I'm a unionized 309A electrician in the GTA, currently making around $54/hour. Although the pay is good, I'm getting tired of construction and am seriously considering leaving the industry entirely.

One of my biggest frustrations is the lack of job security. I can be laid off whenever a project ends or gets delayed, regardless of whether I want to keep working. The physical demands of construction are also wearing on me, and I don't want to spend the rest of my working life doing physical labour.

I'm looking for **actual career paths I could realistically transition into**, preferably outside of construction altogether.

Ideally, I'd like a career that offers:

* Permanent employment and more predictable job security.
* Less physically demanding work.
* Decent earning potential, with room to grow over time.

•A predictable daily routine, with consistent working hours, breaks, work location, and tasks.

•Ideally, I’d like to come to work each day knowing what I’ll be doing, rather than constantly changing jobsites or assignments.

* Remote or hybrid work, if possible.
* Opportunities for international travel or potentially relocating abroad through an employer.

I'm open to learning completely new skills, getting certifications, going back to school, or starting at a lower salary if there's a worthwhile long-term payoff. I don't necessarily need to use my electrical licence in my next career, and I'm not particularly interested in moving into construction management, estimating, or another construction-related position.

I'm especially interested in careers that people have successfully transitioned into from unrelated backgrounds, including those that don't necessarily require a four-year university degree.

**For people working outside the construction industry:**

* What do you do for a living, and how did you get into it?
* What careers would you recommend someone like me investigate?
* Which fields offer a good combination of stability, earning potential, and work-life balance?
* Are there careers that offer realistic opportunities to work internationally or relocate abroad?
* If you were starting over in my position, which career would you pursue?

I'm currently earning around $54/hour, so I realize I may need to take a pay cut initially. I'm more interested in finding a sustainable career I can stick with long-term than chasing the highest possible starting salary.

I'd appreciate suggestions for specific job titles, industries, and training pathways rather than just general advice to go back to school or learn to code.

One thing I’d like to clarify, since several people have suggested staying in electrical because of my licence and current pay: I’m on the autism spectrum, and having a predictable, consistent work environment is particularly important to me. I work best when I have the same work location, consistent hours and breaks, and a defined set of tasks that I perform regularly. The constantly changing jobsites, project conditions, and uncertainty of construction aren’t a good long-term fit for me.

I’m aware that leaving a $54/hour trade means potentially taking a significant pay cut and starting over in another field. I’ve considered that trade-off, and I’m willing to accept it for a career that better suits my needs and that I can sustain long-term. I’m specifically looking for options outside the electrical trade, rather than alternative electrical roles.

Thanks!

I'm curious, I've never considered it before, but I have an opportunity to go to school to do this. Just wondering what people's grips with the job are.

What are the trade offs? The good and the terrible?

Hi everyone! I'm a 26-year-old female living in downtown Toronto, and I'm stressed and nervous daily about my future graduation (May 2027), as I've been trying to apply for entry-level jobs, network and connect, but I'm having no luck. I'm studying Marketing and want to get into Marketing PR, but right now any entry-level marketing job would make me happy and help me kick-start my career. Any help would be appreciated!

I recently got an offer from them for an account exec position and something about the whole experience is not sitting right with me. The recruiters seem desperate. The job description is vague. Not sure if I should quit my PT work to take on this full time.

Share your experiences?

I just wanted to get on here to get advice about my career. I have a background in marketing and communications with 7+ years experience. My most recent role was in 2024 and since then I have been doing AI work for Meta and currently for Microsoft. It's all contract-based, so I'm basically a contractor hired via a third-party recruiter. It's good to have for now since it's remote and flexible and essentially an extension to my marketing and communications background. Of course, I want to go back and have kept my marketing skills updated throughout the years. My worry is that I have an almost 3-year gap with my marketing role. And given that even seasoned marketers are having a hard time getting jobs, I am getting scared that the longer I don't have a job in marketing, the farther I am from the career that I started. Considering my experience in marketing and AI and how AI is being integrated in marketing, what are my chances of even getting AI Marketing roles? Do those even exist right now? Would love to get insights from anyone.

I have applied to traditional marketing roles earlier this year and did have a number of interviews in a span of two months, but never really got an offer. The longer I am out in the industry, the more anxious I get about getting back in.

Hi Everyone,

I recently moved to Canada and I am about to hit my 2 year mark. I have a Bachelors of Mechanical Engineering from Pakistan and worked as a Mechanical Assistant Manager at a Security Printing Company doing preventative maintenance and QA work.

When I moved to Canada I heard a lot about the trades being a good space to get into and I decided to pursue Industrial Mechanical Millwright. I recently completed my one year course from George Brown College and have been looking for my first apprenticeship or junior level role within maintenance to break into the field.

I have spoke to many professionals within the Millwright industry and all of them tell me I need a manager to refer me. It becomes very discouraging when I hear this and when I continue applying for jobs but get rejection emails due to "no Canadian experience" or "looking for experienced applicants". I have made many linkedin posts about being open to work, have done cold calling etc. But nothing has gotten me anywhere :(

I would appreciate if anyone would have knowledge of companies that frequently hire or take chances on fresh graduates to take them on as apprentices. I am very hardworking and eager to learn. I have my own car and I am willing to travel outside of Toronto like Ajax, Etobicoke, Brampton, Mississauga etc. Or organizations that help people find placements.

I am willing to do jobs that are junior level roles as well such as field maintenance, laborer, helper etc.

Thank you for reading my post and I appreciate any advice!

Hi everyone!
I’m based in Brampton, Ontario, and I’m looking for an opportunity to get into the skilled trades, particularly plumbing, electrical, HVAC, or any other hands-on trade where I can develop valuable skills and build a long-term career.
I don’t have direct experience in these trades yet, but I do have experience working in manufacturing, warehouse, and physically demanding environments.
I’m hardworking, reliable, and genuinely passionate about learning something new. I’m not afraid of starting from the bottom, doing the tough work, or putting in the time it takes to become good at something.
I’m not expecting a high-paying position right away. What matters most to me is finding someone willing to give me a chance to learn, gain real experience, and grow in the industry.
I’m open to helper positions, entry-level opportunities, and apprenticeships throughout Brampton, Mississauga, Toronto, and surrounding areas.
If anyone here works in the trades, knows someone hiring, or could offer advice on getting started, I’d really appreciate your help.
Thank you for taking the time to read this!

Everyone, I have found a job after 8 months of unemployment and increased my previous salary in a great company with meaningful work!

I just wanted to say to anyone who are still struggling, please don’t stop from applying! ❤️ I got this job without a reference! I think the market is slowly opening again as I managed to get 3 separate interviews in one month.

My heart goes out to all of you. Please stay strong!

Hi everyone!
I’m currently exploring new career opportunities in Canada and would appreciate any advice, leads, or referrals from the community.
I have around 10 years of experience in high-tech manufacturing, industrial engineering, smart factory operations, and Industry 4.0 digital transformation. My experience includes working with advanced manufacturing systems, production processes, and cross-functional teams in a high-volume manufacturing environment.
I’m particularly interested in the following roles:
Manufacturing Engineering Manager
Production Manager / Manufacturing Operations Manager
Technical Product Manager – Manufacturing Systems, MES, SAP PP/EWM, and production applications
Technical Program Manager – New Product Introduction (NPI), manufacturing readiness, and industrialization
My background includes MES (DELMIA Apriso), SAP-integrated manufacturing operations, production planning, traceability, capacity planning, NPI readiness, and shop-floor digitalization. I’ve also been involved in smart factory initiatives and connecting business requirements with manufacturing technology.
I hold a Master’s in Industrial Engineering and an MBA, and I’m open to opportunities across Canada, particularly in manufacturing hubs and technology-driven industries.
I’d love to hear from anyone who has navigated the Canadian job market in these fields. Any advice on companies hiring, industries to target, networking strategies, or referrals would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance! Looking forward to connecting with the community.

Our laid-off hiking group is still going strong! 🥾

We've had more and more people joining us each week, and it's been great seeing everyone come out, meet new friends, and enjoy some time outside together.

This Monday, we're heading back to Ashbridges Bay for a relaxing walk along the boardwalk and waterfront!

📍 Meeting Point: Booster Juice, 1681 Lake Shore Blvd E, Toronto, ON M4L 3W6

📅 Monday, October 19

⏰ 11:00 AM

🥾 Route: Ashbridges Bay Boardwalk

Same idea as before — a casual walk for anyone who's laid off, between jobs, taking a career break, or just figuring out what's next.

No networking event, no pitches, no pressure to talk about work. Just come walk, meet some new people, enjoy the waterfront, and get out of the house for a bit.

DM for more details

Hello! I'm a 19 yo university student and work part time as a head host/bartender at a restaurant and was wondering about tips for applying to other hostess/server jobs or know any part time jobs with a flexible schedule.

I'm really burnt out of my job, for my first three months I worked 6/7 days a week with at least 40 hours each week. My hours are relatively relaxed now that I'm back in school but my bosses are making work horrible. We have to do alot of physically demanding tasks that were never expected of us before and the flexible work schedule that was a major part of why I took this job is basically gone as they're threatening to cut our hours if we request for time off (I asked off for exams/my birthday and basically got shut down and now they're making all of us work christmas eve/christmas day despite a few of us already requesting it off due to religious reasons)

Looking for Spider-Men’s 🕸️🕸️🕷️

Quota 30-50 people
Meet-up 15-20 people per session
Looking for people with Spiderman costumes
Must be willing to sit and listen
Must be willing to collaborate with everyone
Must be positive
Must be punctual
Must be active
Must be helpful
Must respect each other

I have been trying to gather up a squad to choreograph a dance group for a long time. Just as long as my webs.🕸️
I already have a few choreographs for dance squad videos. And trust me it will look sleek just like our suits.

Open to suggestions
1 choreograph focus per time period until completion.
P.S. i am not bossy.
Very new to this but you can trust my shot.
I know for sure Aunt Mary/ Uncle Ben must have already told God to help us get through this in a huge hike.
P.S: idk if that’s dark, and I don’t know if both of them died
Looking for support🖤
If you don’t act up right now i am gonna come to your window and pew pew you up and bring you here(the police can’t do anything to me i am a superhero)🕸️🕸️🕸️🕷️🕷️🕷️ and it’s for a good purpose. If else i will make sure they won’t find you.

Looking to get a squad together. Would be great to look back to you, if you don’t know.
Halloween period or Halloween can be a good time to meet up.
We are basically gonna dance.
And time can be a issue to everyone or is it just me. But i will swing from anywhere.
Just don’t wanna waste too much time. Just get the job done and go back to your real job 🫩
Like trust me.
If it succeeds its a miracle if it doesn’t you can curse my cursed jar.🏺
I will open it for the ones that made the war. And animal abusers
Will send the first video suggestion after the squad is formed. So we can all take turns from our merits and voting.
Thanks.
Also renting costume can be done after the choreograph is constructed/ and completed.✔️
Love you guys.
Just your friendly neighbourhood spiderman.

Hi everyone,

I have an upcoming assessment for an entry-level role with City of Toronto Urban Forestry, and honestly this job means so much to me. It's my first interview in my field in 2 years and I'm so happy I got this far.

I'm trying my best to study the bylaws and enrich my tree ID, but I'd love to hear from anyone who's been through it or works there:

- What did the field part involve?

- Was the written part more scenarios or bylaw questions?

- Anything you wish you'd studied?

Any tips would really help. Thank you!

Hello our roofing team is looking for labourers to start tomorrow.

Pay is $25/hr

Work: Using jackhammers to lift up old tar/roofing from a concrete balcony.

if you feel confident that you can do this reach out via message. the work will go on all week 8:30-4:30 shifts.

location: Burlington

ideally you would be available to continue on with the crew full time. thanks!

Hi, I just gave my interview for this role on Wednesday and they said they’ll get back within 2-5 business days. Do they usually get back writhing that time frame? I also have a meet and greet for the same position at a different location on Tuesday.

Hi everyone! My son is a high school student working on a DECA business project about how independent personal trainers run the business side of their work. Nothing is being sold, he’s just trying to learn from people who actually do it.

For anyone who runs their own clients: what’s been the most annoying part of running your business lately? Even a one-line answer in the comments helps a lot.

If you’d be open to a few more quick questions, feel free to send me a message. Thank you!

Hi!! I’m a current undergrad student, and I work part time, but I was wondering what kind of jobs can be done around the city to make some extra cash? I missed the deadline to sign up for elections Ontario, but I’m looking for something similar to that, in which I can make some extra money committing a few days/few hours.

I got a job offer but it’s 20k lower than my expectation, lower than my previous job, and lower level position. However, I accepted it anyway because I want to pause a little bit of going through all the applying process as I’ve been applying since July. It’s a bit tiring. I don’t know if it’s a ‘me’ problem or the economy is a highly competitive right now especially in Accounting and Finance field. I’ll try again next year or see if this company will give me a better opportunity inside the organization.

If you're going to the Toronto game fest please message me as I may have a paying gig for then.

I need to vent about a wildly unprofessional bait-and-switch and free consulting extraction I just went through with Insight Global recruiting for a contract at BMO (Bank of Montreal).

They pitched me an incorporated Senior Data Architecture contract targeting $70/hr. That's a low wage for this role but it sounded like a solid fit, so I went through multiple interview rounds. Then, they asked me to do a massive, time-consuming case study and present my architecture recommendations directly to the bank's hiring manager.

This wasn’t a simple technical assessment. I spent hours building a complete 24-slide enterprise architecture deck (a 16-slide core strategy presentation plus an 8-slide technical appendix). I mapped out their data ingestion, ETL/ELT pipelines, audience segmentation rules, privacy compliance controls, incident response playbooks, and a full 4-week rollout plan.

During the video call, I noticed the BMO hiring manager immediately reaching for her keyboard the exact second I transitioned to a new slide. She was very obviously taking screenshots of my core presentation step-by-step as I walked through my strategy.

The presentation went perfectly. The feedback from the BMO Director was glowing. Then the Insight Global recruiter reaches out: "You were the strongest candidate, but they're going with someone whose rate aligns with the budget."

I was confused because I had never asked for more than the $70/hr listed on the job description. I emailed the recruiter back and said, "I really liked the team and the architecture challenge. If the other candidate falls through, I'll take the role at the original $70/hr rate."

The recruiter’s response? They admit the actual approved budget from BMO was only for a $50/hr T4A contractor all along.

Here is the part that really pisses me off. The recruiter explicitly told me they knew the budget was $50/hr T4A, but deliberately pitched me as a $70/hr incorporated consultant because they wanted to prove a point to BMO about current market rates. They used my unpaid labor as a free bargaining chip to educate their client, without ever telling me I was participating in their experiment. I wasn't looking to help an agency prove a point to a bank. I was looking for a job.

When the bank predictably said no, the agency just shrugged and walked away. Insight Global gambled with my time, and the BMO hiring manager walked away with screenshots of a free senior-level architecture blueprint.

If an agency ever asks you to do a massive presentation or a take-home project, demand written confirmation of the actually approved budget first. And if you do present, watermark your slides. Do not let recruiters and clients use your interviews to test budget elasticity and harvest free consulting.

Hey everyone! I run InfaWeb, a web design business based in Markham. I’m available for website projects with businesses in Toronto and across the GTA.

If you need your first website or want to refresh an existing one, I build mobile-friendly sites that clearly explain your services and make it easy for customers to get in touch.

I typically custom-code my projects to suit each business’s design and functionality needs. I can help with landing pages, full business websites, and redesigns. Hosting and ongoing maintenance are available too.

Send me a message with a little about your business, your timeline, and what you’re looking for, and we can discuss the scope and a quote :)

You can see my work at infawebdesign.com.

The horrible tragedy that occurred yesterday at CFB Wainwright and which is still unfolding reminded me of a post a few days ago on this subreddit about one person's experience with joining the military and the positive effects it had on his life. The post garnered a lot of discussion both for and against his suggestion that it would be a good option for other people who either didn't know what career path they should take, or who didn't have many opportunities available.

I think the advice and experiences in that post were sincere and reflected a genuine desire to help people better themselves, but incidents like what happened yesterday are a stark reminder that while joining the CAF is a commitment to public service, it still requires you to put your life on the line for this country. Accidents do happen, and fatal ones at that - I am old enough to remember the days when Sea King helicopters were in service and the deadly crashes that occurred. I am sorry for those who lost their lives then, and my thoughts this morning are with the families of those involved today who are still anxiously awaiting news of their loved ones.

I would never dare to casually suggest that someone join the military. There are not a few people who will dismiss its risks - I am sure there are riskier professions - but it just doesn't sit right with me. I know the job market is very bad right now and many people see no alternatives, but if even one person injured or worse yesterday was there because they felt they had no other choice between service or starvation, that would be a tragedy within a greater tragedy.

This is not to say that nobody should ever join the CAF, or that the risk of injury or death is unacceptably high. I simply believe that such a decision should be made in good conscience and out of a desire to do good for this country. It should not be lightly recommended to the desperate as a final gamble for respectability, and the dangers should be neither overstated nor underplayed.

When you tell someone to join the CAF you are telling them to put their life on the line for your sake. I can only hope that such a request is made with the resolve that it deserves.

​

I did business for my undergrad finished in Dec 2024 and been searching since and been struggling to land anything for a while due to crazy competition and lack of entry level and new grad opportunities. Can't believe I would be able to find a job but I ended up getting something full time finally since I graduated. Been doing on-call part time work with very limited hours. I have been just networking, and applying along the way. I got a sales representative job that's a good foot in the door and seems like there's some opportunity to build skills and experience. Recommend definitely anyone looking for entry level work to consider sales as they are typically hiring in cohorts and you have a way better chance than your other typical jobs in marketing, finance, supply chain, data, project management or other fields where you are just competing for one position or well a position you have no chance of getting due to competition as a new grad.