Five career websites Canadian students should know
Where to learn about job prospects and pay
Finance students work on the campus trading floor. Chris Bolin / For Macleans Magazine
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It’s the time of year when students start looking for summer jobs. This inevitably leads to despair about what the heck they’re going to do after graduation too. So where to start? Your Job Makes Me Jealous is one good place to explore. Here are several other websites that can help Canadian students narrow down their options.
This federal government website is a rich source of high-quality information about how much jobs pay is various parts of Canada. For example, if I search “journalist” under the “Wages” tab, I can see that the median hourly pay is $26 nationwide, higher in Edmonton and lower in Saskatchewan.
The “Outlook” tab, which offers research on job prospects, is a little less useful because it’s incomplete. It shows me that the chances of journalists finding employment are “limited” in Nova Scotia, but reports are missing for Ontario. More info is available for some careers, so try it.
It’s easy to get lost in this British Columbia government website because the videos are just so watchable, and you don’t need to be from B.C. to find them useful. The 52 spots show real people explaining their jobs. Each episode is accompanied by data on the outlook (B.C. only) and pay.
Career Trek is ideal for comparison shopping. For example, I can see that clinical counselling is rewarding and flexible, but the pay isn’t spectacular at $33k to $44k per year. A sales coordinator typically gets paid better ($66k to $95k), but the video suggests the hours are more demanding.
This Generation Y focused website has a decent number of job listings and some useful “Career Guides” with articles focused on specific industries including environmental, finance and mining.
Career Edge is a not-for-profit that connects recent graduates with paid internships. Examples include corporate communications with TD Bank and a business analyst with Bell Systems.
Sector specific job sites
Industry organizations sometimes offer sites to help people understand careers options, find jobs and network. One good one is BioTalent Canada, which is for biotech and life sciences graduates.
Did we miss a great careers website? Tell us in the comments section or Tweet @maconcampus.