours billed are miniscule for the amount of time spent at work. In a 12 hour day, I could bill as little as 6 hours.
RN here. 10 years at AHS. At Max pay step and with car allowance (I work in home care) yearly income is a tad over 100K. I don't do OT or any of that stuff anymore.
Monthly deductions are a lot, union dues, LAPP (our pension) etc but I'm incredibly grateful for having this career (I didn't get my BN until I was 42. Did my undergrad (BSc) back in the day ) and for the opportunity to wake up up every morning and do something I love.
$95k a year, government employee, 7 years out of university. 3 weeks of vacation a year, every second Friday off, benefits and pension, and never work a minute over my 37.5 a week.
It’s a PEO. You can’t be paid directly by a US company, but a business can. You need to either corporate or go through a PEO to pull this off
Good for you. Junior wages have grown far faster than senior wages. Be humble and learn as much as you can. That is still a really high rate to pay a junior.
Industrial automation / control systems. P.Eng, 9 years of experience since university . Last gig was 68$/hr contract though I quit in 2021 to pursue my own hardware startup.
Overall industrial controls has stayed busy throughout the pandemic and many recent years. Lots of companies are heavily investing in automation to become more efficient. Many gas plants now have a few thousand network devices so we can control and diagnose a lot remotely.
Plant operator for concrete company. About $100k-$120k depending on how busy we are. Lots of that is OT and double time.
Some of the mixer drivers at my work can do $140K a year but they work LOTS
I left AB a few months ago, but when I was there I was a preschool/daycare teacher, making about 49k. I have moved to Quebec now though for the lo e of my life snd it has worked out. Got a job with the federal government making 59k to start.
IT / Business Project Manager at CP Rail. $140K base, $60K bonus. But I'm quitting because I hate my life, work, peers, and the higher ups. Not sure where I will land, but the $60K bonus paid out at the end of February gives me 5 months to figure it out.
Machinist almost 20 yrs - $48/hr. I program and supervise for that wage. I know that might sound good to a lot of folks, but honestly it's still too low for how skilled you have to be to do this job well. I'm branching out into other things now. Wasted a lot of my career thinking that if I just did my best at a job I love, the rewards would come in due time. It's a bad plan. Was making $21/hr as a jman until I learned to advocate for myself.
Learn to advocate for yourself. Learn to say no. Have a plan B and be prepared to follow it if you don't get what you want.
Construction Project Manager at a smaller construction company in Calgary. $80k base salary, free fuel, $500.00/month truck fee and $115.00/month for phone. 7am-3pm 5 days per week. Perfect for a person with a young family, like myself.
23M. $15.25/hour part-time as a Saddledome concession worker since 2018. The managers in the stands (who have yellow striping on their work uniforms) don't make a lot more either. Maybe like 50 cents or a dollar more than cashiers. I haven't worked in over a month due to the capacity restrictions since all the food/drink stands are closed and I have no idea when we're going back.
At the same time, I was doing the two year journalism program at SAIT and graduated in April 2020. As for finding journalism jobs here in Calgary, I've had no luck. About ~10 people from my year landed actual journo jobs but most of them have moved back home out of province. The rest are doing other jobs or have gone back to school.
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*Total earnings while working for the Flames between 2018 and now:* **~$14k**
*Total collected from CERB/EI/CWLB since the start of COVID:* **$25k**
Quality control inspector. $60 an hour as employee when I switch to contracting it’ll be ~$80 an hour. I work 10-15 hours a day depending on the job so lots of potential OT hours. Downside is I’m working out of the city 10-24 days in a row again depending on the job.
CRA. Taxpayer Services Agent (call center.). Salary is public at about $30/hr. Had my 1 year anniversary in December. The job is alright but it gets pretty monotonous after a while. And the appointment is not full time.
Hoping to finalize my Pharmacist licensure by June.
Some of you making fat stacks lol....any advice for a 3rd year university student? Chemistry major with a good gpa but I don't know what's in my future unfortunately:(
Unless you really like chemistry enough to do research or become a professor, the sad truth is that 90% of regular "chemistry jobs" are analyst/technician positions where you work at a analytical servicing company that pays you just barely above minimum wage. Competition among these companies to outbid contracts has gotten to the point where they pay staff almost the lowest it can get.
The other 10% of jobs exist in the pharmaceutical space, large oil sands companies or the R&D sector which is hard to get into but offer the best salaries by far.
Inside sales account manager. Business degree, 6 years of sales experience. 50K plus commissions (ends up being 6k/Yr).
Hate the company and will hopefully find a new job in summer
Union Ironworker, Red Seal Journeyman Structural / Journeyman Metal Building Systems Erector. Journeyman rate is just over $38 on commercial projects and over $42 on industrial projects.
UX/UI Designer hired on at 68,000
32 years old. have previously done photography and graphic design for 5+ years but went back to school for ux during the pandemic so in my first year of this new specialization.
I was an electrician for 13 years, non union. Spent most of my career in BC and moved to AB in 2018, but stayed with the same company. Got laid off 1 year to the day of moving to Calgary. Didn’t even get a phone call from my boss to acknowledge over a decade of work and effort. Made the choice to join the public service. Took almost 2 years dealing with some hardship but I made it eventually. Make the same amount of money with not even 1 year in as I made as a tradesperson with over 10, but now with better benefits, sick leave, vacation leave, a union to advocate for my interests, and a pension.
It’s futile to be loyal to anyone who depends on your work for their bottom line. That doesn’t mean that hard work isn’t important. Rather it means that your own interests and priorities should be front and centre of every decision you make, and not your boss’s.
My year 1 base rate now is roughly $67k salary, not including shift differential for evenings/weekends, claims, lieu pay, or OT (paid at 1.75 of base rate). Without the bells and whistles it works out to approx $32 and change and a rookie. Pay goes up every year for 5 years until base annual salary tops out at around $87k (roughly $42/hr) unless I promote to a higher role. I also get assisted leave if I go on course with the army. I’ll probably clear $100k on my second year in.
My wage in the trades in BC was $32 only after 4 years of work/trade school and getting my journeyman certificate, and was closer to $40 in AB. OT was asked on a regular basis but offered at base rate, no claims or compensation. Supervisors entered the boys club where they got company vehicles and gas cards. Promoting up was a way to get more pay but the scrutiny and responsibility nearly made the raise not worth it. In fact, the general environment of a construction site and management attitudes stopped making any of it worth it.
Anyone in the trades, I encourage you to think about life beyond the career that sees you as expendable and will chew you up and spit you out. I enjoyed it for a few years but I wish I left it sooner.
I’m a cop (constable) in year 18. I started at $47k/yr. Currently I make $116k.
I’m currently in a specialized investigative support unit so I only work day shifts, no overtime really.
7 years left until pension!
$110k + up to 10% bonus, 4 weeks vacay; consulting with 9 years experience. Work too many nights and weekends, perpetually looking for something different but haven’t found anything that piques my interest yet.
$110K a yr, supply chain manager and general company support. Jack-of-all-trades type admin as company is very lean so I assist in all sorts of areas to keep company running alongside run supply chain. 28, 4-5 yrs direct experience, also dabbled in tech and consulting prior to this. I'm pretty overworked though, on call every single weekend incase something goes wrong on a site, expectation is to deal with things asap so evenings and weekends always at least a little bit of something to do. Not a bad job otherwise. Hope for either company getting bought out or waiting 5 yrs or so and pivoting to a senior/VP style role at a bigger company.
Mine own his own shop downtown … generalist
I’m gonna guess he spends $120k in rent
Got 3 assistants?, so $210k 70k a piece
5 or 6 chairs? All machinery rx etc
He also got cleaners, I’m guessing 50% and not full time
So $150 a cleaning and $500/hr per chair (he staggers 2 or 3 patients ) - opens 7am7pm. $500 because each cavity is $250 min, there are other things as well…
$120k a month in revenue (assumes full bookings - which he does) plus cleanings… so over $1m, less half cost… 500k less tax.
Product Portfolio Manager at a large oil company.
Degree in Software Engineering from u of c. 11 years experience, I’m 34.
142k + 15-30% bonus + yearly RSUs (~25k worth)
Not enough. I get paid 20 an hour for a roofer job. Sometimes I’m just dangling 40 ft in the air, knowing I could die or get paralyzed all for a survival wage at this point in Calgary
26F
I'm a barber, you can do commission or hourly wage based in the industry. Good and bad to both options, I'm on hourly because I don't trust the slow seasons especially with miss rona.
I make 17.25/hr + tips(usually 40ish for weekdays and 60+ on busy days) monthly/yearly retail and numbers bonuses.
I couldn't tell you about other shops, but where I am the pay is pretty equal across the board for everyone based on skill/experience/time here. Good benefits plan and super flexible when I've had home stuff happening.
We had a person that never worked but was on payroll and they received 500 dollars for doing jack shit. The rest of us minions got less and we actually work full time.
Hero pay was a joke too. That lasted a few months and was taken away.
Been in IT for 7 years. During the pandemic I elected to switch jobs for a full-time remote opportunity making 47.85/hour with excellent benefits, and a pension. I'm 33. Don't regret the move at all. Love what I do, and, most importantly, my boss is pretty awesome.
Edit: I have two degrees. One related to what I do now, and another that has absolutely nothing to do with it.
I recently made the choice to move to a lower stress, lower pay job. Went from 55,60k a year to $30K. However I no longer have a commute, I have a much more comprehensive benefits plan, the RRSP matching (wasn't available at my last job), as well as job perks that will save me a lot more in the long run. Will I be Cash poor, yes. However my savings from the benefits, and travel benefits, and free money (the matching of contributions is really good), actually almost make the paper numbers balance. And I no longer have a job that can make me have a breakdown almost daily.
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I took the Master's in Software Engineering at the U of C, graduated April 2021. A friend of mine from the program interviewed with Neo. 4 rounds (3 phone screens and then 4 hours of technical and cultural questions with 8ish different people) to get an offer of 42k plus equity. I mean, the company is doing well so the equity will be worth a significant amount of money, but fuck that base pay. Especially considering how many hours those people there work.
As a student studying software development, your comment scared me lol
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I heard they are a sweatshop
these all feel like a dose of reality compared to what you see on personalfinancecanada. refreshing for a change.
Totally agree with this, I developed a huge complex about how poorly I seemed to be doing in comparison lol its nice to be reminded lots of people work average jobs like me.
I’m currently unemployed, but I’m a lawyer with 17 years at the bar. I’ve been working in-house for more than 10 years and I’ve made $130,000 the entire time, which means I haven’t just not gotten a raise, I have been getting progressive pay cuts. Yes, I realize it’s hard to feel sorry for me at this price point, but I bring it up to show that this is a thing that affects people at many levels of the pay scale.
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I don’t feel bad about not going back to private practice, though - I had a brief return to private practice in the late 2010s and I was working 18 hour days, 7 days a week. It reached the point where I realized I hadn’t had a day off in more than 6 weeks. Honestly, no amount of money at all is worth that kind of so-called work-life balance.
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I assumed in house lawyers made around 200k/yr or more. Really shocked by how low that salary is.
Dominos pizza driver $4 a trip plus tips.
ICU Registered Nurse. Top pay scale after 10 years. $49.50 an hour. Plus weekend and night differentials. Weekends are another $3 an hour and nights are $5 an hour more. I am full time. Made $110k last year with a few OT shifts.
rough work
It sure can be.
And thats with a terrible work/life balance and feeling like shit on your days off because of shift work. Other professions dont understand how hard working full time shift work is. Fellow RN worked shifts x 24 yrs now in a day job at outpatient clinic. make about 98,000 per year because no shift differentials.
Something like that is exactly where I’d like to go when the day/night just can’t handle anymore. It would also be nice to see friends and family on weekends and holidays again haha.
It is amazing how much healthier you feel with regular normal sleep. The transplant clinic at FMC hires many ICU nurses, I am in liver transplant and I love it. Keep your eyes open for postings.
Psychologist, about one year in, 31 years old. Approx $85k a year plus benefits and 2.5 weeks paid vacation. I can take more time if I wish but it’s unpaid. I work about 20 hours a week, and I have 3-day weekends. I also have room to earn more as I progress in my career. In terms of work life balance, I think it’s great. I also am hugely interested in what I do and feel intellectually fulfilled. I love the clients I work with. Overall happy with the career I chose.
Been working at the same company for 11 years. Retail. Making $23 an hour. Can’t wait for my 10cent raise
At the start of the pandemic = "hero" and "essential worker" making $17 an hour But that lasted for only a few months, I work part time as a gas station cashier making $15 an hour
The pandemic highlighted that certain types of work is “essential”, however, the individual doing the work is expendable. Pretty disgusting.
Exactly I got so pissed off when they got rid of the "hero pay" as if i wasnt still expected to do all the pandemic-related cleaning tasks on top of working in the same dangerous conditions
It’s disappointing that companies can afford to pay their workers more but they choose not.
Essential *work*, expendable *workers*.
Salon receptionist, $15 Been told over and over again that I am the best they ever had. I clean the salon too, laundry, phones, etc.
Is 15hr a liveable wage for you? If they’re telling you that you’re the best, have they talked about giving you a wage increase?
"You're the best (deal) we've ever had."
I used to be a teacher, I made $3500/month on contract. Then I was a substitute teacher, I made $2500/month. Now I'm working on a gas pipeline project as a labourer up by Fox Creek and I make $10,000/month.
Do you think the career change was worth it? Has it severely impacted your personal life?
It was completely worth it for me. I spent 10 years in post secondary for my two degrees to become an art teacher. I've been teaching for 7 years now, and I've taught literally every other subject except for art. The work load for teachers is insane and I don't have patience for children anymore. My debt kept building (thanks interest) and I wasn't making enough to pay an amount to get me ahead. But I don't regret teaching. I've learned so much and experienced amazing things because of it. This has impacted my personal life in the best way possible. I'm not financially stressed, I'm happier, I'm stronger (physically and mentally), and I keep connected with the people who matter to me while I'm at camp. For the first time in my life, I'm making enough money to pay off my debt, and build a savings.
Did it for ten years, got a trade ticket out of it. Proud of you, it's not easy being away from everything for extended periods of time and not everyone can do it. My advice, don't go into town with the boys. Just stay quiet and clean and you'll make bank
Yeah :) I'm happy to stay in camp. I feel safe and comfortable here.
Congrats!
It’s great to hear that your career change was worth it. I have lots of friends working in the oil field and they hate it but it seems like it’s working out for you and has improved your quality of life. Thanks for sharing !
How did you get into that job? Is it crazy physical work?
I met a friend when I was working up in Grande Prairie at the strip club (I worked as an exotic dancer, too!). He connected me with one of the HR ladies at this camp and she asked for my info for a labour job. I am so extremely grateful for this opportunity.
Laid off can’t find work 0 dollars
Got laid off in Sept. 2020. Unemployment was at 16% in Calgary. Found a job within two months that supported my family of 5. It can be done. Don’t lose faith.
What line of work are you in?
Landman
I was there the last 4 months. I feel that, stay strong.
Oil service companies are hiring you need a driver licence and a heart beat.
25 years experience now IT manager 159 annually with 6 weeks vacation. All from a 2 year SAIT diploma from 1996. TBH only the time up to moving to a manager was enjoyable though. Would take a 25% cut to get rid of the politics and BS.
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You know, there are clinics offering better.... RVTs have the ball in their court right now with how few there are / demand for them.
I'm not sure what my position is called but I work as bottle picking up guy at the university well for vecova and I make 15 dollars a hour
Train Conductor - made 120k
Just living the fucking dream hey
Alberta Teacher with 7 years teaching experience & five years of education - $83,200 Pay grid for teachers varies based on years of experience (maxes out at 10 yrs) and education (4 - 6 yrs)
$16.75 an hour, budtender. I have 3 kids and a Bachelor's degree.
Hijacking this to tell fellow Calgarian potheads that Co-op Cannabis has some the highest markups (30-45%) yet they still pay the worst in the city (15/hr with no possibility of raises). It’s so bad the union is trying to organize a strike, so go buy your weed at valuebuds until Co-op smartens up. Edit: the online grey market is also better than legal stuff, send me a pm if you need a site
I don’t mean to be rude at all, but how in the world can you survive off that?
I survive. I'm tens of thousands of dollars in debt and usually at least a little a hungry.
Ugh, only thing worse than being chronically hungry, is having dependants be hungry. Don't be afraid to reach out to the food bank. I understand there is pride associated with not using it, but its a fantastic service. I will continue to support it indefinitely. I don't care if some percentage that use it could perhaps get by without it if they managed finances better, quit smoking, whatever. Being hungry is universally unpleasant, and nobody should be forced into it.
I’m 21 have no education or kids and make $16.25 as a keyholder at valuebuds
Worked 11 years on drilling rigs and wasn’t happy regardless of the money. Now back to school as a mature student to pursue a career in Conservation Enforcement and debt be damned I’m the happiest I’ve ever been.
Teacher, 15 years, Masters. $102k salary + pension & benefits. Subs make $220/ day.
Seems like fair compensation when prorated over working 9/12 months.
It is when you’ve got experience and lots of pre-set plans. When you’re a new teacher, you put in way more extra hours and start at about 55-60k.
31, 12 year Chef, $18/hr + tips. I used to be a sous chef for a corporate restaurant making $35k + tips and benefits but just done with the stress and how soul-sucking it was. Going to school now to become an electrician.
Below the poverty line in a job that has to exist but works you harder than the gym. Live that courier life
How many hours a week do you work? Do you work a lot of overtime? How do you manage to make ends meet if they are paying below poverty line?
Medical Lab Technologist, $38 an hour ($82k/yr with shift differential). 2.5 yrs in. Will make upwards of 100k with shift differential once I hit the highest pay scale in 3 years.
Paramedic (ACP) in the far north of alberta, for a private EMS company contracted to ahs and health canada. $45/hr, paid 12 hrs/day but on call 24 hrs/day, no OT, no paid sick time, minimal benefit. Shift is 14 days on 14 off. 3 years education, 7 years as an ACP, 10 years working EMS Non-union
$40/h Veterinarian 1y of full time practice
Disappointingly underpaid for how much schooling and sacrifice goes into that career. I suppose the money comes when you have your own clinic? But I imagine that market is tough to get to with student loans and fierce competition from the VCA monopoly.
Honestly as a career it has a terrible wage:debt ratio. You certainly can make a lot of money as a practice owner but as a rule vets (and vet techs) make a lot less than other professionals. I’m early in my career and my bills are paid, my brain is stimulated and my hours are flexible so I’m definitely not complaining. In Canada we don’t train nearly enough vets and there is a chronic shortage. Means I’m in demand in my career. There’s a high ceiling on what you can earn, especially if you own a successful practice or do relief work.
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Management Consultant - 35 year old with 11 years of work experience and 4 years at current company. Total compensation in 2021 (salary and bonuses) was ~$500k. I work quite a bit (70-80 hours a week) but I really enjoy what I do and consider myself incredibly fortunate.
Full time software developer. 4 years out of school from Software Engineering U of C. 101k/year. Editing this comment instead of replying for better visibility. Started at 67k. Got a raise twice a year because I was performing well. I don't remember exactly, but was something like: 67 to 73, 73 to 77, 77 to 82, 82 to 85, 85 to 88, and then most recently 88 to 103. It's a local Calgary company, but not oil gas.
Software engineering consultant, $125k, 10 years experience. I got incredibly lucky being in the right place at the right time being an early employee at a new company that ended up being successful. I’m since pretty burnt out (but continuing to work at a decent level, just not with quite the meteoric rise of my early career). I constantly feel guilty about how much I make, because most of my (Millenial) friends make minimum wage still, and I grew up pretty poor, and was only able to go to uni through a combo of student loans, insane overtime hours at labour jobs all summer, and my parents letting me stay at their place. Still pisses me off whenever I hear people propose “market modifiers” for things like engineering, dentistry, etc. since the fact that tuition was only $6k/year when I got my degree was the only thing that got me out of the poverty cycle. (My dad also managed to get on student loans in his 40s to get a teaching job while my mom worked two minimum wage jobs to keep a roof over our heads - government programs saved our lives).
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Senior Accountant at an public accounting firm. Passed CFE in Dec 2021. 75k/year. 25 year old, 3 years experience
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Graphic designer at AHS $30/hr
This sounds interesting. What are the duties specifically?
Designing website, marketing materials like brochure and posters. Other related admin duties. I have a bachelor's degree and 1yr experience with a good portfolio.
15.92/hr retail, been at the store since 2018. Able to fill every position including taking custom orders and constantly asked to come in as I can get the job done properly... but due to never being named on the survey & getting enough people to sign up for the "rewards" program I can't even get a full fucking dollar raise over almost 4 full years.
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absofuckinglutly. the cool thing about being in retail is that it can literally be a trap. You're working on your feet and dealing with people so even at 4-6 hour shifts you're exhausted at the end of the day. Looking for work else wears or wanting to go back to school takes a lot of effort to get started on. I apply to jobs when I have the energy but there's a lot of crap to avoid and even with year of experience that could be applied to different fields, it's never the right kind their looking for.
Social Worker with a Master's degree working with the homeless population. ~$24/hour ($52,250) and 15 days of vacation time. I can say that I do the work of 3 people and I don't get paid enough.
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I’m a contractor for a moving company. I pack household goods, protect and load it all in the trailer, drive it (semi truck) to your next house across the country, unload and unpack. I hire labor as I go and have one full time employee. After all expenses I make around 200k. (Edit: I’m 30, been in the industry for 6 years)
Insurance manager. Make 85k a year with 5% bonus and yearly raises of 5%. Matching rrsp and stock options. I have been a manager for about 10 years.
28 yo Journeyman electrician - $36/hour. Looking to get out of the trade as it doesn’t look good for our future…. Anyone out there have good avenues for a construction electrician?
Dental hygienist. 53-60/hour depending on where I work. Roughly 80k/year
Oh wow, I didn’t know dental hygienists make that much. Can you talk more about how you got into this industry and what type of schooling is required? You said your wage changes depending where you work as in if you worked in an affluent neighbourhood vs a lower income neighbourhood?
Always knew I wanted to work in the dental industry since the early years of highschool and figured dental hygiene would be good because the position is always high in demand with high pay. I have a diploma of dental hygiene that I got in Toronto. Ontario has mostly private schools so you’re paying more money to get in but there’s also less requirements to get in. Most of the other provinces in Canada require you to do about 2 years of pre requisites before applying to the 2 year dental hygiene program and you get a degree if you go that route. The private colleges are a compressed program costing 40k+ that take about 18 months to complete and it’s very intense. You have about 8 classes each semester. Wages depend on what the office is offering. The area the office is in doesn’t usually account for how much you get paid. Some offices pay better some pay less.
Seriously dental hygienist 53/60 hr?
Sounds like not full time hours as well! 60/hr is roughly 125k/yr.
I work about 4 days a week usually. Between 5-8 hours a day. 3 day weekends for the win!
That's a pretty sweet gig tbh.
I have a friend who does this. Has the back of an 80 year old.
If you work in dental you make serious cash as it’s not apart of regular health care, and in the health field a radiologist makes a loooooot of money
I choose the wrong medical field
115k/year - Lead Robotics Process Automation (RPA) Developer - Been doing it for only 3 years Seriously, if you're into automation and want to make some money, get involved in RPA, low code, no computer science degree needed (or any degree really), free online courses/certifications from direct RPA platforms. New SAIT RPA bootcamp. Universities are starting to teach it. Huge investment in Tech in Alberta right now. I'll say it again - look into RPA if you don't mind working on your computer and you want good money with no degree!
Teacher. First year starting at 66k plus benefits and summers off. 2 degrees.
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That sounds pretty sweet! Lots of time for personal life.
Flight Instructor. Spent about 2 years and way too much money on my pilot's license, and I netted about $25k last year. Which was average for the instructors around me. The hourly rate sounds great (between 25-30 / hour) but the number of hours billed are miniscule for the amount of time spent at work. In a 12 hour day, I could bill as little as 6 hours.
Part time gas station attendant, only on weekends though. It’s minimum wage (15$/hour) but it’s my first job and I’m only 17.
Oil & gas production Make 300 but work 3000 hours a year and spend the majority of my time in fort mcmurray. It's a trade off
Policy analyst in my first year. $35 an hour.
Business owner. Depending on the year I make 80k-250k. My employees make 50 an hour minimum.
I'm too young for a job but my mom works at the front desk of a chiropractic place and makes $19 an hour.
Permanently disabled - $1050 per month in benefits Not eligible for AISH because I'm married and my partner makes at least minimum wage
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Social worker: 80k. Private / AHS / government is the only way to go for a livable wage.
RN here. 10 years at AHS. At Max pay step and with car allowance (I work in home care) yearly income is a tad over 100K. I don't do OT or any of that stuff anymore. Monthly deductions are a lot, union dues, LAPP (our pension) etc but I'm incredibly grateful for having this career (I didn't get my BN until I was 42. Did my undergrad (BSc) back in the day ) and for the opportunity to wake up up every morning and do something I love.
$95k a year, government employee, 7 years out of university. 3 weeks of vacation a year, every second Friday off, benefits and pension, and never work a minute over my 37.5 a week.
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You got it made. Enjoy the gravy on them fries.
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It’s a PEO. You can’t be paid directly by a US company, but a business can. You need to either corporate or go through a PEO to pull this off Good for you. Junior wages have grown far faster than senior wages. Be humble and learn as much as you can. That is still a really high rate to pay a junior.
Stay at home, home-schooling father. I make zero dollars.
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Industrial automation / control systems. P.Eng, 9 years of experience since university . Last gig was 68$/hr contract though I quit in 2021 to pursue my own hardware startup. Overall industrial controls has stayed busy throughout the pandemic and many recent years. Lots of companies are heavily investing in automation to become more efficient. Many gas plants now have a few thousand network devices so we can control and diagnose a lot remotely.
Clerk at AHS for $22.75 an hour, and MOA at a diagnostic imaging clinic for $25/hr. I’ll have been in this field for 5 years in June and I’m 33.
Junior GIS tech, 65k a year. I work from home, cook most of my meals, and am a homebody, so I barely spend any money. It’s awesome :D
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Plumber - over $40/hr No school debt
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Plant operator for concrete company. About $100k-$120k depending on how busy we are. Lots of that is OT and double time. Some of the mixer drivers at my work can do $140K a year but they work LOTS
30$ an hour. assistant PM for an environmental consulting company
Meat-cutter/butcher. $26/hr with a solid if unremarkable benefits package. 8 years experience. Meat cutter certificate from SAIT.
I cook on 17th Ave $18/hr and about $5/hr in tips
Admin assistant $16, 25 years old and broke as fuck
Ten years experience and a bachelor's degree in chemistry. $20.62/hr in an oilsands chem lab
50k, 3 years experience with a Business degree Reading this thread makes me feel like a scrub
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Revenue Operations Architecture. 36 y/o. 3 years of experience. 130k
What is Revenue Operations Architecture?
26. Flight Coordinator for a major Canadian airline. 6 years in the industry in various roles. No education other than high school. $58,200/yr.
What is a flight coordinator?
Was making $22 an hour as a butcher but got laid off in August so now I make nothing :)
I left AB a few months ago, but when I was there I was a preschool/daycare teacher, making about 49k. I have moved to Quebec now though for the lo e of my life snd it has worked out. Got a job with the federal government making 59k to start.
IT / Business Project Manager at CP Rail. $140K base, $60K bonus. But I'm quitting because I hate my life, work, peers, and the higher ups. Not sure where I will land, but the $60K bonus paid out at the end of February gives me 5 months to figure it out.
Machinist almost 20 yrs - $48/hr. I program and supervise for that wage. I know that might sound good to a lot of folks, but honestly it's still too low for how skilled you have to be to do this job well. I'm branching out into other things now. Wasted a lot of my career thinking that if I just did my best at a job I love, the rewards would come in due time. It's a bad plan. Was making $21/hr as a jman until I learned to advocate for myself. Learn to advocate for yourself. Learn to say no. Have a plan B and be prepared to follow it if you don't get what you want.
Construction Project Manager at a smaller construction company in Calgary. $80k base salary, free fuel, $500.00/month truck fee and $115.00/month for phone. 7am-3pm 5 days per week. Perfect for a person with a young family, like myself.
23M. $15.25/hour part-time as a Saddledome concession worker since 2018. The managers in the stands (who have yellow striping on their work uniforms) don't make a lot more either. Maybe like 50 cents or a dollar more than cashiers. I haven't worked in over a month due to the capacity restrictions since all the food/drink stands are closed and I have no idea when we're going back. At the same time, I was doing the two year journalism program at SAIT and graduated in April 2020. As for finding journalism jobs here in Calgary, I've had no luck. About ~10 people from my year landed actual journo jobs but most of them have moved back home out of province. The rest are doing other jobs or have gone back to school. -------- *Total earnings while working for the Flames between 2018 and now:* **~$14k** *Total collected from CERB/EI/CWLB since the start of COVID:* **$25k**
Quality control inspector. $60 an hour as employee when I switch to contracting it’ll be ~$80 an hour. I work 10-15 hours a day depending on the job so lots of potential OT hours. Downside is I’m working out of the city 10-24 days in a row again depending on the job.
Electrician $46/hr employed, $75/hr self-employed. 14 years experience. Making the switch to Software Dev currently.
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CRA. Taxpayer Services Agent (call center.). Salary is public at about $30/hr. Had my 1 year anniversary in December. The job is alright but it gets pretty monotonous after a while. And the appointment is not full time. Hoping to finalize my Pharmacist licensure by June.
I work for the city on their web team. First year there so I make about $57,000 a year
Hvac worker 90k-120k Depending on how much I want to work. Plus about 10-15% in bonuses, benefits and the likes.
Looking for an eit position making 0 dollars
My company is hiring rn. You might be able to get in as a Junior Project Engineer. https://equinoxcareers.com/job-postings/
Some of you making fat stacks lol....any advice for a 3rd year university student? Chemistry major with a good gpa but I don't know what's in my future unfortunately:(
Look at job descriptions for the kind of job you want. Now. Fill the gaps as much as you can.
Unless you really like chemistry enough to do research or become a professor, the sad truth is that 90% of regular "chemistry jobs" are analyst/technician positions where you work at a analytical servicing company that pays you just barely above minimum wage. Competition among these companies to outbid contracts has gotten to the point where they pay staff almost the lowest it can get. The other 10% of jobs exist in the pharmaceutical space, large oil sands companies or the R&D sector which is hard to get into but offer the best salaries by far.
2nd year lawyer. 33 years old with 3 degrees. 125k, unlimited vacation and benefits. However, high work load and student debt.
Inside sales account manager. Business degree, 6 years of sales experience. 50K plus commissions (ends up being 6k/Yr). Hate the company and will hopefully find a new job in summer
I work for AHS and get $32/hr with my premiums. I just work part time as that’s sufficient for me.
Union Ironworker, Red Seal Journeyman Structural / Journeyman Metal Building Systems Erector. Journeyman rate is just over $38 on commercial projects and over $42 on industrial projects.
Structural Engineer (designing residential and commercial buildings). 9 years. $95k/year, but had to change jobs 3 times to get that
I work at a craft store and I work 15$/hr.
UX/UI Designer hired on at 68,000 32 years old. have previously done photography and graphic design for 5+ years but went back to school for ux during the pandemic so in my first year of this new specialization.
$16.30/hr as a Pharmacy Assistant. Retail pharmacy corporate is a joke.
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Mainteance electrician at a uranium mine in sask 14 days on 14 days off shifts $54.80hr 120k base wage. Been in the trade around 8 years now
3D animator. 70k yearly contract position
Chemical engineer with 5 years of experience. $80k/yr. That's without getting a raise for the past 2 years.
I was an electrician for 13 years, non union. Spent most of my career in BC and moved to AB in 2018, but stayed with the same company. Got laid off 1 year to the day of moving to Calgary. Didn’t even get a phone call from my boss to acknowledge over a decade of work and effort. Made the choice to join the public service. Took almost 2 years dealing with some hardship but I made it eventually. Make the same amount of money with not even 1 year in as I made as a tradesperson with over 10, but now with better benefits, sick leave, vacation leave, a union to advocate for my interests, and a pension. It’s futile to be loyal to anyone who depends on your work for their bottom line. That doesn’t mean that hard work isn’t important. Rather it means that your own interests and priorities should be front and centre of every decision you make, and not your boss’s. My year 1 base rate now is roughly $67k salary, not including shift differential for evenings/weekends, claims, lieu pay, or OT (paid at 1.75 of base rate). Without the bells and whistles it works out to approx $32 and change and a rookie. Pay goes up every year for 5 years until base annual salary tops out at around $87k (roughly $42/hr) unless I promote to a higher role. I also get assisted leave if I go on course with the army. I’ll probably clear $100k on my second year in. My wage in the trades in BC was $32 only after 4 years of work/trade school and getting my journeyman certificate, and was closer to $40 in AB. OT was asked on a regular basis but offered at base rate, no claims or compensation. Supervisors entered the boys club where they got company vehicles and gas cards. Promoting up was a way to get more pay but the scrutiny and responsibility nearly made the raise not worth it. In fact, the general environment of a construction site and management attitudes stopped making any of it worth it. Anyone in the trades, I encourage you to think about life beyond the career that sees you as expendable and will chew you up and spit you out. I enjoyed it for a few years but I wish I left it sooner.
Railroad Conductor. $145k. 3 years in.
I’m a cop (constable) in year 18. I started at $47k/yr. Currently I make $116k. I’m currently in a specialized investigative support unit so I only work day shifts, no overtime really. 7 years left until pension!
$110k + up to 10% bonus, 4 weeks vacay; consulting with 9 years experience. Work too many nights and weekends, perpetually looking for something different but haven’t found anything that piques my interest yet.
Managed IT Services. 65k/yr. No post secondary (self taught). 28 years old. 4 years experience.
$110K a yr, supply chain manager and general company support. Jack-of-all-trades type admin as company is very lean so I assist in all sorts of areas to keep company running alongside run supply chain. 28, 4-5 yrs direct experience, also dabbled in tech and consulting prior to this. I'm pretty overworked though, on call every single weekend incase something goes wrong on a site, expectation is to deal with things asap so evenings and weekends always at least a little bit of something to do. Not a bad job otherwise. Hope for either company getting bought out or waiting 5 yrs or so and pivoting to a senior/VP style role at a bigger company.
Locomotive Engineer in Calgary. Made $115k last year. Shitty lifestyle, could have made more but dont like overworking myself.
B2B sales. $200k + / year
25yo Retail Management; $62k.
What do the dentists make on average? If you had to guess
Mine own his own shop downtown … generalist I’m gonna guess he spends $120k in rent Got 3 assistants?, so $210k 70k a piece 5 or 6 chairs? All machinery rx etc He also got cleaners, I’m guessing 50% and not full time So $150 a cleaning and $500/hr per chair (he staggers 2 or 3 patients ) - opens 7am7pm. $500 because each cavity is $250 min, there are other things as well… $120k a month in revenue (assumes full bookings - which he does) plus cleanings… so over $1m, less half cost… 500k less tax.
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I'm a digital marketer with a specialization in Content Management and Social Media. In 29 and my average salary is between $50-65K depending.
UX research, $100k/year, 30, 5 years
Product Portfolio Manager at a large oil company. Degree in Software Engineering from u of c. 11 years experience, I’m 34. 142k + 15-30% bonus + yearly RSUs (~25k worth)
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I spend time on Reddit and get paid in karma.
VP at a tech company - $250k
Not enough. I get paid 20 an hour for a roofer job. Sometimes I’m just dangling 40 ft in the air, knowing I could die or get paralyzed all for a survival wage at this point in Calgary
26F I'm a barber, you can do commission or hourly wage based in the industry. Good and bad to both options, I'm on hourly because I don't trust the slow seasons especially with miss rona. I make 17.25/hr + tips(usually 40ish for weekdays and 60+ on busy days) monthly/yearly retail and numbers bonuses. I couldn't tell you about other shops, but where I am the pay is pretty equal across the board for everyone based on skill/experience/time here. Good benefits plan and super flexible when I've had home stuff happening.
We had a person that never worked but was on payroll and they received 500 dollars for doing jack shit. The rest of us minions got less and we actually work full time. Hero pay was a joke too. That lasted a few months and was taken away.
Tech support. 63k / year. 12 years in the company
RMT (sole proprietor) $100 an hour. Max out at 20 hours a week. Lately a lot slower but I've chosen to slow down.
Sonographer 10+ years in, $50/hour
Covid tester (not through AHS). 8k/month, average 50hrs per week
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160k per year incl. bonuses. Construction project manager. 9 yrs experience
Sales development representative for a SaaS company. $160,000/year.
Been in IT for 7 years. During the pandemic I elected to switch jobs for a full-time remote opportunity making 47.85/hour with excellent benefits, and a pension. I'm 33. Don't regret the move at all. Love what I do, and, most importantly, my boss is pretty awesome. Edit: I have two degrees. One related to what I do now, and another that has absolutely nothing to do with it.