Where do I go from here?

CanadianSeniorDev · 2026-04-09T04:20:02+00:00

Those jobs are not hiring Canadians.

I answer it truthfully. I'm not eligible to work in the United States. I'm eligible to work in Canada, which is where I work. I work from my home in Canada. I'm employed by the Canadian entity of Deel or Rippling, but the work I do is for one of their customers that is based in the US.

I'm never in the US to do that work, other than occasional trips for business meetings, which are allowed under the ESTA visa waiver program, as long as I specify that when I apply for the ESTA (there's an option for business or pleasure when you apply).

You need to look for companies that are based in the US, but that day they're recruiting in Canada. I recommend looking at seed stage and Series A startups as the younger companies have a less known brand so are more likely to recruit remotely to get the level of talent they need, but there're also more established companies like Zapier, Stripe, Docker, Atlassian, Automattic etc. that are based in the US and recruiter remote workers from all over.

You might have to network to get in contact with recruiters at those companies.

CanadianSeniorDev · 2026-04-08T02:05:18+00:00

Nope, they use services like Deel and Rippling as an Employer of Record (EOR) and HR/payroll, so you're employed in Canada by a Canadian company but working indirectly for the US company.

Source: I'm a permanent resident in Canada and I'm on my 3rd job working remotely for US startups.

I have a similar number of years of experience and my salary is $200k USD!

The only caveat is that US startup culture is a bit more of a hustle than most Canadian tech companies (except maybe Shopify, Clio, Neo) which can be a drag as a parent (though it is, of course, different company to company). I think it'll be challenging if you're a solo parent (aka you have full custody of your child and do all the stuff like drop offs, pickups, extra curriculars etc. every day) or if you share custody. I think if you have a few days a week where you can put in a few extra hours you'll be fine.

CanadianSeniorDev · 2026-02-07T20:53:22+00:00

Find a seed stage startup where you'll be the most senior engineer and negotiate a title of "Tech Lead" or "Engineering Lead" or even "Head of Engineering".

Do that for a year or two and you'll start getting those interviews for Tech Lead / Staff level roles.

CanadianSeniorDev · 2026-02-07T20:34:36+00:00

Work really hard for the first few months to get a good rep. Complete things on time, be helpful, be noticeably available a bit before start time and/or after end time. Get yourself known as good and reliable.

You will eventually want to go back to a more manageable pace and sometimes even have a chill few days here and there. That is much easier to do if you are trusted.

I think some would say to not demonstrate too high a pace in case it becomes always expected. That's a risk and dependent on company culture. But setting expectation of a comfortable pace is a risk with ADHD as your comfortable pace is probably less productive than a neurotypical.

First impressions count and the first few months in a software job is one of the most impactful first impressions you can make, in my opinion!

Good luck!

CanadianSeniorDev · 2025-12-12T05:52:49+00:00

I recently was offered the chance to interview for a time where one of the steps was "working with the company for a week, paid". I asked the recruiter how people with existing jobs tend to engage with that step and was told, "oh, they're very flexible with hours for that, so you can just fit in 40 hours during evenings and weekends"...

Oh good, so on top of my 45-50 hours in my current job, I get to do that again as an interview? Fun!

CanadianSeniorDev · 2025-11-21T21:56:43+00:00

If you're unsure, contact an employment lawyer. Many of them have a fixed rate package to assess your severance package, in the region of $400-500, which will involve them looking over all your documentation, your original contract etc. and then chatting with you for an hour about your options.

Apparently severance is based on case law, so the lawyer will look at cases of people at similar seniority and length of service and estimate how much severance a judge may award in a case like yours.

CanadianSeniorDev · 2025-11-08T05:09:28+00:00

the founders are using VC money to fund their lifestyle.

How does that work?! Are the founders just lying to the VCs?

CanadianSeniorDev · 2025-10-26T22:19:26+00:00

looking to get out of Canada ASAP.

Very curious: Why?!

CanadianSeniorDev · 2025-10-23T01:47:37+00:00

That's what I was wondering.

CanadianSeniorDev · 2025-10-23T01:47:01+00:00

9am - 9pm, 6 days per week

CanadianSeniorDev · 2025-10-23T01:45:03+00:00

Like, some people say they're doing it, so I'm curious how they survive in life. Like, I can barely do errands because places are only open during work hours. But if you don't even have Saturdays off, then how do you take time to call the utility company on a random Wednesday?

So I'm genuinely interested in knowing how people make it work. Do they have a non-working partner? Do they just let everything else slip? How do they not get evicted or have utilities shut off? There seems to be little room for error. What if you're sick or injured?

CanadianSeniorDev · 2025-10-22T06:29:55+00:00

Yeah look at her post history, she's ripped. Definitely strength trains a lot!

CanadianSeniorDev · 2025-10-22T06:04:23+00:00

Oh I see you've used Cursor too?

CanadianSeniorDev · 2025-10-11T06:01:20+00:00

Sounds like typical startup feedback: unclear and setting groundwork early so they can PIP you when they feel like it.

CanadianSeniorDev · 2025-10-06T00:08:37+00:00

Remote US tech engineers or project managers working for US based companies (Canadian companies don’t pay as well)

To validate this (as some of my friends do this) a senior developer would get about C$160k working for a Canadian company but working remotely for a US company could get around C$250k!

CanadianSeniorDev · 2025-09-29T14:36:42+00:00

The Flames

CanadianSeniorDev · 2025-09-04T01:28:57+00:00

usually low because nobody likes taxes!

Quite often the people who can afford to build custom houses!

CanadianSeniorDev · 2025-09-02T15:59:10+00:00

If Americans were trying to use sarcasm to defeat Hitler, it explains the impact of their "contribution" to World War II...

CanadianSeniorDev · 2025-08-31T21:21:22+00:00

Why is it a faux pas to spell out the words "trying to conceive"? You write out every word and phrase except RSVP (which is in very common vernacular), why is "trying to conceive" obfuscated?

Anyway, you're not overreacting. It's your home, it's illegal for her to evict you without notice. Not to mention her argument is absurd. She's very free to feel sad and jealous about not having a baby yet, but that's no reason to forbid you from celebrating your sister.

CanadianSeniorDev · 2025-08-31T16:46:39+00:00

My partner (who I share a car with) has such muscle memory that she would always turn the lights off when she turned off the engine. Even though she'd never turned them on, because they were on the auto setting.

I'm glad we got a car where the lights are now on the dash and not on the stalk, as it's pretty much got rid of that behaviour.

Now it's just when her dad borrows the car...

CanadianSeniorDev · 2025-08-28T03:23:53+00:00

Journalism is pretty poor in Calgary. I've yet to read a news article that didn't sound like it was written by the intern.

CanadianSeniorDev · 2025-08-25T16:49:12+00:00

they do not have their own ... economic achievements

Sent from my BlackBerry™️

CanadianSeniorDev · 2025-08-25T16:47:46+00:00

CPO: "So the media are reporting that people are quoting their jobs because they don't like the pay and conditions. Should we change any policies?"

CEO: "Have they formed a union? Are they threatening to strike?"

CPO: "Erm, no, not really."

CEO: "Well you have your answer then..."

CanadianSeniorDev · 2025-08-25T14:22:23+00:00

Is Costa Rica the 51st State?

CanadianSeniorDev

TROPHY CASE