The best thing about living in the Greater Toronto Area is its interconnectedness. You can rent an apartment above a Toronto print shop and work as a farm hand in Milton if you want, even if you don't own a car, because the public transit systems are interconnected and commuter trains make moving between them fast and easy. Having said that, though, the high price of real estate in the GTA means that you absolutely cannot manage your mortgage payments without a job. To avoid having a few scary weeks while you're saddled with a mortgage and still looking for work, try to find a job before moving. Here are some tips on how to get started.
The GTA, and Toronto especially, has such a high employment rate that the city has become one of the primary destinations for immigrants. You may think this will make it easy for you to find a high-paying job, but in fact most of the readily available positions are in minimum wage sectors like food service and retail rather than business or search engine optimization. Toronto's major industries are business, finance, publishing, media, technology, and film production, so if you have experience in one of these industries, Toronto probably is your best bet.
While many people would dismiss the other municipalities in the GTA as bedroom communities and focus exclusively on finding a job in Toronto, the feeder cities have more opportunities than Toronto in some job areas, like manufacturing. Mississauga exceeds even CFB Kingston in air traffic and transportation because Pearson International Airport is located within its boundaries, so anyone looking for a job in aviation would do well to look in Mississauga. Oshawa and Burlington are hubs for ground transportation and automotive manufacturing, making it a likely place for truckers and auto factory workers to find jobs.
Some of the municipalities in the GTA have opportunities for very specific, very specialized jobs. This is true of Pickering, which is home to the Pickering Nuclear Generating Station, the city's largest employer. You won't find any nuclear physics jobs in Oakville. Dentists, doctors, construction workers, and office workers, by contrast, are needed all over the GTA. Office jobs are particularly prevalent, because major corporations like Hewlett Packard and Staples often want their headquarters offices to be located near the Toronto financial hub, but settle in outlying municipalities like Mississauga or Richmond Hill to save on land prices and corporate taxes.
Whether you're looking for a position in an auto parts factory, psychiatry practice that specializes in anxiety treatment in Hamilton, Toronto Stock Exchange analysis company, or film studio, most job listings appear online in some form. Troll the websites of companies you admire for openings and conduct daily searches on the various job websites like Monster.ca. You should also check jobs.gc.ca for details on competitions for open government positions and all local newspapers to catch the listings for non internet-savvy businesses. Keep several up-to-date resumes with you every time you go out in case you see a 'help wanted' sign as well.
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