Jun 25
(Picture is from stock.xchng.)
It’s no secret any more that after quitting Nokia, I work for Symbian as subcontractor (external employee). Yesterday, Nokia announced that they acquire Symbian. The press release indicates that most Symbian’s internal employees will become Nokia’s employees. A few of them will be transferred to a new foundation that was also announced yesterday, Symbian Foundation.
What is going to happen to me then? Will I lose my job? Will I work as subcontractor for Nokia? I don’t know. I am still digesting the announcement until today. Worse, it seems most people have no idea what’s going to happen.
Jun 16
(Picture is from stock.xchng.)
Recently, I did some research on whether having increased salary means good news or not. It depends. Why? In Canada, when we have higher salary, we have to pay higher tax.
Here is a very simple example: there are two couples with the gross income of $90K and $80K respectively. Both are living in British Columbia, Canada. The first couple has one single source of income (only the husband/wife works). The second couple has two sources of income (both husband and wife works). Let’s assume that each person earns $40K, so both of them earn $80K in total.
According to Canada Revenue Agency web site, the amount of tax each couple has to pay is: (the calculation below is simplified; in reality, there are many other factors that affect the total amount of tax)
First couple
- Federal tax: $17,717.06
- Provincial tax: $6,897.47
- Total: $24,614.53
Second couple
- Federal tax: 2 x $6,148.3 = $12,296.6
- Provincial tax: 2 x $2,232.56 = $4,465.12
- Total: $16,761.72
Now, let’s calculate how much each couple earn after tax:
- Net income for first couple: $90,000 - $24,614.53 = $65,385.47
- Net income for second couple: $80,000 - $16,761.72= $63,238.28
As you can see, a couple who earn $90K from a single source earn almost the same amount as a couple who earn $80K from two sources. There is about $2K difference, although their income is $10K difference.
Jun 05
(Picture by stock.xchng.)
Life is different when you are not young any more. When I was young, I can decide relocating to other cities or countries very easily. In fact, I have lived in 6 cities in 4 different countries in the last 10 years. It’s like relocating every 1.5 - 2 years, isn’t it?
This time, I have spent 3 years living in Vancouver. Yes… 3 years! Staying in the same city for 3 years is a bit unusual for me. Is it time for me to move somewhere else? It’s not that easy because now I have a family and a house already. Relocation is an expensive thing now.
A couple of months back, I got a job offer in San Francisco. I didn’t accept the offer because I don’t want to lose my status as Canadian permanent residence. Honestly, I regret about my decision. I should have accepted the offer and move to the States.
Yesterday, a recruited from a large company in the US asked whether I am interested relocating to London (yes, London the capital of the UK). They have a big research and development about mobile applications there. Well… why it has to be in London? Why not in Vancouver? Many people are saying that Vancouver is a city for retirement. Not so many high-paying high-tech jobs here.
Is this time for relocation?
