The least paid: (starting from least paid): ($25,000) 1.1, -> 5 -> 4 -> 4.1 ->8 ($45,000).

The easiest to study (starting from shortest learning curve): (3 months) 1.1 -> 1 -> 4 -> 3 (half a year).

The hardest to study: (from top): (1.5 years) 7 -> 6 ->9 -> 8 (1 year).

The cheapest to study: ($3.500 courses) 1.1 -> 1 - > 4.1 - > 4 ($10.000 courses, $500-700 Seneca).

The most expensive to study: ($15,000) 7 -> 6.

Professions that are slowly declining (comparatively, not absolutely): 1 -> 7.

The demand is increasing (i.e. in absolute numbers): (starting from fastest) 8 -> 3 -5

Average entry level salary is about 40,000 (with benefits) for permanent, which translates into 2,900/ month/net or $30/hour (contract) (you pay your taxes and insurance).

Average number of HR/job search agencies level interviews for a professional with 4+ years of development and good English: 20, technical interviews: 5, average time of finding job - 20-30 days.

For a person with no computer background, bad resume, suspicious references these numbers are correspondingly 50-HR/Job Search and 10 technical level interviews, average time of finding job: 1.5-2 years. Average number of resumes sent: 400, written refusals received: 50.

Average response time from a large company (like Northern Telecom) that is willing to accept you (from receiving of resume to last technical level interview): 4-5 weeks, average number of interviews: 4.

Sequence of interviews: (0) (Job Search Agency) -> (1) HR clerk -> (2) Head of department/technical specialist -> (3) Vice/President (Marketing or HR). Most important is (2), others are rather filters.

For a small company: corresponding time 1 week, interviews-2.

Oral references are being checked in 80% of the cases for large companies.

Percent of large companies that are doing without job search agencies: 10% (like Winners Apparel, CIBC).

For small companies: 60% without job search agencies. The same for turn-key software installers/solution providers.

I would not say that there is an acute shortage of specialists in any field now (under developed capitalism supply swiftly comes to equilibrium to demand).

(This remark received from Robert Must. Thank you, Robert, you share with your experience like usual):

This is very correct. While IT industry may provide

more extensive opportunities due to the fact that this

immature industry yet. All industries were in this situation

some time in the past. There is no general deficit of people.

There is deficit of people with a certain set of skills and

many of those go to the US because falling loonie cut their

real salaries. $65k salary is considered good both in the

US and Canada. But dollar is different. If not this outflow

probably would be no so much place for those 900 IT people

who arrive to Canada only from one country every year.

Price of education: all commercial courses have $300/week. (Seneca $250/course), full-blown University course (4 years): $40,000.

You may apply for a government loan after a year of living as a PR (pay out start half a year after gradiation, interest about 5%).

Length of average private computer courses 1 year (from 3 months to 2 years). Quality of education: from C to D (in Russian 3 with minus). It is unrealistic to find knowledgeable teachers that also know how to teach (the word "methodology" is not known here).

I calculate that average time for a person (without computer background) of 25 years old spent on computer/Software development related studies plus job search is 1 year, if your are 35 it's 1.5 years, if your are 40 - two years (if you study/look for job 8 hours a day).

For a person with computer background (with language not needed on the market now, like Fortran or Pascal or PDP11 Assembler development) and not too bad English - it is half a year.

In Toronto and Kitchener/Waterloo the emphasis is more on mainframes, in

Mississauga/Brampton - client/server, C++. In Ottawa- client/server. I got a feeling that it is harder to find a job in Ottawa.

Necessary requirements in all cases: professionally written resume (the whole science exists about it) and written/oral references (at least 3, preferably local and you must be able to get by (communicate) in English in "real-time" (50 words/minute) and be understood- nobody cares what accent you have. Ability to type (in English) 30-40 words per minute is helpful.