Are you evaluating Canada as the destination to boost your career? It is clear that there are many opportunities in this country, but we know that an important element to take the next step is the salary that you could receive doing work related to your knowledge.
Therefore, to help you decide, we will tell you about the 10 highest paying undergraduate and 10 postgraduate professions in Canada. You will know the average salaries of each of them in this country and a comparison with the income they earn. Do you dare to know them?
Top 10 highest paying undergraduate professions in Canada
In Canada, job opportunities abound in all cities and sectors. However, some professions have a very attractive remuneration package and other benefits. The top 10 professions that pay most for bachelor’s degree holders are:
1. Medicine
According to different indices and rankings, Canada stands out for its quality of health service, which is one of the best in the world. This is why students interested in professionalizing in Canada should take into account that they must enter a medical school, which are normally found in university faculties that offer between three or four years to obtain the degree of doctor of medicine. However, before seeking medical school, students must have a bachelor’s degree in any of the natural science fields as one of the main requirements of the schools.
Depending on the region in which the university is located, the admission requirements may differ. The Association of Canadian Medical Schools is one of the admission control bodies for medical students. They frequently publish guidelines for the requirements, as well as evaluate the knowledge and quality of service of graduate physicians through the Medical College Admission Test, where they also recognize student participation in volunteer work. Such an exam exists because of the large number of students applying to medical schools.
2. Nursing
Bagging a certificate in nursing sciences in Canada means that you have received an unparalleled tutelage and training from some of the leading professors in the world, in the field of nursing. Undoubtedly, through Canadian nursing school, you would have honed the practical knowledge and acquaint yourself with the ethics of the noble profession. No wonder hospitals, organizations, NGOs, among others literally do all they could to recruit nursing graduates from Canadian universities.
Interestingly, Canadian nursing program curriculum helps students to develop versatility and autonomy skills, which help them to interact and treat different people, appropriately. You will learn to deal with the complex health experiences of individuals, families and the community, in collaboration with other health professionals.
Canada gives you the chance to practice clinical reasoning based on a body of knowledge, including theoretical and scientific knowledge. This program integrates theoretical and practical components.
As a bachelor’s degree holder, you will be exposed to various care contexts including surgery, geriatrics, medicine, pediatrics or perinatal care and mental health. You will have the chance to familiarize yourself with community health and critical care (e.g. emergency, intensive care).
Discover a profession with a human dimension that will allow you to intervene at all the highlights of people’s lives – from their birth to their end of life. In this way, you will contribute to improving the quality of life of patients, the quality of care, health services and the well-being of the Canadian society.
3. Engineers (Civil, Software, Systems)
Canada has a high demand for engineers on the rise due to constant economic expansion. The highest paying engineering firms are often the software and civil specializations of the profession.
In Latin America, a Software Engineer earns an average of 4.72 USD per hour. However, in Canada, his hourly rate is around 36.22 USD on average. This means that in the latter,you would earn more in one hour than you could earn in the former in a full day (8-hour shift).
Civil Engineer in Canada has a salary of 6,322 USD per month, while in Ecuador the salary for this same position is 1,200 USD – a difference of more than 5,000 USD.
4. Sociology
Sociology promotes understanding of societies, cultures and the various processes that give them life. Since the sociological perspective touches on so many disciplines, a good training in sociology is an important asset for a large number of professions. Indeed, people who study sociology can find themselves in a wide variety of fields of work, starting with social research and market studies, through policy analysis and human resources, not to mention activism, social and community action.
Knowledge of sociology makes you aware of the underlying social dimensions of political, economic and legal systems. In Canada, the training focuses on the acquisition of critical thinking, another sought-after asset. According to Payscale, the average salary of a sociologist is $55,000 (CAD) per year.
5. Financial Administrator
There is a great demand for professionals in financial sector. Most of the offers are concentrated in the city of Toronto, since there are many of the country’s largest banks and big financial institutions in the region.
A Financial Analyst or Administrator can find great opportunities in Canada. In fact, the monthly salary for a senior level Financial Analyst is around 6,667 CAD per month, while in countries like Peru or Ecuador, you could earn up to 1,100 USD per month, how about the difference?
6. Project Manager
The IT industry is among the most important and promising in the country, mainly due to technological changes.
In this area, Project Managers are the best paid. At the senior level of the position, a professional earns $ 87,636 per year. A value well above the income you could have in Latin America, which is around USD 20,800 per year, in Canada you could earn 4 times more!
Additionally, project managers are not only needed in the IT industries, but also in all other sectors of Canada. So, you have the opportunity to spread your tentacle and work in any industry that you prefer.
7. Human Resources Manager
The Human Resources area is among the most promising professions in Canada. In British Columbia alone, 5,000 vacancies in the area of Human Resources are expected until 2025.
A Human Resources Manager earns around $1,124 (CAD) per week in Canada while their counterparts in Latin America earns around 395.20 USD per week.
They usually look for professionals with certification in Human Resources, knowledge in information systems and candidate tracking for the area, as well as innovative strategies for talent retention.
8. Accounting
The need to comply with tax obligations has made accountants in Canada one of the most sought after professions.
In Canada, a professional in this branch earns 43,240 USD per year, while in Ecuador he earns an average of 16,044 USD, a surprising difference. Well, in Latin America the accounting work is not as well recognized in relation to other areas.
A key requirement is to be a Certified Public Accountant. However, for foreign professionals, there are some specific programs or certifications that you need to have before you can become a certified public accountant in Canada.
9. Computer Science and IT
Computing is omnipresent in our lives. It has become as indispensable as electricity and rare now are the daily activities in which computing takes no part. Computing affects virtually every aspect of everyday life (computers, cell phones, wireless networks, traffic light regulation, interactions between government and citizens, etc.). This is a constantly boiling sector in Canada where new jobs are being created in thousands.
In an economy that is increasingly influenced by new technologies, Canada does its best to attract some of the best heads in the IT sector into the country. IT jobs generally offer good employment prospects, benefits, and working conditions. Salaries are usually competitive and teleworking is often possible. However, let me sound this note of warning to you, it is no longer enough to have a taste for technology to break through because, nowadays, you also have to know how to communicate and be inventive to succeed.
10. Media & Journalism
Journalists help the daily citizen bombarded with information to sort through and retain those that are important and truthful and that help them make good decisions, for themselves and for others.
In a democracy, journalism is the most legitimate and the most important of the communication professions. Whether we are talking about traditional media or new media, journalism is an essential activity, although it is constantly evolving.
Canada needs competent journalists to keep the country properly informed and impartially, especially in a technological world where anyone can deliver messages, which are sometimes incomplete, inaccurate and, often even, misleading.
Top 10 highest paying post-graduate professions in Canada
1. Medicine
The career of Medicine is much more demanding than most of the other professions and therefore requires a higher degree of commitment from the students.At the postgraduate level, doctors focus on their areas of specialization and undergo training that foster good research outputs.
A doctor cannot know only what he sensed that they would take in the final exam; he must have knowledge about the entire human body, about each of the existing pathologies, their causes, symptoms and possible treatments, be constantly up-to-date and forget about the traditional working hours. It is a vocation, not a profession.
Medicine is one of the longest courses in both public and private universities, and those who enter it know that their lives will change completely. It is not a profession for everyone. It is essential to feel the need to help others on a daily basis, putting their rights above yours.
Considering the lengthy number of years that it takes to become a doctor, and how difficult the profession is, the salary of medical doctors is really huge.
2. Accounting
Choosing a professional career to which you are going to dedicate your postgraduate study in Canada is not a decision that should be taken lightly. But with the correct guides, you will be able to choose what you are really passionate about. Humans have different types of intelligence; some people do well with letters, and others who feel better with numbers.That is, if you like finance, statistics, or economics, you could consider having a career in accounting.
Taking into account the tasks, another important aspect when choosing a career is the viability it has in the world and in the workplace. The taste for a profession and economic stability must go hand in hand, and studying accounting brings great advantages, such as high labor demand. Companies and organizations in Canada are always in need of professionals that are capable of organizing finances and resources. It is a priority within the development of a company. Therefore,the unemployment rate in this profession is far below that of some other professions.
Being an accountant in Canada, you can choose if you want to work as an employee in a company or establish your consultancy firm.Accounting provides great freedom in the organization of your tasks and time control. You can work from the comfort of your home and set the hours that suit you best.
3. Civil Engineering
Do you want to change the landscape of a city and work on concrete projects? Civil engineering education may be for you. With a placement rate of 100%, for the past five years, the number of job offers for civil engineering technologies has exceeded the number of graduates.
Having a postgraduate degree in this program from a reputable school in Canada teaches candidates in particular to manage construction sites, analyze and design pipeline infrastructures, and implement construction projects for public works and buildings. It also teaches the techniques of maintenance of roads and traffic lanes. Once they have obtained their diploma, they will be able to work for municipalities, consulting engineering firms, construction companies or even public or private works services.
The decisions of civil engineers have a significant impact on society, both financially and structurally. They are highly paid because they oversee the construction projects of houses, offices, bridges, roads, among others, which are needed for our dad-to-day activities. In addition to working with state-of-the-art equipment and instruments, civil engineering students benefit from relevant field experiences.
Not forgetting that job prospects are very encouraging. With large-scale construction projects, the Plan Nord or the repair of viaducts and roads, candidates are not likely to run out of work.
4. Law
Studying Law goes beyond memorizing articles or knowing the constitution from start to finish. Law is a career that focuses on the proper training of professionals interested in the benefit and defense of society through the application of the laws.
There are job prospects for law professionals in Canada because almost all the companies, firms, and organizations work hand-in-hand with lawyers to guide them in their decision-making processes. As a lawyer, you can either work as an employee in law firm or establish yours.
5. Computer Science and IT
Indeed, the IT sector in Canada needs creative people that are able to think beyond the tip of their nose to design new solutions. Canada, on the other hand, is looking for IT people who work well in groups and who can stimulate each other to achieve meaningful results. These are professions that attract people who can use their creativity and leadership to achieve their goals.
But that’s not all since workers in the IT sector often have the opportunity to make a positive difference in their community since their profession is literally at the heart of the great modern questions. IT solutions help, for example, to solve environmental problems, improve healthcare, increase the quality of education, facilitate communications, and more.
Some of the renowned specializations in the IT sector include web developer, programmer, and computer engineers. The salary scale is highly competitive alongside many benefits.
6. Psychology
Why do you become a psychologist? A popular cliché is that the profession attracts people who want to understand themselves. This joke can be used to denigrate psychologists by suggesting that they themselves have psychological problems.
However, the truth of this quip reveals that in reality people drawn to this profession are often sensitive people, interested in human relationships, with a deep desire to help others and alleviate human suffering. Of course, this relational orientation towards understanding and help can only be anchored in a desire for self-knowledge to be realized in an authentic way. The “gnothiseauton” (Know thyself) inscribed on the pediment of the temple of Delphi is embodied in the profession of psychologist.
Psychologists are highly valued and respected in Canada because many people see them as doctors who help them treat their depression and emotional trauma. Consequently, the job prospects are without borders and the pay is mouth-watering.
7. Public Health
The postgraduate degree in Public Health offers comprehensive preparation with tools and skills that enable professionals to deal with public health issues from a holistic perspective that allows them to provide medical services with the necessary quality and attention.
The aim of this program is to guarantee training in line with changes in the external and internal environments of society and in step with scientific and technological progress. All this thanks to theoretical knowledge, analyzes of practical cases and exercises which allow the candidate to progress in the understanding of public health in its main fields of action.
The main objective of the postgraduate program in Public Health is to train experts from different disciplines in the wide field of action of public health, who are able to approach, from different angles, the health problems of the population to through interventions to promote, protect and restore community health.
The students are designed to contribute to training through a high-level academic program that enables students to develop reflective, critical and humanistic thinking, both for those who are clearly interested in the specialty from ‘a broad and applied approach, and for young graduates starting in one of the approaches.
The postgraduate degree in Public Health has an innovative academic articulation, focused on the development of scientific knowledge and research; it generates skills and sustainable solutions to meet the needs of public health professionals.
Public Health Scientists help the country to sensitize the citizens on different health-related topics. For instance, they are highly instrumental in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic that has been the ravaging the world for the past one year. The salary of the public health scientists is attractive.
8. Statisticians
Almost all occupations require training and knowledge in mathematics. In fact, mathematicians or statisticians are very versatile and their skills could be used in many sectors. Statisticians are recognized among professionals for their strong power of abstraction, analysis, and problem solving skills.
A large portion of students who earn a bachelor’s degree in mathematics or statistics move on to teaching mathematics in high school and college after completing a certificate in teaching. The demand for qualified mathematics teachers is very great and this demand is expected to increase with the aging of the teaching staff. These are stable and well-paid jobs that allow us to actively participate in the scientific training of future generations and of our society in general.
Apart from teaching, those with a specialization in mathematics, as well as those with a master’s or doctorate in mathematics, also work for private companies or governments. They are generally found in research and development teams where they develop software for security and data encoding, do digital simulations for the aeronautical industry, etc.
Naturally, almost everything that has been said about job opportunities for Mathematics graduates holds true for statistics graduates as well. In fact, statistics graduates have more job opportunities in the private and government sectors.
9. Public Relations
One of the major problems that is common among most companies, especially start-ups, is poor customer relation services. To this effect, Canadian government or organizations in Canada are really investing in public relation experts who have the understanding of how to relate with customers.
Public relations experts could use their psychological skills to predict customer’s behavioural pattern and they will quickly use the best conversational approach, suitable for that kind of person, to approach the customer(s). They know how to wear a smiling face and can set the tone of their voice to fit with the conversation. Public relations experts have strong skills in research and communication, conceptualization, strategic management, and content creation.
Moreover, if one understands persuasion techniques well, one can better assess political and governmental communications, which are numerous and more complex. In short, the omnipresence of communication forces us to study its mechanisms in order to understand, better, the world in which we live and to act on it.
Public relations experts could work in any sector in Canada and the unemployment rate in this profession is close to zero percent.
10. Mining Engineering
The mining demand a growing number of professionals in Canada: from mine drillers, to engineers, truck drivers and community relations experts are required by the sector. Attentive to this reality, the academic world has developed an interesting range of careers related to this industry.
In addition to being responsible for the extraction of minerals (exploration, evaluation and exploitation), the Modern Mining Engineering career has a strong emphasis on management aspects, such as social responsibility and the environment.
Mining leaves its mark on the environment. The career of environmental engineering or engineering in environmental technology is focused on studying environmental problems in an integral way, considering the ecological, social, economic and technological dimensions. The goal is to promote sustainable development.
This career trains people in mineral processing. Those interested must have a good command of exact sciences, such as mathematics and chemistry. When they graduate, they will be trained to supervise chemical-metallurgical processes in laboratories and industrial plants.
It is a technical career that provides the basic knowledge to prepare and carry out mineral extraction operations. You can work at any point in the process, from rock unleashing to budget design.
