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Me and most of my engineering friends faced this decision 5 years ago. We all had to decide between offers from one of the big 5, or remaining in the Toronto-Wa

Me and most of my engineering friends faced this decision 5 years ago. We all had to decide between offers from one of the big 5, or remaining in the Toronto-Waterloo region. I'm the only one who stayed. And that's only because I was presented with a really interesting opportunity not available to most. I can only speak to the University of Waterloo, but there was this idea that the only goal worth perusing was a cali job. 'Cali or Bust' was one of those sayings that was said jokingly, but you know, people were also kind of serious about it. Even really great paying jobs in Toronto or Waterloo are not as desirable as the exact same position out west.

ryanobjc 8y ago
It's not so much that people are paid better in the bay area, but the jobs are plentiful, more interesting, more opportunities. Endless opportunities in fact. Bay area best case scenario is top of the world. Founder of a world-wide renowned company. Best case scenario for being in waterloo: Founder of a huge telcom handset manufacturer until shifting markets cause massive failure written about in economics textbooks as "what not to do"
- hluska 8y ago
  > Best case scenario for being in waterloo: Founder of a huge telcom handset manufacturer until shifting markets cause massive failure written about in economics textbooks as "what not to do" I'm sorry, but this is absolutely not true. Not only did the company you're talking about pay out incredibly well for its founders, but Waterloo is dramatically different today.
  - systemBuilder 8y ago
    Are you talking about Nortel, Blackberry, QNX, or some other failed lake Ontario company? I'm afraid the original poster was spot-on, you just need to realize the long history of Canadian tech self-destructing ...
- cmrdporcupine 8y ago
  Honestly, best case for being in Waterloo is come work for Google Waterloo. If you can get through the interview you won't find a better opportunity anywhere. Working for the FANG in the Valley sucks compared to working for the FANG while having Kitchener-Waterloo living costs. Or go work for Google in SV and then transfer back here after a few years.

ryanobjc 8y ago

It's not so much that people are paid better in the bay area, but the jobs are plentiful, more interesting, more opportunities. Endless opportunities in fact. Bay area best case scenario is top of the world. Founder of a world-wide renowned company. Best case scenario for being in waterloo: Founder of a huge telcom handset manufacturer until shifting markets cause massive failure written about in economics textbooks as "what not to do"

hluska 8y ago
> Best case scenario for being in waterloo: Founder of a huge telcom handset manufacturer until shifting markets cause massive failure written about in economics textbooks as "what not to do" I'm sorry, but this is absolutely not true. Not only did the company you're talking about pay out incredibly well for its founders, but Waterloo is dramatically different today.
- systemBuilder 8y ago
  Are you talking about Nortel, Blackberry, QNX, or some other failed lake Ontario company? I'm afraid the original poster was spot-on, you just need to realize the long history of Canadian tech self-destructing ...
cmrdporcupine 8y ago
Honestly, best case for being in Waterloo is come work for Google Waterloo. If you can get through the interview you won't find a better opportunity anywhere. Working for the FANG in the Valley sucks compared to working for the FANG while having Kitchener-Waterloo living costs. Or go work for Google in SV and then transfer back here after a few years.