Every day I read another opinion piece about how the Halifax job market is terrible and why people are being forced to leave the city in order to find work. Every day I get more and more frustrated at people trying to blame this city for their inability to get a job.
When I was choosing my career path, I had two considerations: What can I do that I will enjoy and can I do it in Halifax? I’m from the south shore originally and knew I would never want to be far from my family, so Halifax was always my destination to settle into a career.
I started classes at Mount Saint Vincent University in 2006 in a Bachelor of Arts program. Luckily for me, the girl I started dating (now my wife) was in the public relations program. The more she talked about it, the more I realized I could really see myself enjoying doing this as a career. After one semester in the arts, I transferred into public relations and it was the best career decision I ever made.
But before I transferred, I did my research. Halifax was full of PR/marketing/communications positions with varied levels of experience needed. MSVU boasted the only public relations degree in the country, meaning I wouldn’t be competing with graduates from other universities. The program also had a co-operative education program that would provide me with the three most important jobs I would ever have, as they have laid the foundation for my career. I now work as a digital product manager for a sports technology company, all thanks to the experience I gained from one of my co-ops at another tech agency.
Did I think there were cooler, more interesting fields of study out there? Of course I did. For me, those fields would have lead me out of this province and away from my family in order to find a job. That simply wasn’t an option for me. I’ve always been of the belief that when we look back on our lives, the memories that stand out the most won’t be from the jobs we have but from the lives we make outside of work. For me, that will be the time spent with my wife, my brothers and my friends and family, with almost all living in Halifax or in this province.
Now, when I read pieces about people having to leave to find work, I am frustrated, specifically because it is always coming from people around my age. The truth is, this isn’t completely our generation’s fault. Growing up, we were told by the generations above us the only way to get a good job was through an expensive university degree that we would spend more time paying off than making money from.
So we listened, went and got degrees in the fields we found interesting and when we finally finished our last exam, we were told we didn’t have enough experience or there simply weren’t any jobs in field we chose to study. Our options after graduating were to stay with the jobs we relied on to get us through school (waiters, retail etc.) or take unpaid internships to try and gain experience. I was forced into the second option where I worked for a measly $600 a month as an intern and was lucky enough to get a job afterwards. Other interns I worked with were not so lucky and were forced to go back to waitressing or working retail. I’m not saying these are bad jobs, but when you’ve spent the last half-decade listening to lectures, writing exams and pulling all-nighters, you feel you deserve to be doing something a little more than bringing people food or selling clothes.
Unfortunately, this is the reality for new graduates in most fields no matter where you live, it’s not just limited to Halifax, or Nova Scotia. A Bachelor of Arts provides limited options for jobs prospects anywhere in Canada, so blaming this city for not finding a job with a BA is unfair. Our generation needs to take some of the responsibility here and make sure we do some research and plan ahead.
Bryce Crosby was born in Lockeport, and has lived in Halifax since 2006, Bryce can usually be found on a soccer field or attempting to surf in Lawrencetown.
This article appears in Feb 13-19, 2014.
Congratulations Bryce.
You say you are frustrated when we blame the city for no work…. but you later point out the fact that after a co-op or internship most graduates with a degree are forced back into waiting tables or retail stores and believe they should be at something better. Well if that something better is, more often than not, located outside of our lovely province can we really blame those graduates for leaving?..I mean from what I gather you just didn’t want to leave because you would get home sick essentially. You worked for 600 A MONTH..same internship same job elsewhere could potentially be double that…At the end you shift the blame to our citizens..more-so our youth for being lazy and not putting in the research. Go on with yourself buddy I know that when I was graduating high school it took me pretty well the full year as to what school I wanted to attend and why and what program and where it could potentially lead me…So thanks for the massive public insult you were right we should get mad over this stupidity of an article. Cheers dummy
Ahem, WHOCARESS44: What he’s saying is that the unfortunate fact of many grads going back to the service sector, or moving back home for support, or whatever, is not limited to Nova Scotia. People are doing it everywhere. Unfortunately, Nova Scotians assume that this is all because of our poor local economy, and then they leave, and then, in many cases, they just end up waiting tables in Calgary or Toronto or Ottawa.
And buddy, internships and the like are poorly paid everywhere. Mr. Crosby was actually lucky to get 600 bucks a months–I did three totally unpaid internships in Toronto before moving to Halifax. They were with large national companies too. (Now I have a job in Halifax, and yep, it’s a good’er.)
Refreshing to read something other than negativity and blame for the Halifax employment situation. I’m a firm believer in making your own opportunities and applying to jobs blindly online is not usually successful for anyone – Halifax or not. (Booming economies like Alberta aside) New graduates need to understand the value in networking, informational meetings, and volunteering as “in’s” to the career jobs they want. Halifax is all about who you know, and that might not be not fair, but its the culture and it’s not going to change anytime soon so instead of blaming and complaining about it, make an effort and you will hopefully see it pay off.
right. tailor your career path around the opportunities available locally, which are in constant flux. willfully obtuse.
I agree with you Bryce, and it’s sad you even have to make this point. It should be obvious to people that if you want to work somewhere you should acquire skills that will get you into that workforce, whatever the demand may be. Is Halifax to blame for a poor job market in a lot of sectors? Yes! But hey Bryce, if everyone was as smart as you then you may have never got your job. Let the idiots struggle and the smart thrive: social darwinism at it’s finest.
I think most people would tell you that choosing a career path based on limited options in a small city is the exact opposite of ambition. Then again, the city needs peons!
Swirl720–When I was 24, I left Edmonton because I thought it was a crummy, mega-suburban wasteland where you couldn’t achieve anything meaningful. It was, as you say about Halifax, too “small” for me.
So I moved to Toronto out of some immature notion of ambition, like I had to go to the big big city to be a real person, or something. I had a few good years, but eventually got really tired of it–I turned into a schmoe stuck on an overcrowded subway twice a day, commuting to a job I didn’t even like.
That was around the time I started realizing that “ambition” isn’t synonymous with being a big-shot earning a shitload of money in the biggest city I can find. It was about creating a meaningful life in a city I actually LIKE, doing work that I find rewarding. And frankly, the number of musicians, artists, scientists, academics and business people who have achieved important–sometimes globally important–things in Halifax suggests that it is indeed a place that rewards ambition. It can’t reward every type of ambition, but no city can.
And what could be more ambitious than trying to turn a flawed but fundamentally great city into a better one? Those of us who are staying are trying to build a better Halifax, not just make the big bucks for ourselves. That’s ambition, I’d say.
Swirl720, the only people with lack of ambition are those graduating with a bachelor of arts who know there are limited jobs. A PR degree has a lot more opportunities in this city than most degrees, so not sure where you get off questioning someones ambitions.
Wow Southy, I made a generic comment about something the author said in his piece, not necessarily referring to PR grads at all. I agree, there are lots of PR jobs in a government town like Halifax. Lots of spin needed. But you went way above what I said and called out every BA student in Halifax as lacking ambition. So as you said to me, not sure where you get off questioning someone’s ambition.
I find this article confusing. First of all, by saying”Halifax” is not to blame, who or what exactly is Halifax? Politicians at a municipal level? Provincial level? Halifax businesses? Halifax Joe Public citizens? The way I read it, the author is saying “it’s not Halifax’s fault there are fewer job prospects here for young adults, it’s young adults’ fault for thinking there would be decent paying entry level jobs in a field relevant to their education”. Is he saying “just because Halifax educational institutions offer a wide variety of programs, both specialized and general, doesn’t mean the local economy should be strong enough to actually have jobs for that training”?
I too decided I wanted to stay in Nova Scotia when I finished university, in 2004. Unlike the author, I didn’t get baited with graduate tax rebates… nope, missed that boat, but still stayed. It took a couple of years, but I found work in a field (somewhat) relevant to my education at a starting salary that was 30% less than what my university suggested someone with my degree would be able to achieve.
Not everyone leaves because there isn’t a job here for them, they leave because the same job anywhere outside Atlantic Canada pays significantly more, and the myth that our cost of living is lower here is not accurate, at least in proportion to the lower incomes. This is particularly true in Halifax, where apartments (which is what 99% of young adults live in) are significantly more expensive than the rest of the province, and comparable to many other Canadian cities. You can spend 5 years here, barely carving out an existence, or you can go to Toronto or Calgary and come back after 5 years with better job experience, a flush bank account, and you’ll probably take that upper level job from the guy who’s been grinding it out here for 5 years.
In addition, Halifax is the de facto Toronto of Atlantic Canada. It has to be the economic engine of the region, let alone the province. That responsibility means as a city you have to be aggressive and competitive with the other major cities in Canada, not just Atlantic Canada. It means having a favourable business climate; incentives for business to STAY, not to just come and then leave; and a more pro-development, pro-growth attitude from the people. We’re in a country with cities that are willing to take risks for the sake of wealth and growth and if you snooze you lose. Moncton has that attitude, but lacks the critical mass to be a real economic driver for the region. Halifax, collectively, must step up.
From the same program Bryce got a degree, it took me almost 6 months to find a permanent position in Halifax. Move to Calgary, 24 days with double the pay. Now I can pay off student loans, plan for purchasing a house and build professional experience.
Yes, new grads can find employment in Halifax, but what new graduate has a 6 month financial cushion for waiting for that job offer – not many.
Glad to hear Bryce can find employment in Halifax, just don’t shit on the BAs.
Too add to the other comments calling Bryce out for being glib, obtuse, and insulting, I went into university in 2006, by the time I graduated in 2010 the stock market had crashed, the federal government cut funding to most social programs and tons of baby boomers lost their retirement funds forcing them to stay in the workforce for several extra years. Sorry I can’t tell the future and didn’t foresee this when choosing my degree. You really didn’t think this one through did you?
Listen up folks, We all need to face the facts, somebody has to do the crap jobs, not everyone can be a manager, etc. Society does not work that way. Municipal elections are coming up in 2016, if you want a crack at a $78,000 job, run for office. All you need are signs, T Shirts with your face on them, and social media accounts..
You know what I’m sick of Bryce? People who can’t seem to see past the end of their own upwards pointing nose and think that just because they were fortunate enough to be able to make a semi decent living here that everyone else should just stop complaining because the sound of poor people expressing their frustrations just damages their fragile little ears soooo much.
Why can’t you just be happy with your life and understand that most of us aren’t as fortunate? What are you doing to improve the situation? I’d normally have a bit more to say but I’m at my temporary job that it took me months to find, and don’t want to risk losing it by telling you to go.. I guess I’ll use the word “love” yourself.
Get bent, you uppity jerk.
Congratulations Bryce — but the reality is this…you need all those other people to move away so your opportunities aren’t crowded out. That’s just how it is.
And I’ve never seen a place so desperate to convince itself it’s ok. People who leave get pounced on as traitors. People who waffle about leaving are told “get on the team or head out, stop being negative!”
I’ve never lived in another city that has this dialogue.
I suppose it’ll always be part of me, but it’ll be a nice place to visit only.
So people should have done what you did, Bryce, and study in a field that the Halifax job market supports? Doing so would give them the success that you enjoy, correct? “Other interns I worked with were not so lucky and were forced to go back to waitressing or working retail.” Why did they not enjoy the same success you did, if they followed the same path? If those unlucky interns are the ones complaining, which is so offensive to you, are they justified in doing so? The old plan of work hard, get a degree, get a job in that field, and have a middle class life with a house, family and kids no longer works, and the new plan which you suggest, did not work for them either. However, I guess they shouldn’t lament that, because you found a job/career, so everyone else just isn’t trying.
“I started classes at Mount Saint Vincent University in 2006 in a Bachelor of Arts program. Luckily for me, the girl I started dating (now my wife) was in the public relations program. The more she talked about it, the more I realized I could really see myself enjoying doing this as a career. After one semester in the arts, I transferred into public relations and it was the best career decision I ever made”.
Does that mean if you never met your GF, now wife, you maybe wouldn’t have had the bright idea to go into PR? Maybe if you never met, you would be like all those complainers with nothing but an arts degree, that you dislike so much.
You wrote this article, and have a PR degree, which is telling in itself. Maybe your an idea guy, and writing isn’t your strong suit? Basically, I fail to see what point your making here. By your own admission, interns that you worked with (which I assume SOME had the same education background as yourself, PR) did not enjoy the path to sucess that you did, but you say the path to said success is to do what you did. What? Not to mention the whole premise turns on if you met your current wife or not, as there is NOTHING in the world to say that you would have made the decision to go into PR without being exposed to it from her. PR wasn’t on your radar until then. You seem like an elitist, smug, mutt, that has surrounded themselves with others of the same ilk, and can’t for the life of you, understand what is so hard about getting a career. I guess empathy and sympathy isn’t something your big on. Please feel free to keep your snobbery, and denigration of those struggling, confined to your wine and cheese parties with the rest of your upper middle class friends.
Sustainable economies need people in every profession and trades. If we all just follow the jobs of today, there is no guarantee these jobs will be prolific ten years down the road.
This city is filled with old school ways of doing things, including work. If Halifax wants to achieve the status of a world class city, which I firmly believe to be possible, we need to start thinking in new ways that both utilize and benefit the local resource and talent pool.
That’s probably asking too much, considering that the city is still considering the convention center.
@Trevor Curwin
And I’ve never seen a place so desperate to convince itself things are worse than they really are.
There’s a bizarre amount of anger (and weird cliches, i.e., “upper middle-class wine and cheese parties”–what?) directed at the writer of the piece. Is it anger that he’s perceived as being snooty for being successful in a white-collar field? Or is it jealousy because he seems well-adjusted and has a decent job?
In any case, he’s not saying everyone has to follow his path: There are literally hundreds of jobs publicly posted in this province every single week. A quick perusal indicates that the medical field, administration, education, finance (to some degree), the service sector, and trades are all doing decently.
As another commenter mentioned, no, I guess you won’t get Calgary salaries. If that’s a requirement for you, well, there’s only one place in the whole country to go to. But people in Nova Scotia have to stop invoking “Calgary” like a magic panacea. One: Even in Calgary, if you’re literally finding DOUBLE the pay, that’s weird and very lucky for you. Two: We can’t all move to Calgary. Even that city doesn’t have enough jobs for all of us.
(And by the way, I’m from Calgary. It’s okay. But it’s also got a skyrocketing cost of living, horrifying suburban sprawl, the highest household debt in Canada, massive civic infrastructure debt (much more than Halifax’s) that’s going to bite the whole place in the ass in coming years, and the fastest growing homeless population in the country, from all the people who moved there and discovered it’s not a gilded wonderland. So it’s not perfect either.)
Halifax is great city to work and live. You might not make as much money as you would in bigger cities. But it is really all about quality of life. If you are a bar tender and happy then great. If you want more for yourself, you have to work for it. Nothing comes easy in this life. I worked 2 part time jobs and volunteered for over 6 months while attempting to break into my profession(Advertising). It was hard. I made all the contacts I needed to get what I wanted and have been happily enjoying a great career for over 8 years now. It takes more then a degree today to stand out. You are competing with the entire world for that job you really want. So find a way to make yourself stand out.
The reason why you get so frustrated Bryce is because deep down inside you have this ping of regret. It’s why you’re defending this choice you made, because your ego is too large to admit you’re at least conflicted.
So happy to find an article that is positive on this topic, however still surprised the level of cynicism in the comments. Bryce was just trying to share his approach and state of mind that lead him to finding satisfying work here at home. This article probably won’t lead readers into careers of their own, but I doubt blaming the city and crapping on someone else’s experiences is going to help you cynics in any way shape or form. People need to stop crying and take more ownership in the direction of their lives. Our generation was handed a big bag of crap, we can sit complain about it and get no further, or try and move forward as best we can. I had the same negative view as many of you for a very long time, but not to long after an attitude adjustment and adapting some positive and constructive views, my world changed big time.
Far as I’m concerned you cynical arseholes should leave the province. I wouldn’t hire you either
As someone who is also at the Mount taking doing a Master’s in Gerontology (the study of aging), I agree with you. I had the choice to either continue my Psychology schooling, or choose a path that pretty much guaranteed me a job. And hey, I’ll enjoy my work, too. It’s nice to find passion in something that presents you with a good future.
I’m really confused by Jon James Myers’ post. At first he seems to say that Halifax IS worse than other places, job-wise, but then he seems to turn around and say that young peoples’ employment troubles are a generational thing happening in cities coast to coast (more in line with my take, having lived coast to coast, and having worked as a reporter covering economic and employment issues).
He also says he’s a journalist (“for the people,” whatever that means) but makes 80 grand a year! Despite his woeful grammar and syntax! Where is he practicing “journalism,” I wonder?
Well said!!! I wonder how many will heed your advice?
Bryce why don’t you help me find a job you fucktard and anybody that agrees with him. I went to school for a trade and still can’t get work here after 4 years. If you don’t think there’s a problem with the economy in N.S and the rest of the maritimes, you need to get your eyes checked and your brain. More than half the people I’ve gone to school with have left to go out west. I go to a going away parties every single weekend. A lot of people I know are not getting to see their kids grow up so they can provide for their families. You probably voted for Harper. Harper lover. I’m going back to school in hopes to get a new job here and I’m 26. I won’t go out west because I don’t agree with the politics of it. I have looked at working in the states and other countries but the immigration and paperwork is a nightmare. It’s people like you that so fucking oblivious to the problem. The problem we have is a Federal government that is doing everything and anything to help their oil buddies make as much money as possible for no regard for the environment of country and the quality of living. We also have a bunch of people that have been working for 30 plus years that don’t want to retire and give up their fat paycheques, and last we have a provincial government that doesn’t want to develop the city in a way that would be beneficial to the economy. Before you write an opinion article like this why don’t you think of the families that don’t get to see their fathers and mothers on a daily basis. I surf myself and if I ever see you out in the water I will make it my job to drop in on you because it’s the only one I can get.
I like that many of you have the idea that if people cant get the jobs they want, they can simply slip into the service industry. Halifax is packed with career bartenders and servers. To those lacking experience in this industry who intend to “use” it as a fallback; good luck getting hired on over 15 other applicants with 2-5 years of bartending or serving tables out west.
The economy sucks. You got a degree in PR and managed to do a bang up job blaming everyone else for their job woes while you say you got a good one. Good for you! But here is the kicker. I have 10 years experience in industrial maintenance coupled with a red seal in machining and an apprenticeship in millwrights. Find a job? TOOK MONTHS! Know why? Because people with more experience and even more verifications or in the job search because they got laid off when their factory closed as well. The money in this world is in manufacturing. Something the entire east coast lacks. From production work to maintenance to engineering to sales to even your cappy PR degree depend on it. By the way I travel an hour to work. ..out of the city where I live because it’s crowded with over paid donkeys who been sucking the last drops of what little cash we got left. Do some research jack.