Wtf toronto

 I'm a MIT mba graduate and moved to Toronto a few months back on PR. Background is in ibanking in the US. I just got offered a base pay of 135K cad for a manager role in Corp dev team. Bonus will be 20% at most of my base. I have US$85K in bschool loans. I'm super mad at how low comp is (my bad that I didn't do My research). From a hierarchy  perspective, This manager role is akin to a VP role in ibank. How can ppl survive here on these shifty fucking salaries. This country is truly a shit hole. 

I spoke with a couple of pension funds and external buyside managers...and even their base comp was in the same ball park

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Salaries have always been lower in Canada, but Canadian workers didnt get to experience the same bump in wages that US did which further widened the gap between US/Canada. Moreover mass immigration and bad economic policies are some of the factors to this. Its why everyone including myself is trying to leave, very low salaries and cost of living is crazy high, combined with opportunities available in finance and tech are limited. I think entire Canada has 4-5 openings in IB rn. I just hope job market in the US picks up in the next 6-8 months so I can leave this shithole country. Get your Canadian citizenship and then try US again on a TN, or try London. 

Even tech companies sometimes brag about the fact that they can pay someone in Canada 30-40% less and get same/more work done compared to US employees. 

 

pension funds do not pay 135k base for post mba i know this for a fact, think you are just getting incorrect info. ib analyst pay in Toronto at b5/globals/ebs crosses what you're being paid. this does not sound right 

 

yes but the general point still stands, idk why op is complaining about pensions when they would pay well above 135k+20% (the 20% would look more like 3 fig percentages). OP chose corp dev and they're blaming the decision on Toronto, it's whiny and silly. Corp dev pays poorly almost anywhere (i know associates in sf making 150k all-in where cost of living is reasonably higher than toronto), if you can't stomach the pay cut then don't switch from IB to corp dev it's literally as simple as that 

also, i don't live in Toronto so I'm not d**ksucking for no reason 

 

Yeah, I don't know what to tell you. I had four offers when I moved to Toronto. And at that point I'd been unemployed for a year. 

Current job : comp above 

Corp dev at a tech unicorn: 115K cash base + 200K in stock comp. I consider stock comp useless / worthless unless it's publicly listed 

IB at RBC/TD as an IB Associate in Toronto: 130K cash base for associate. OK bonus would have have been good. But I have done IB in the US at a mid tier BB that moving to rbc / td would have been a step down 

Senior investment Analyst at a special situations shop in TO. I didn't get the official offer from them because I rejected them myself but leading up to that point they were very keenn on me. the senior principal asked me how important was comp to me. .which I understand being a sign of a low ball offer to come...they were contacting me incessantly asking me to reconsider My decision when I told them I'd accepted something else

 

Moving to Toronto after MIT was the utter bad decision. There are countless threads filled with don’t come to Canada from international students.

You could have gone to London if you graduated from MIT in the past 5 years, regardless of citizenship. Could have just asked the bank for a lateral unless you were laid off. Or recruit fresh as a lateral.

Even going back to home country is better than Toronto, your salary is all going to be spent in taxes, rent, and groceries. It is a living nightmare.

 

Your story is confusing. You did an MBA at MIT and worked in IB at a BB, yet you declined an IB seat at RBC/TD to work corpdev? Sure in the US market it would be a step down, but in the Canadian market that is a top seat. Was the team shitty?

No idea what special situations fund you spoke with and I’m siding with you on that as I can’t imagine there is any notable one in Toronto. Though you probably should have waited to ask total comp as if it was heavy on performance based it could have been interesting.

 

You move to a country a tenth of the size of the US for immigration with no research and complain about a problem everyone knows

Idk who sold you that, but manager =/= VP corp dev and your comp reflects that

Based on your background and where you're originally from, I know who you are. Your resume really isn't good enough to be this arrogant, and you def are not as mouthy rl lol

 
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Just came across this thread and it is obvious you didn't do any ounce of research before going to Toronto, aside from gets TN after a passport. And I would agree on the Canadian MBAs not being as smart, because no one would willfully choose a Canadian uni for MBA. However, it's not necessarily the case for undergrads.

In general, Canadian FT recruiting is heavily a sham. Worked at a major BB/EB in Canada before moving to the US, and lot of the times the MD makes you choose a semi-qualified candidate over the clearly intelligent and charismatic one everyone liked during the interviews. 

So you'll find a lot of smart undergrads actually start out their career in ER, Big4, or AM if they had no super-early guidance or have no industry connections.

While I share the feeling of not wanting to work for people you know aren't as intellectually sound, I don't think that's the right attitude given your situation. My mentor (a global head at GS) always used to tell folks reaching out to him, "Beggars can't be choosers". This is very applicable in your scenario.

And if your ego is bigger than self awareness, maybe you aren't as smart as you think.

 

I know nothing about the Canadian job market. But I do know that they offer death as a treatment for depression - which should register as a red flag and a general reason to not move there. Countries that are promoting euthanasia are countries you want to avoid…

Only two sources I trust, Glenn Beck and singing woodland creatures.
 

You make less than an Analyst 1 at any bank in NYC.

I know the CoL is different but makes u realize how shit Canada is. Im also Canadian and I just moved to the US. The US is a dump in terms of cleanliness and infra but at least your purchasing power with USD goes so much further around the world compared to fake money CAD.

GTFO ASAP from shitty canada

 

Hey - congrats on the move. If you’re willing, can you share how you went about the move (was it via TN status or another avenue)? How difficult was it? 
 

I’m in the process right now for a few buyside roles, and I think I’d likely be placed in the “Economist” category based on my degree (business, but maybe a few economics courses). But I know this category has been under more scrutiny over recent years, so just wondering if you have any thoughts / observations on process, or what was helpful to communicate to prospective hiring firms.

 

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