This document is unofficial and not endorsed by my school or employers.
We’re not lawyers, tax specialists nor do we purport to have any real knowledge.
This is a collection of things we wished someone told us when we went away for fulltime opportunities in the US. We hope it helps you out. Many things contained in this document were gained through mistakes and conversations with older students.
Please fork and submit a pull request if you have something to add!
If you’re a graduating co-op student, attending Waterloo or elsewhere, you already know how this works, for the most part. Here are a few quick resource refreshers for finding awesome companies to work at.
Note that even as a co-op student, it can take a while (up to a few months) to find a full-time position if you end up not returning to a previous employer, for whatever reason. Keep applying, keep learning, keep trying - persistence and confidence is key. You will find a job in time - everyone does, in some way or another. And when the offers start to come in, try to keep things in perspective. Yes, choosing your first full-time job is an important decision, but it is not forever. Think of it as a step towards building your career.
General tips & advice:
Always negotiate. For many of us it’s hard to negotiate because the offers are often quite lucrative. It can seem like more than we deserve. But if you don’t negotiate you can be leaving a lot of money on the table).
If having more money to save for a house or family isn’t enough of a motivator, there are other reasons to negotiate.
Part of the problem with negotiating a salary is the information imbalance. Recruiters know the going rate for a Software Engineer from Waterloo. So ask your friends and classmates from upper years to share their offer details if they are comfortable. We tend to treat salary as taboo. This makes sense most of the time, but for our first full-time job we are all in generally the same boat. So don’t be afraid to ask a friend, they will often be happy to help.
Recruiters are really good at negotiation and scaring people into accepting. Stephen has had friends that just took the first offer given over the phone and friends who have given into the pressure of an ‘exploding offer.’ Joel Spolsky of StackOverflow fame has written a nice article on exploding offers.
Turns out, that while the recruiter may pressure you with a deadline, they will happily extend it. If the company decided to make you an offer, they are probably pretty serious about trying to hire you. They’ll let you take a few weeks if you give them a good reason. Stephen’s friends pushed back return offers for over 3 months.
The easiest way to negotiate is to have other competing offers. Once you get the details of a company’s offer, tell them what the other companies have offered you. Don’t lie, often they will ask you to forward the offer letter for verification.
Many recruiters get a bonus or have their bonus tied to the number of new hires they sign. This means that they are somewhat on your side when it comes to making you happy. However, they are handling a lot of other candidates so don’t waste their time. Be direct and clear with what you want. Don’t make them guess. And be polite, obviously.
When it gets towards the end of the negotiation, and you know which company you prefer, let the recruiter know that you will sign today if x number is y (20,000 RSUs).
Some numbers are harder to negotiate than others. At least in 2014, salary was hard to negotiate for a lot of the larger companies for many people. The easiest to change seemed to be signing bonus, equity, and relocation bonus.
Some benefits to consider:
Some resources other resources about negotiation:
These can be really tricky. Stock options are not the same as RSUs / GSUs.
Resources:
If you may ever return to Canada later in life, you should checkout this stuff.
General Resources:
If you are a Canadian citizen, your employer will likely set you up with a TN visa. This is a pretty easy process. You will apply at the border so leave some extra time (15 minutes for the actual application and an hour for the extra wait). Stephen knows someone who missed their flight due to the wait for secondary.
If you are crossing by land, Stephen knows someone who couldn’t get their TN simply because the guard who processes TNs wasn’t there. Not sure if this is common, but something to look into.
Resources:
A common visa for non-Canadians. Only 65,000 per year are given out every year, with an extra 20,000 cap being extended to people with Master’s degrees or higher. The application process begins in April of every year, and is basically a lottery system. Anyone who is reapplying from the previous year has the same chance of obtaining their H1-B as a new applicant. More details can be found on the USCIS website.
CreditKarma and NerdWallet are your friends once you have established some form of credit.
This section covers Graham’s interpretation of tax law as it stands in 2017. Make sure to confirm for yourself that the statements made are true, apply to you, and haven’t changes since the time of writing.
If you move to the states for work and no longer have residential ties (a house, spouse, or dependants), you will probably be considered a non-resident and an emigrant by Canada. You will owe Canada taxes on your global income before the date you became a non-resident, and you will owe taxes on only your Canadian income after you become a non-resident. You will want to give this page a thorough read before declaring yourself a non-resident.
The IRS recognizes the tax-deferred status of Canadian RRSPs, so they will continue to be tax sheltered after you move (you will, however, have to disclose your account and it’s value to the IRS). You may continue to contribute to your RRSP after your become a non resident, however, you will generally not accrue any more room from your American employment.
As of 2017, the IRS does not recognize the tax defered status of TFSAs so you will be taxed on any income in your TFSA (source). Additionally, you can not contribute to your TFSA once you become a non-resident (if you do, you will be taxed at 1% a month by the Canadian Government)
It’s never too early to plan your retirement or plan your future finances! Note that the numbers in this section change almost every year. Refer directly to the IRS website for the most up to date numbers.
A 401(k) is an employer-sponsored retirement plan that allows you to contribute a % of your income to some account managed automatically by a financial company like Vanguard. The money is automatically deducted from your paychecks. The yearly contribution limit changes, but was $18,000 as of 2017 (up to date numbers available from the IRS). One thing to note is that if your employer offers any 401(k) matching, you should definitely sign up for it ASAP, it’s free money.
An IRA is an individually managed retirement account, usually through the same financial companies that would manage your 401(k). It is useful for individuals working at companies that might not have a 401(k) plan, like in many startups. The major disadvantages of contributing through an IRA is that you need to personally manage it more closely than a 401(k) and the contribution limit is $5,500 as of 2017 (up to date numbers available from the IRS), which is significantly lower than a 401(k).
A Traditional 401(k)/IRA is contributed to pre-tax and you are taxed on withdrawl, while Roth 401(k)/IRA is contributed to post-tax but is tax free on withdrawl. Basically, do you wanted to pay taxes later or pay taxes now.
It is important to note that both types of plans are usually better than a standard, non-tax sheltered account. Which one you choose will often be dictated by contribution and deductions limits. For examble, in 2016, contributions to Traditional IRAs are not tax deductable (i.e. they are no longer considered pre-tax contributions, and you might as well be putting your money into a non-tax sheltered account) if you had an employee sponsored 401k and earned over $71,000 as a Single filer. This would mean you’re better off putting your money in a Roth IRA, since you will at least be able to benefit from the tax savings when you withdraw your money.
Assuming you aren’t encumbered by contribution or deduction limits outlined above, you will have to choose whether a Traditional or Roth account makes more sense for you. It’s encouraged that you do your own calculations, but here are some possible reasons you might pick either Traditional or Roth.
Roth:
Traditional:
It’s also important to note that, as of 2017, Roth IRA contribution limits are reduced for singles earning over $118,000 or maried couples earning over $186,000 (up to date numbers available from the IRS). As of 2017, there is a “backdoor” method that still allows those earning over the limit to contribute to a Roth IRA.
If you have a G in Ontario you still need to take the written and road test. more info for CA.