Chaitaniy Razdan is doing is Masters Degree at University of Alberta, Canada. He is also the Chairman of Indian Students Association at UofA. He was kind enough to spend lot of his time to answers some important questions about Life in Canada, Job Opportunities, Financial Aid at UofA.
1) Give a brief intro about you, what are you studying and where?
Hello, I am Chaitaniy Razdan currently doing my Masters in Engineering Management from Univ of Alberta, Edmonton. I did my undergrads from NIT Jalandhar in Industrial Engineering and after that worked for couple of years in a software company at Pune.
2)Why did you select Canada instead of US Universities?
The tuition fees in Canada is very less if we compare it to what US universities charge and getting a Permanent Residency is way easy. If we see job prospects, they are almost equal, so I thought here I would get a better value for my money.
3) How many students are currently studying at UofA (approximate)?
Approximately there are about 200 Indian students here at UofA. This is a rough figure and it includes Bachelor’s, Masters and Phd students.
4) When people think of Canada, they think its very cold. How do you manage the winter and how cold does it get?
Well yeah it gets really cold here. The temperature dips to about -35C to -40C during winters and that restricts your movement outside. But people here enjoy winters and there are lot of things to keep yourself busy during winters. All the basic amenities are easily available and transportation facility is also good here (Free for students).
5) Cost of living for a typical student from India?
Well an Indian student can manage a decent standard of living here for about $800. I have seen Indian students here living on $600 dollar budget too and some spending $2200 every month. So, in my opinion it depends on you how much you want to spend.
6) what kind of funding options are available for Graduate students? Does every student get funded?
Funding options here are quite better then US univ’s. Almost all graduate students here get funding from the university espacially the one’s in Engineering Streams (Chemical, Mechanical, Civil, Petroleum to be more specific). Pharmacy students also get good amount of funding from their department plus there always is chance to get TA.
8) How long does it usually take a graduate student to find a job in her/her field after graduation?
It depends on the field of graduation. Alberta is known as oil country as it has second largest oil deposits after Saudi Arab. Students from Chemical, Mechanical, Civil and Petroleum backgrounds are almost always in demand and sell like hot cakes. People from other streams also are able to find good jobs quite easily.
9) Can they work anywhere in Canada or just in Alberta Province?
You can work anywhere in Canada. After graduation, you are eligible to get 3 years open work permit which is valid throughout Canada, no matter in which province you are.
10) It takes many years to get Green Card in US? What is the scenarios in Canada, how long it would take for a student to get Permanent Residency in Canada?
After filing for the PR, it usually takes 14-18 months.
11) What advise would you give to a student considering to apply for US?
Well the only advice I would like give to the people who apply for US is that consider all the options, evaluate using multiple parameters and then do what you feel is right for you.
* All the statements above are as per my knowledge about the subject and might differ from one person to another. It is recommended to seek multiple opinions before taking any further steps. For accurate data and information about PR, visa or immigration laws I would recommend everyone to visit Canada Govt Website.
If you have more questions about Canada and admission to Universities in Canada, leave a comment to this article. Also, check out the ISA website at UofA for more detailed information about various aspects of life in Canada.
How does uofA stand in terms of commerce fields? Are there commerce degrees like masters in accounting or banking and finance and are they recognised when applying for job?
hi Chaityana,
I HAVE DONE MY BE IN ELECTRONICS…I WANT TO DO MASTERS IN CANADA….PLS TELL ME BEST UNIVERSITY & WHAT KIND OF RESEARCH SHOULD BE DONE AT UNDERGRADUATE LEVEL SO WE CAN EASILY GET ADMISSION…..ALSO WAT IS PROBABILITY OF GETTING JOB AFTER DOING MASTERS IN CANADA …….
hi frnds.. i am happy with the comments replied for the previous post..
i would be very happy if someone give a valuable suggestion for my query..
i have 2 plus years of experience in an software firm.. i would like to pursue masters in canada.. my idea is to pursue any networking course..
i need to know whether, we should select an program same as present in our work experience profile or we can select of our choice in different domain like networking
Because having an software experience then pursuing an networking course, then will be helpful in getting an job in canada? will they consider my previous experience into account??
for masters,
please guide me.. i would be very thankful to you..
completed btech in chemical engg and after that having exp in oil gas manufacturing unit of 3 years
if i am not able to get admission in univ of alberta than which other univ should i happy as job aspects point of view and…
i am interested in chemical or petroleum engineering only
plz guuide….
thanking you
Hello Chaitaniy,
First of all i am thank ful to for your efforts to share your information. I would be gratified if you can guide me . I have completed my Bachelors in Electronics and communication (in Bangalore, Karanataka ) and then working in IBM from past 3 years. Now planning to pursue Meng Software engineering in University of Alberta . As Meng do not have any funding, how much it usually costs for 2 years of expense in Canada (College fee would come to 10 lakh nearly for 2 years) what would be the living n other costs ..I just need approximate. …If you can give me info regarding the Software Jobs in Alberta, Edmonton it would be of great help…..Looking forward for your help.
Thanks and regards
Ganesh
Hello HSB and thanks a lot Mr. Chaitanya for your valuable sharing of personal experience.
I have been following HSB since 2 years and have moved on to my application procedure where i plan to apply this year for MSc in Pharmacy, and HSB’s guidance and instructions have really made things handy for me.
But recently a horrible counseling experience has shook my base.
I will finish my B.Pharma this year from UP technical university in May. I have an aggregate of 65% and expect to maintain the same. I have also worked on following projects:-
a. One month project on in-silico drug design on Jaundice disease.
b. One month project on Phylogenetic analysis of Brain Disorders.
c. Two months hands on training on different life science fields like Microbiology, Plant Biotechnology, Biochemistry & chromatography and Molecular biology .
I also pant to do a 3-4 months project on Molecular biology and a hands on training on extremely sophisticated pharmaceutical analysis equipment like HPLC, Spectroscopy etc.
The counselor without listening to my profile simply decided on the basis of my percentage and said that it would be impossible to get admission with this percentage.
KIndly guide me HSB. This incident has really discouraged me.
hi
can anyone guide me ?? i have done my Bsc IT in mumbai & worked in Patni for 1 year &plan to study in Canada .do they accept
15 years of study ?? Which university should i apply to for an MS degree?
hi.
i am doing my b.tech in electronics and communication stream and is in final year of it…i just want to know that what are the courses that i can do in canada so that i can get a job… and also how much that course will cost..
plz do reply
thanks for the details
but i need the details that masters in computers in Canada is equal to post graduation diploma in computers in Canada or not please let me know the exact difference between those two,
Hi chaitany/HSB.
I have 1020 in GRE , toefl 90..3 yrs industry exp..academic-75%..i am applying to simon fraser, concordia univ, calgary univ.. and univ of ottawa for MS in comp sc…what do you think are my chances…???
I have done MBA (Finance) Now planning to apply for M-Phil. Please suggest me to admit any university around Ottawa.
Hi, I have done B.Sc in zoology and now Im planning to apply for canada but I have 15 years of education and many universities require 16 years of education. Pls suggest me names of some universities matching my profile.
Gre scores: Verbal 460-560 and Quant 660-760.
B.Sc : 62% no backlogs
10+2- 82%
I am planning to apply for MS in Microbiology and Immunology
Pls reply soon. really need ur help!!!
Hi,
I just want to know that I am planning to do MS in Computer Science, so is it good option to do that in CANADA?
How is job opportunity in CANADA after completing this course?
Your response will encourage me a lot sir.
Thanks & Regards,
Hardik
Hey .. im really looking at alberta seriously , and would like to join the University.
I”m planning to do my MS in chemical engg … probably in Petrochemical engg,
I’d really like to know the credentials required to get in like GRE score , CGPA required .. and also the Funding .. i’ve heard that Alberta, funds the entire masters program, for an international student. Is that true ? could you please answer some of these questions to make it a little more lucid … thank you
hi, I have completed my B.pharmacy and I got 78% in my bachelor degree. I wrote IELTS, but I have gotten 6.0 band score only. I want to study my masters degree in pharmacology in top Canadian universities. could you please give information regarding universities which offer pharmacology course to my academic profile with please particulars
Thank you.
I just wanted to know the prospects after finishing Phd in petroleum engg.
Hiii
I hv done my B.tech. in electronics n communication engineering from India in 2009 & right now doing as a lecturer.hv 1yr of experience as a lecturer here.Now want to persue my master's in Canada.I got some info like I can't apply to canada directly for my Mastre's degree but I'll hv to enrolled in PG diploma course first…is it right???or I can get admission in direct Master's course in my field??
thankx….