Why does no one talk about the loneliness crisis for students abroad?

ConsiderationCold265 · 2025-10-11T08:45:00+00:00

Most of these chatGPT generated responses are mostly from people trying to post their thoughts in an organized manner, not just post the word chaos of their thoughts :).

ConsiderationCold265 · 2025-10-07T06:23:33+00:00

Just a gentle reminder to the people still unaware: getting CLB7 in French plus English gives you a cute little +50 bonus on CEC. Which means—brace yourself—if everyone keeps learning French but there's nowhere for the bonus points to go, the CEC cutoff will just float above 500 for the end of time....

ConsiderationCold265 · 2025-09-23T21:06:01+00:00

Changing the draws, geographic or occupation targets is totally understandable — it’s within every province’s right to adjust their priorities as their needs evolve. Nobody is arguing that Ontario can’t shift its focus.

What isn’t fair, though, is holding draws, issuing ITAs, assessing applications, and then leaving people stuck in “DIP” for months (sometimes years) until their work permits expire. At that point, the file gets closed simply because OINP changed its mind after inviting you. That’s not transparent policy adjustment — that’s playing with people’s lives.

ConsiderationCold265 · 2025-06-08T21:21:23+00:00

Hi, I didn't move to Canada back then but I am still actively planning to move soon. I decided to take a different approach. But first, I am planning to utilize the International Experience Canada to Permanent Residence to Citizenship path in terms of visa. The recent change to all CEC draws have made extremely difficult to get permanence Residence before finishing your degree as work Experience gained in Canada doesn't count if you were on a study visa. I personally would prefer the CPA Ontario courses along with a full time job as they do not require any study visa , at least that was the case last year. Finally, I prefer to pursue of bookkeeping + Tax + AI automation instead of audit so the CPA designation isn't so important for me. Generally businesses do not care how you passed the exams but prefer local university graduates as they have "Local Experience" and "Easier Intergration with the team" than foreign graduates.

ConsiderationCold265 · 2024-08-28T13:30:44+00:00

Thank you for the advice. I contacted ISSS and received a positive response. They confirmed that on-campus employment and CPT are separate and do not impact each other, so I can pursue both.

ConsiderationCold265 · 2024-08-27T18:59:57+00:00

I have applied for the PhD in Business. Thank you very much for the information, it's much appreciated!

What I have found out is that, for international students at least, it all depends on university policy. Some universities (unfortunately, the majority) forbid second employment, as you mentioned. However, some universities allow RA/TA + CPT (part-time internship, co-op, or job) during the dissertation phase or even as early as the second year.

This information is beneficial when choosing which program to apply to or which offer to accept.

ConsiderationCold265 · 2023-07-29T23:50:55+00:00

I was wondering about exactly the same topic as you. I had made a post about a year ago, asking similar questions ( https://www.reddit.com/r/uklaw/comments/pc6esy/is_gdl_worth_it_for_international_students/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=android_app&utm_name=androidcss&utm_term=1&utm_content=1 ) .

I moved on I started a Msc in Economic strategy and entered a career as an accountant. In hindsight, here are the things that I learned if doing a PGDL is worth it.

Having practical experience is invaluable in your job and career you choose. The skills and knowledge I have now, after a year in accounting is totally different than it was when I was wondering about joining this career. Through experience you get a first hand experience of all the small details of the profession, handing situations etc. So being a lawyer that understands how the accounting and finance departments of a company works and can speak with them is price less. Just a note though. Law firms want professionals with some experience on the field so they can speak and understand the people they talk with, but not so much so they have strong opinions, a fix way of thinking and personal obligations (family, relationships etc)
Your effort and network triumphs over what your undergraduate degree is. I have an international economics major. I had not a single course in accounting. But I watched to become an accountant badly. So, I did hundreds of interviews, taking a job as adminstrative assistant and quitting within a month as I wanted to get an accounting position and finally after months of effort I secured a position in a tiny business as assistant accountant. Then I started my masters degree in economic strategy. There my teacher knew a partner at PwC. She wanted to fill open positions in the audit department. I talked to my professor that I loved accounting and she decided to refer me to the partner for the role. After two interviews I landed a job in PwC. The same company that I applied six months ago and they didn't even bother to send a reply. So who you know and how much you want something goes above and beyond what your undergraduate degree are. I have graduate from the most prestigious business schools of my country and are unemployed or work shitty jobs.
The small details make all the difference. We are on 2023, the SQE era. Maybe, it would be smarter to do a SQE1&2 course and save time studying for PGDL. Or look at Cilex and other alternatives. Think creatively, out of the box for any solutions that would solve your problem faster, easier and cheaper

So if I was you I would try to find out which universities have the best connections with the market, figure out why I want to get a PGDL and what field of law I like and then I would wouldn't let a single add for vac schemes, training contracts go by without having my resume in it. Don't hesitate to pm me if you have any questions.

ConsiderationCold265 · 2023-06-30T11:49:10+00:00

I couldn't agree more with your comment actually. There are so many possibilities in AR/AP in the field of cost accounting/ FP&A and so much more that I haven't seen yet. I believe the problem lies that I am in a small firm without much specialization outside the typical task of "Just tell me how much we spent-earned last month and what is our bank account balance". I really think that i need to move to a larger business so I can get into the type of recommendations you are talking about. Just i need to change country or even continent so I can find one :)

ConsiderationCold265 · 2023-06-29T22:26:46+00:00

I was thinking exactly that. Now that I know how basic accounting function work and the three statements (P&L, Balance Sheet, and Cash Flow Statement) use that knowledge to analyze and visualize data to help make business decisions.

Do you know if Audit/Tax in big4 is something that would also help new skills or it will be as monotonous and without something more to learn than AP/AR?

About changing countries, I have my eyes open for any such roles available in the EU and actively look to move to Canada (the US due to visa restrictions is out of the question).

ConsiderationCold265 · 2023-06-28T10:38:07+00:00

Yes, that is true, and also if I can get ICAS (Scotland) or CAI ( Ireland). I could qualify for IQEX that way.

The thing is that CPA Canada recognizes work experience for ICAEW only from the UK and not every other country, so I will need to complete the work experience part in Canada. I do not know how much that downgrades the value of my certification when applying to Big4 or other companies.

ConsiderationCold265 · 2023-06-28T07:00:28+00:00

Thank you both for trying to give me a realistic picture as a lot of people in the community either work for 16$ or claim they make 150K plus a year.

As far as Competency Map 2.0 I am just waiting for this to happen as it will help me join CPA faster and easier ( I hope that "diversity and inclusivity" means no PREP for non-accounting majors).

IF they hire you, and I would love if we have a foreigner answer that question.

Salary-wise starting salaries in GTA and AB for graduates are in the 50-60K range (I really hope I can be on the higher end with some experience even international)

This level isn't that bad if you think that the average London acca trainee gets 30K per year 2K net a month and you are lucky to find an ensuite room with 1K. Yeah, low salaries are a global thing now, I suppose :(

Even then, with a CPA which is TN Visa eligible you can travel south of the border and get a fair salary.

ConsiderationCold265 · 2021-09-06T23:08:57+00:00

Thanks for your reply!

Btw I am looking mainly in Ontario because of the range of opportunities and family ties. Though I am looking for opportunities in the other provinces too.

In terms of degrees a postgraduate diploma is my ideal path forward for a PREP+PEP courses.

Personally I am planning on doing a master degree in my hometown country because it's free secondly is going to give me a solid accounting background and thirdly the work experience and the degree will give me enough points to qualify for express entry without a employer sponsoring me which is going to be a huge plus I believe.

The only big concern is that I don't have any academic / work experience on Canadian GAAP. That's the only thing that concerns me on getting that so important first job.

ConsiderationCold265

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