neo's bizarre university and work and canada adventure: part 2

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although i've long dreamed of living in a foreign country, it was always such a distant, abstract future that i never really crafted a real plan for how to achieve that goal. it was always a problem for "after i graduate from university". well, it recently dawned on me just how close that reality is now and that i'd have to very quickly start thinking about how i'm going to start my life in Québec, as has been my dream for the past 2 years. i've had to think hard about what kind of career i wanna have and what steps to take to make my immigration possible.

this is part 2 of a two-parter article! picking up where the previous left off, here i'll talk about my research for my (hopefully) upcoming QC immigration, the plans that might work out, the ones that probably won't, and how my previous experience has influenced my options.

canada is a country that until recently had a reputation for being very open to immigrants, and which is now swinging to a more anti-immigrant sentiment both in policies and public opinion. obviously, as a prospective immigrant, i feel concerned by the rising hostility i see online towards international students, foreign workers and reunited family members, and i don't want to start a debate on whether an excess of immigrants is the cause of all socioeconomical problems that plague modern society, as such a discussion is likely to descend into fascistic talking points. anyway, because canada put a lot of incentives for economic immigration, it became a popular destination for brazilians who wished to move to a first-world country with good quality of life.

now, as mentioned in the intro, i've wanted to live abroad for a long time, with my dream destinations being places such as germany, ireland and japan. north america was notably absent from that list, and in truth canada only became my target thanks to my partner. but not just any place in the country, i mean specifically the province of Québec, for two main reasons: because it is where my partner's friends and family are, and because it has a very distinct culture and national identity that resonated with me much more than anglo-canada's. as a result of QC's status as a nation within a nation, the province has developed their own policies regarding immigration that apply alongside or sometimes in place of the federal government's programs. before a person is able to receive PR (Permanent Residency) in Canada, they must first be approved by the province and receive a document called CSQ/CAQ (Québec Selection/Acceptance Certificate). so allow me to present the different ways one can immigrate into québec, as i've learned through my research.

the family sponsor route

me and my partner have been together for almost 3 years, and although most of that time has been spent long-distance, each time we've visited one another has solidified our relationship and given us more confidence to continue. we knew early into our relationship that we wanted to live together, most likely in québec, and to that end we would have to figure out how i could stay in québec as a resident.

the first option we found was something called a family sponsorship, through which a canadian resident may "sponsor" a family member (including their spouse) to immigrate into canada by making a promise (an "undertaking") to the federal and provincial governments that they will support their family member financially for a number of years. thus we decided early on that getting married would not only be a way to strengthen our relationship, but also be useful for letting us live together.

the canadian resident must have a certain minimum income as determined by the government, which will be the case for my boyfriend as he got a job in software engineering shortly after his most recent visit. they first have to submit an application to the federal government that consists of some forms with all sorts of informations about the couple and their relationship, and receive an AOR (acknowledgment of receipt) that indicates eligibility to sponsor. the next step involves even more forms and requires the potential sponsor to submit the undertaking application to the québec government, which if accepted will result in a CSQ for the sponsored person. at the same time, the spouse has to begin their own PR application at the federal level, and if all goes well they will receive permanent residence and be able to do whatever they want in canada.

we were under the impression that, with my partner being a canadian, it would be much easier for me to immigrate compared to most immigrants who seem to enter through the work programs either alone or bringing their own families along. we knew it wouldn't be an automatic PR/citizenship grant (as my father naively seemed to think), but we believed it would be as simple as going through with the application and getting me some work in the meantime. the undertaking my partner would sign would be a formality, cuz of course i could find some work to support myself.

our illusions were shattered in july this year when i went to Switzerland to visit my sister and uncle+aunt, and while talking to them about my plans for the future my sister, who was googling stuff on her phone, let me know that the québec government had just imposed a cap on sponsorship applications, extending the processing times to upwards of 2 years. i was honestly heartbroken at this revelation because up to that point i was swearing by the sponsor program, fully confident that marrying my beloved was my express ticket to a happy life in my new favourite place.

we still intend to attempt this route, but considering how lengthy the entire process is, we have made it a sort of Plan B; it seems to be a fairly safe path for PR despite the wait times. as a visitor i cannot stay longer than 6 months at a time, and trying to hack the system by leaving for a short period only to come back for another 6 months would surely get me into trouble. what i need is a way to stay in canada legally for an extended period of time while the sponsorship application is cooking, a more immediate solution that would allow me to live and work in québec.

the work permit routes

i wasn't only mistaken about how quickly the sponsorship process would take, as i would eventually learn that getting a job as a foreigner isn't as easy as walking into a random starbucks and giving out my CV. according to my research, there are basically three different ways to immigrate into québec as a "skilled worker": open work permit, closed work permit, and the Regular Skilled Worker Program.

let's start with the RSWP, as i've known about it for the longest. it is kind of analogous to the canadian Express Entry program, assigning the applicant a score based on their age, language proficiency, education, profession and work experience (in and out of canada). it is a way for the provincial government to select immigrants that are most likely to contribute to the economy and integrate in society. the process begins with the applicant completing an expression of interest online; in this step, they submit all sorts of documents with information that will make up their score. from there, if the applicant's score is high enough and they have the required level of french proficiency, the québec government may invite them to apply for real, requiring a few additional documents. and if accepted, the person will receive a CSQ and thus a path to PR.

going by the website, there are anywhere between 1 and 3 batches of invitations every month, with each calling around 1500 persons to apply for selection. the criteria are oral proficiency in french of B2 (in the european framework), and a score of about 575 points. honestly, it doesn't seem that unattainable considering my age, education and language proficiency, but what really screws me is my lack of work experience. it is, after all, a program seeking skilled workers that will commit to improving the economic landscape. as a soon-to-be chemist, my field of formation has a mediocre value, but if only i'd had more experience it would likely have given my score enough of a bump that i could meet the minimum. (now you understand why i had to write that humongous article before this one).

the RSWP also places a lot of value in already having a job offer, much like the other work permit routes. i hear a lot about people moving to canada because they got a job, so i suspect they might use the closed work permit route. as the name implies it is tied to a specific employer and valid only for as long as the employer wants. and it seems quite difficult to get, as the employer needs to prove to the government that they need to hire a foreign worker because they couldn't find any canadians that met their needs, thereby holding a document called an LMIA. with a suitable job offer, the applicant can then request a CAQ, which then leads to the work permit from canada.

as it happens, i read that québec is at the moment no longer giving out these LMIAs in the region of Montréal, where i would most likely be based. if employers can't hire foreigners, i can't get a job offer, which means a closed work permit is pretty much out of the question.

well, what about an open work permit? there are a lot of details that aren't as clear to me, but it looks like it's a type of permit one can apply for once they are in canada (even if only on a visitor visa or an eTA, which is my case). going back to the sponsorship program, apparently a sponsored spouse may apply for an open work permit, but honestly i don't really remember why we ruled this one out. maybe it was because it has the sponsorship AOR as a prerequisite, which means it would have to wait a good while. the open work permit also seems to be the type of work permit given through the RSWP, which just takes us back a few paragraphs where i said i probably wouldn't qualify for that program. whatever the reason was, i wound up considering a straight-to-work route a dead end.

as a closing note on this section, i looked up what it would take for me to work as a chemist in québec, and with it being a regulated profession i would have to join the order of chemists, which meant paying some fees and submitting my university documents, as well as any previous work experience. there is an important issue that prevents me from getting work in the chemistry field right away, an issue of timing. while i am (certainly, hopefully) graduating in december, i won't receive my diploma until around april of 2025. although i considered staying in canada as long as possible on my next visit, i will have to come back anyway to get my fancy piece of paper, without which i can't hope to exercise my profession.

the study route

so i happened to have the whole first week of september off due to a national holiday, which gave me ample time to finally start researching ways to make my canada plans come to fruition. most of the information laid out here came to me over the course of that week and was consolidated into bullet points on a google doc for easy referencing.

using a study program as a stepping stone to PR was first suggested by my father, who in turn learned of this possibility through a cousin of ours who's based in canada and works in the field of immigration. i looked first into some master's programs, but as mentioned before, the wait to receive my diploma imposes a big delay on any possible plan relating to chemistry. moreover, a master's would require a degree of effort i just ain't sure i can dispense. in fact, i'm so sick of studying, having spent the past 8 years in university hopping between degrees, that i originally had zero interest in pursuing further studies, even though i was told by many people that a master's is almost a requirement in order to work as a chemist (as opposed to a technician).

with few leads remaining, i decided to contact a sort of immigration agency dedicated to facilitating the entry of brazilians into québec specifically, and booked a virtual meeting to chat and ask for directions, which ended up being pivotal. the guy gave me a lot of information i didn't have by that point, and also tried to sell me on the idea of using a college degree as a means to immigrate. that is how i learned about the Québec Experience Program (PEQ), which allows workers (with 2 years of experience in QC) or international students (with an eligible degree earned in QC) to apply for the CSQ and eventually PR. it was of course in the interest of the agency to persuade me to use this study route, since they sell french classes, have partnerships with a few colleges, and charge for all sorts of things related to helping with the visa application, but i was honestly pretty convinced that this seemed to be the best approach, after all.

before continuing, i need to explain québec's education system as it has a few interesting quirks in the way it's split and the types of diplomas that are awarded:

though it might seem tempting to just do whatever study program is the shortest and easiest and call it a day, not all diplomas and attestations are eligible for the PEQ. the only ones that are accepted are all of the university degrees, the technical DEC, and a DEP or combined DEP+ASP totalling at least 1800 hours of study, which translates to about 16 to 18 months usually.

with these limitations in mind, i started looking for technical degrees (DECs) that seemed related to my academic background and interests. i chose as potential candidates such programs as industrial processes, mechanical engineering technology and information technology. although i was initially quite pleased with some of my options, there were two major drawbacks: the 3 year length and the fact that, since these programs are aimed at fresh québecois high school graduates, it is filled with general formation courses such as literature, philosophy and english language. as an adult who has already spent too much time in university and had been until now adamant about not immediately going back to school, the thought of spending 3 years studying unnecessary filler classes was simply unacceptable. and while some places offer abridged versions that skip the general courses, they're only available for those who already obtained a DEC, so it wouldn't really work for me.

feeling a little lost, i then turned my gaze to vocational trainings (DEPs) with the required duration of 1800 hours, and it didn't take long at all to find a website with some really interesting choices. the site only listed the programs offered by a specific institution, but it didn't matter that it was only a fraction of all possible DEPs, because i was immediately smitten by one in particular, and already knew that's what i wanted to pursue: welding-assembly.

a dream of sparks

in the previous article i wrote a little bit about my journey through higher education, where it might've become clear that pursuing university after high school was never not an option for me; my family always directed me towards that path, and to that end i went to one of the more prestigious high schools in são paulo with a big focus on preparing their students for university (that being the reason we left my hometown at all). if i was aware of things like technical schools or trades, they never entered the realm of possibility for me and if anything i probably sneered at the idea.

in hindsight, i think it could've spared me much grief if i'd discovered and explored the vast world of trades earlier in my journey. if i had shed some of my bias towards university and recognised vocational trainings as a legit form of specialisation. maybe i could have found some kind of work i truly enjoyed, and learned some in-demand skills, and just found my footing much faster... instead, i was blinded by my ambitions of becoming a scientist, and fell more and more behind my peers as i struggled to finish a single degree and never attempted to start working in the meantime.

and just in general, personally, it's been a while since i felt much excitement for anything new.

so my discovery of welding was a bit like finding a cool new TV show to obsess over, with that rush of dopamine from finding something that just tickles the brain in a way that feels innovative but also in line with your tastes. i was so instantly charmed by the concept that i stayed up late until nearly 4 am watching videos, reading wikipedia articles and fantasising about jumping in this career. after feeling lost for so long, i felt like the mist dissipated and i could finally see a path forward.

my mom and bf were both surprised to learn of my new interest in welding, given that it is manual labour and i've never been known as the most physically active person. they imagined me settling for a comfortable office job in front of a computer, making spreadsheets or perhaps putting my language skills to use. they were cautiously optimistic though, happy that i'd found something to be enthusiastic about.

because of this initial response, i felt compelled to justify to them and to myself why i'd become so fascinated by welding as a career. it is true that i've more experience working with computers than with my hands, and that i'm not super keen on some types of sweaty physical jobs. however, it may be that it's less that i don't like them, and more that i've just never had the opportunity to explore any skill that's not academic or computer-based.

the first reason i think welding isn't so out of character for me is that my starting point in university was materials engineering, an offshoot of the school's metallurgical engineering degree. materials aren't really something we study a lot in a chemistry bachelor's though, so as the semesters went by i began to miss my original field of study. i still love anything to do with materials and since i always had a preference for metals, welding really scratched that itch.

another reason is that i've been really enjoying one of the optional classes i picked for this last semester called "notions of and technical drawing of industrial installations". we actually happened to go over welding in class like the same week i discovered and fell in love with it through my research, so i couldn't pass up the opportunity to chat with the teacher about it and ask about career prospects. since technical drawings are super important for fabrication, the fact that my new special interest meshed so well with this class i've been having fun with was a nice coincidence.

finally, i argued that my skills in chemistry are somewhat transferrable: organisation from planning experiments, patience from waiting for results, motor skills from all the titrations and pipetting and measuring mass, familiarity with safety protocols, etc. if chemists are transforming atoms in a squeaky clean environment, i guess welders likewise transform atoms but getting their hands dirty and foreheads sweaty instead.

of course, i've been aware of the issues related to such male-dominated fields from the beginning. i don't have the thickest skin, so if i do decide to go into welding as a career after the study program, i will probably have to deal with the occasional sexist comment. it is a sad reality having to contemplate being faced with discrimination before even beginning, but i hope that times have changed somewhat.

so welding became my new special interest and i probably dedicated more hours to studying it than any of my actual classes at school (i even downloaded a couple of textbooks). i quickly decided that no other study program would do; if i absolutely have to go to school to stay in Québec, then i shall study something i'm actually interested in, rather than something "easy" like hotel management, children's education or tourism.

where we are now

in the long time since i started writing this article, my plan has had a few twists. firstly, the school that was my first choice, CIMME (best reviews, duration of 16 months, the most expensive at 34k CAD), suddenly closed applications right after i got my documents translated and was ready to submit my dossier via email. the alternative is EMCM (less good reviews, duration of 12 months, much cheaper at 29k CAD) and given the timing, duration and price difference, i might end up settling for this one (after all, regardless of my feelings for the program, it is first and foremost a key to my immigration). regardless of institution, the application is all on me; the agency i talked about earlier isn't partnered with them, so they can't really help me until i've received a letter of acceptance.

secondly, me and my mom thought it'd be cool if i tried my hand at welding in real life so i could see for myself how i liked it before committing to the application! there is afaik a single welding school in the city and i contacted them asking if i could have a test lesson. i visited one friday morning and they made me do some TIG welding, aka the hardest of the most commonly used techniques. it was way harder than i anticipated and after a few hours of practice i can't say i got even close to mastering the movements and rhythm. however, it was so cool to finally "meet" my new interest in person that i decided to sign up for a full 5-day MIG welding course, to start with the basics.

as i write this part, i've done 2 days of MIG so far. it was immediately obvious that it was much much easier to pick up than TIG, but the difference in skill required is reflected in the wages: TIG, being a delicate and high-quality, nearly artisanal craft, makes a lot more money, and money's what all the other students in that school are after. to be honest, i have mixed feelings about this experience; learning a new skill with a physicality that's totally out of my comfort zone has been fun, but some things about the other people in there, who come from a completely different background than me, have made me uncomfortable (to wit, some awkward interactions with the school's owner and a few overheard sexist comments). nevertheless, getting acquainted with the thing i'm close to investing a lot of money and time in was a good idea, and maybe i'll even be somewhat decent at MIG welding by the end of the 40 hours.

so, apologies if this is an abrupt end, i don't know where i wanted to end this article, as it's more than a month ago that i published the first part and started working on this one. i just wanted to commit to writing how my plans for canada were shaping up. i took an edible tonight just to finally finish this fuckin post and get it caught up with the latest developments!

i already have my language test results (all adequate, much to my relief!) and translated documents necessary for the school application. i should send it as soon as possible as the whole process might take more than 6 months to finish. i'll be going to montreal in a little over a month and it'll be a normal holiday trip, but we might go visit the welding school one day, and maybe even do a welding workshop!

in truth, it's possible that i might end up somehow finding a job in chemistry, and not pursuing this trade as a career at all. however the odds turn out, it has been a really great and enriching time discovering a new special interest and stepping into an entirely new world, all while reflecting on all the twists and turns that've taken me to this point. my québec plan will soon get put in practice and i can't wait to see what awaits me.