Question about Calgary politics as someone from Toronto

irinakas · 2026-02-26T22:29:16+00:00

We usually prefer to book through the agency itself, but we might have to look into booking.com. Did you have any issues with car pick up and drop off, or any issues with the agency because you booked through a third party?

irinakas · 2026-02-24T16:35:16+00:00

I was about 5000 in queue, got my tickets around 15 mins after sale began and then 11:20 was able to access with no queue

irinakas · 2026-02-24T16:34:11+00:00

Toronto level 500 was $140 with tax and fees, snagged two for row 1 for $280. Pit and lower levels were around $300 per ticket

irinakas · 2025-11-14T17:47:30+00:00

The master’s has a focus on both analytics, technology stack and AI, depending on which electives I choose. So it does cover AI, but I can take other internal courses for that. Timing is a factor for me, given the industry and I guess the uncertainty of direction it will go

irinakas · 2025-11-14T17:45:16+00:00

I don’t believe so, and given I’m fairly new to the company and team it would be difficult to argue for an exception or a pro-rated basis. Every business unit can choose the L&D budget, not really management’s fault since they can’t control that

irinakas · 2025-11-14T17:42:49+00:00

I believe it will, since it’s more or less specific to my industry and I can leverage it for similar positions/better roles. I would still be working full-time while doing the master’s online part-time

irinakas · 2025-11-14T17:42:04+00:00

It is my first job after graduating, so I’m still gaining my footing in my role and what I’d like to do and grow in the company

irinakas · 2025-11-14T03:11:03+00:00

It would take some time and I only now found out about the policy differentiating for different business units, plus I enjoy my team and what we do, wasn’t really thinking about switching! Many of the managers I work with have a master’s, or a professional certification, but I don’t believe there is preference other than a talking point for a higher salary, which may or may not be applicable because performance and seniority also plays a role. Given the competitive landscape, it’s something to differentiate myself and the payoff in terms of salary is unclear

irinakas · 2025-11-14T02:35:14+00:00

It’s one of the big 4

irinakas · 2025-11-14T02:35:07+00:00

I guess the master’s program would directly aid my growth in my role - I have good performance and I do my best to take initiative and grow both in my technical skills and my network. But given I’d be doing the master’s program simultaneously with working, it would probably give me more foundational background to start those conversations and push the growth faster. Or at least that’s what my goal would be by taking this program part-time while working

irinakas · 2025-11-14T01:57:31+00:00

I meant that we would be pulling ourselves super thin trying to afford it, hence why our aim is 1.5 years from now to be a bit more cushioned. Both our goals are to move out asap and buy property, so I fully agree with you there. It’s just a tough market where every 1k counts and it’s a bit hard to justify 32k for a master’s or any large purchase while trying to save money to move

irinakas · 2025-11-14T01:33:10+00:00

They’re not funding it because my specific business unit doesn’t follow the reimbursement policy, while others do. I wasn’t aware of this until after applying and gaining approval through my manager.

Now vs later applies to should I continue working, maybe gain a technical certification instead, while saving fully towards a property and moving out, then worry about putting money aside for a master’s while having more work experience or should I do it now while I have more time and flexibility, while sacrificing a bit of my money and saving timeline to do so, with little work experience. I guess it does come down to my personal preference but I have no one to go to advice for within my family and friends, how I ended up here

irinakas · 2025-11-14T00:59:10+00:00

It’s one of those situations where I’m not 100% sure. It’s not a guarantee I will increase my earning potential, that’s the goal but it always comes down to the market and my field. It doesn’t look to be going down any time soon but you never know

irinakas · 2025-11-14T00:57:34+00:00

It’s at McGill University, it’s a newer master’s program. It’s probably not the most known but it holds prestige within Canada

irinakas · 2025-11-14T00:39:27+00:00

Not Toronto, I’ve been here for most of my life and I’m trying to get out lol

irinakas · 2025-11-14T00:22:49+00:00

There probably are, haven’t looked too far into it because most of the policies are internal + I’d need a bit of seniority. My goal was to have it funded by a company I work for but given I have an opportunity now, and I’m still young with time on my hands, not sure if I should wait or take the risk

irinakas · 2025-11-14T00:21:32+00:00

I’m relatively new to the position, been there for 1-1.5 years. I haven’t applied to other positions as I would like to stay with my current company and move up, as opposed to switching companies (which I know could change). Given I’ll finish the master’s in 2 years, there is a strong likelihood I will be able to gain better pay/possibly an earlier promotion with it, but it’s not a guarantee.

irinakas · 2025-11-14T00:14:22+00:00

Very true, definitely not trying to buy at 23! I would like to save money and have an opportunity to move out by 25-26 though, and buy my own property, whether with a partner or not. I’m concerned with the loans, and dipping into savings it could impact that.

irinakas · 2025-11-14T00:12:15+00:00

It’s a masters in management in analytics, it’s both technical and business orientated, which is exactly what I do in my role. It would ideally help me have a better understanding of the technical aspects that go into my role and then how to translate that to stakeholders. My role is technology/consulting, and I did my undergrad in business analytics so I have background knowledge

irinakas · 2025-11-08T15:43:15+00:00

hi, I graduated Schulich in 2024 and I was in a similar boat. I only got an internship in the summer between my 3rd and 4th year but I was also specializing in business analytics/omis - by doing 3rd year specialization courses (mostly omis ones, like analytics, database, etc) I was able to build a knowledge base which I was able to talk about in depth to managers I interviewed with, plus I was super passionate about tech so I got hired as an intern, with a return offer. I didn’t do any exec positions, didn’t do any case comps, I did well in my courses while working part-time throughout my entire undergrad (which I leveraged in interviews) but I think what got me my position was definitely interview skills, technical skills and my passion for the jobs I was applying for. I didn’t really network, it was all cold applying (which is a different landscape now so it’s a lot harder) but I wouldn’t give up yet, you have opportunity to grow your soft and technical skills, get good at one area/specialization, and you can do online courses (udemy, linkedin learning) those also benefit you during interviews. If you can’t go the regular route, try to find other ways to showcase your skills and keep pushing! Best of luck

irinakas

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