Power Engineers vs P.Eng in Alberta Canada

Working as a Power Engineer you could earn twice the salary compared to a Professional Engineer, with only a high school diploma and a few months of training.

Did I get your attention? I see you looking skeptical, seems like another YouTube marketing scam doesn’t it.

It’s true, in Alberta, with only a certificate and overtime hours, you can make between $200,000 and $250,000 while a P.Eng earns only $120,000. This makes the 8 years of Engineering school a preposterous waste of life. Canada devalued their educational institutions and developed a deep seeded dislike of competition, in part, because of government policy. In 2003, Alberta’s safety codes act enshrined an entirely new profession called “Power Engineers” POWER ENGINEERS REGULATION (Alberta Regulation 85/2003). By comparison, the United States did not develop a parallel job, instead, they use well established and highly educated Petroleum Engineers which require a minimum of a Bachelors Degree.

Canadian taxpayers gave $13.4 billion to universities in 2015/2016 which accounts for 49.1% of university revenues. Why would a country shoot itself in the foot? I think the answer has to do with the Canadian mindset. In Canada, equality sits along-side health care as a sacred religious pillar. Equality for all is the mantra that diminishes the fact that some people are smarter than others. In Canada, you may have a fancy degree from a top university, but that paper is only marginally better than one from the bottom of the pack. Throughout my career, I’ve noticed that my UBC degree has no higher status that a small community college. In fact, many Canadians are even unfamiliar of the differences between major universities or may not know of them at all.

Does this mean that education in Canada is less important? Yes, education is less valuable in this specific industry, but I would still encourage young Canadians to pursue higher education. Get an education so you have the option to leave for progressive and competitive countries. Much like a passport, education is the golden ticket to leave a country.

Canada is telling engineers loud a clear - Get out! we don’t want you! As a result, a full 60% of computer science graduates leave immediately for the US.

Here comes another fantastic YouTube advertisement - you can get out, it’s easy actually. Canadian banks, provide a US dollar account from which you can invest directly in incredibly dynamic companies in the United States. In fact, other than receiving your pay in dollarettes, you can operate like an proud American. America will treat you like a valuable member of their family. A family of royal shareholders, stroked, swaddled and loved. Don’t like the US? terrible people you say? Sure, buy some stocks on the London Stock Exchange or convert your money to Japanese Yen and buy robotics companies.

In summary, if you’re young and have a drive to succeed, don’t go West or East, spin the compass and GO GLOBAL!