👋 Hello!

Congratulations on starting real-life! This is a guide to hopefully help you transition from being a student to working full-time in the tech industry in the US.

Adulting is hard and we’re all trying to figure it out, so hopefully by sharing our experiences in what we hope to be a semi-coherent guide, we can make it easier for the next wave of new grads to start their careers.

We’re not legal, tax, immigration, etc. professionals. We take no responsibility for anything here, so please contact a professional if you’re confused.

Another disclaimer: the authors are recent grads who are still figuring things out, we would welcome contributions from people with more experience and wisdom, of course!

🎒Finding a Job

Cool resources to help you land the right job for you if you don’t already have one arranged:

A list of companies hiring without whiteboard interviews

📝 Before You Sign…

These are generally outside of the scope of this guide, but we’re linking to a few useful resources to make sure you get the best offer possible!

Guides to Negotiating an Offer Doesn’t hurt to negotiate! Companies rarely revoke offers if you negotiate and if they do, that’s probably a red flag. Job offers are just contracts - you should try and get what you think you’re worth. If you don’t think you need the money, that’s totally fair! That’s more that could go towards charity or whatnot. Candor has a guide to negotiating tech salaries that’s worth a read if you’re at this stage.

Stock Options vs RSUs It’s important to get clarification on the vesting schedule! Most companies withhold any stock grants until at least a year into your job (cliff) and the stocks are given over four years. Usually companies will offer you stocks evenly every quarter, but some companies will give you fewer stocks at the beginning of your vesting schedule (eg. Amazon). This is an important read on equity compensation.



💳 An aside on credit

If you happen to be reading this guide while interning in the US, great you can get started on full time preparation by building a credit history! The earlier you start the better. It may be hard to get started with credit in the US as your Canadian history do not transfer over, but there are a few ways to work around this.

Nova Credit is a service that lets you make use of your Canadian credit history to apply for credit cards in the US, specifically American Express cards. This is your best bet if you have a strong Canadian credit history.

RBC offers a US credit card that also takes into account your Canadian credit. It will be reported to American credit agencies and can help you avoid having to get a secured card.

TD Canada Trust does as well, through your US subsidary TD Bank, but you need to have residence on the east coast of the US as TD only operates there. If you aren’t on the East Coast, you’ll need to fill out this form and fax it in, though.

Secured cards are an option if you don’t have a strong Canadian credit score. The Discover it Secured credit card is considered by many to be one of the best beginner credit cards, since it is the only secured credit card that offers rewards, and Discover in general is very new credit history-friendly, making getting approved easier. Other options include the Capital One and Citi Secured Mastercards. None of these cards have an annual fee.

Also, rather surprisingly, the Apple credit card is another new (unsecured) option that has opened up, since Apple is being very lenient in approving this card, and for this card specifically, you can get check whether you are approved or not with just a soft inquiry (no impact to credit score); only accepting the offer does a hard inquiry. Hence, if have have an iPhone, you can keep checking for approval on the Apple card with no detrements. It also has no annual fee.

When applying for the first time, you would most probably be asked to send in proof of address (lease agreement, pay slip) and proof of ID (passport, driver’s license), since you won’t have any credit profile in the US. Read the things you should now about each card issuer for more details on the process of each card issuer. It’s also wise to monitor your credit for free across all three credit bureaus, TransUnion, Equifax, and Experian, using Credit Karma (for TransUnion and Equifax) and Experian’s own app, so that you know if you have the required score before you apply.

Try keeping your monthly credit card balance as close as possible to 0% (the 30% of your limit thing you read online is a fallacy, and staying close to 30% rather negatively impacts your credit). Pay your card off to the maximum extent before the statement closes, so that your card statement has a very low balance on it (this is what gets reported to the credit bureaus as credit utilization). Once you build your credit and get higher credit limits, you can leave higher balances and still have single-digit credit utilization. Don’t worry if your utilization goes higher in one month, since once you pay it off, it would go back down the next month. Also, some credit card issuers like Chase actually rereport your balance as zero as soon as you completely pay off your balance.

After getting your first card, apply for the next one after about 2-3 months. Target your spending habits and get credit cards that offer the best rewards for your biggest spending categories. In the mean time, try to stay within Chase’s 5/24 rule: Chase will auto-reject you for any of their cards if you have 5 or more new credit card accounts opened in the 24-month period before your application. This could potentially lock you out of Chase altogether for several months, which is a shame since Chase is considered one of the best credit card companies in the US, offering the best service and the best perks and rewards.

It is usually recommended to have at least a year of credit history before applying to Chase, but you would have an easier time getting approved earlier if you have banking relationshop with them, through the recommendation of your banker. It is recommended to first apply for a no-annual fee card with Chase, like the Chase Freedom, waiting a month, then applying for premium/travel cards like the Chase Sapphire Preferred/Reserve, since Chase is paranoid about giving these cards out to new customers.

🇨🇦 While you wait for the job to start

🏠 Housing and Relocation

If you’re planning to move to SF, Bay Area, or NYC, be prepared to pay a lot. You’re going to be living in some of the most expensive and hottest real estate markets of today. You can look into what relocation benefits your employer provides. They might provide cash, a reimbursable amount, temporary housing, or a mixture of these benefits. They would at least make settling in a bit easier.

You should try to actually see the place before you sign a lease. This isn’t an internship anymore, you’ll be living there for more than four months and you’ll want to enjoy the space - a video tour can only do so much. If you can’t make it there though, try to send a friend for a tour at the least.

For companies that offer more than one relocation package, do some relocation calculations to see which one gives you more $$. For example, some lump sum amounts results in waaay more money than asking the company to ship stuff for you. (This is especially applicable if you already live relatively close to the state you’re traveling to and if you already have housing secured).

Some useful places to look for rentals are Zillow, Craigslist, Padmapper. Don’t hesitate to ask for a viewing, most agents are more than happy to accomodate.

For Seattle(WA) interns who are going to Microsoft, they can also look for places that are close to "connector" stops, which is a free shuttle service provided by MS. Here’s a map of the stops.

After settling in and getting comfortable, you should start planning to buying a house/apartment, since real estate is great form of investment, and why pay rent (read: pay off someone else’s mortgage) when you can pay your mortgage instead and build equity. This is especially the case in Seattle where population growth is through the roof, which has translated to exceptional real estate appreciation rates. For getting the lowest interest rates on home loans, you need a good credit history and a score above 740 (read the above section). You also want to avoid hard inquiries and new credit cards in the months leading up to keep your score high and to avoid lenders from considering you higher risk, since a hard inquiry roughly translates to “eagerly seeking for debt” in their eyes.

🎓 Degree fast-track

If your start date is close to your graduating date, you might need to ask the Registrar’s Office to fast-track your degree so that you can use it for your TN visa. Otherwise you have to wait until convocation when you receive your diploma.

You should aim to get the TN paperwork/petition process started two months before your employment start date. Use that time to travel! You could technically obtain a TN visa at the border without prior paperwork, but there’s been a history of issues from Waterloo grads trying it, so it is preferable to avoid that route unless you have to.

🛂 An aside on visas

No matter where you go and where you live, you need the appropriate visas or citizenship to work in that country. If you have American or dual citizenship/green card, feel free to skip this part as you should be covered!

Now for the rest of us, generally speaking you are not allowed to moonlight or do freelance work on a TN or H1-B visa as these visas only authorize you to work for a given employer over a specific time frame.

TN - The NAFTA visa

If you’re coming on a TN visa, you will need to have Canadian or Mexican citizenship, this is a nice option as H1-B visas are harder to get. You also need to have a job offer with a qualified job description (not all jobs are under TN, there is a list of jobs that qualify), and a degree that is relevant for that job. So unfortunately you cannot work as a designer if you have an AFM degree, for example, no matter your past work experience.

This visa is valid for a couple of years (up to 3), and can be renewed. Although it is not considered an immigration track visa (you’re a nonimmigrant resident alien), so they may start to question your immigration intent if you renew it too often. This visa is also not considered dual-intent (ie. you can’t apply for immigration status or green card and be on the TN visa at the same time, although there are many technicalities about this statement we won’t get to here). Therefore, many people would consider doing a switch to H1-B while on the TN visa to work around these limitations. It’s definitively something you should talk about with your employer if you intend to stay in the US in the long term.

Also, consider setting your employment start date at least a month after your convocation date. While TN visa could technically be applied at the border with your offer letter and diploma, you risk getting rejected especially if the border agent think your degree is irrelevant for the job. This is especially common for Computer Science students with a Software Engineering job offer.

Most companies will sponsor your TN visa and file a petition on your behalf for a pre-approval, and if approved, you will receive a I-797B notice of action. This would increase your chance of success at the border significantly. The petition may take a few weeks to process, so starting a bit later would avoid potential headaches here.

If you’re applying at the border (rather than getting pre-approval from the US gov’t) and you’re from the Toronto area, the lawyers at EIG recommended going through Fort Erie, aka Peace Bridge, because Pearson and Detroit land crossing have a high rejection rate. I’ve been there and it’s pretty hectic so get there super early if you’re flying from Buffalo! Make sure to call ahead to see when the TN officers will be available, because sometimes they only work monday - friday 9-5 and if you arrive on the weekend, you’ll be there for a long time. There’s also a US CBP Deferred Inspection office in SF that will change your work status if they misclassify you at the border. This could happen mistakenly by untrained border agents, so make sure your visa stamp or your I-94 form correctly reflects your TN status. Some people have been admitted under TN but registered as B-2 (visitor visa) before.

IMPORTANT: If your company is providing a legal team to apply for a TN visa for you, ask for a status update 2 months (or at least a 1.5 months) before your start date. Even after they’ve collected all of your info, it could still take a long time for them to actually file the request for your visa, and it will then take another 15 days to hear back from the USCIS (this is NOT a guaranteed approval, they may ask for more evidence which will result in more time/delay). So you asking for a status update is just to make sure your legal team doesn’t uh.. ‘forget’ about you and file the visa request way too late. Some employers require you to receive your start authorization from the legal team a week prior to your start date, or else your start date will have to be pushed back.

H1-B - The visa we keep hearing about in the news

H1-B is the other main type of visa that can be used to work in the US. This is mainly an option for people who are not eligible for TN.

L-1 - Transfer visa

Sometimes a company will hire you to work in another country for a while (Vancouver is a huge destination for this). This is so you can be transfered to the US under the L-1 visa.

💸 Repaying Student Loans

It’s generally a good idea to make plans and pay back your student loans ahead of time, before your time in Waterloo ends. Also, note that having outstanding student loans is considered a strong “tie” to Canada when the CRA determines your tax-residency status when you leave.

For OSAP, while you won’t have to make a repayment until 6 months after the end of your last academic term (likely April 30 + 6 mo, so October 31), interest will accrue on the Federal and Ontario portion once repayments begin (starting 2019, interest will accrue on the Ontario portion once the grace period starts)

The Ontario rate is prime (BoC) + 1%, Federal is prime + 2.5%, standard repayment is over 9.5 years

Student Loan Interest payments can be claimed on your Canadian tax return as part of your non-refundable tax credits while you’re a Canadian resident.

Similar rules apply for loans from other provinces, for example, for Quebec’s AFE, the interest will accrue on your loan immediately after the completion of your studies, but you will benefit from a 6 month period deferral before repayments start.

🇺🇸 After arriving in the US

🚗 Driving License or State ID

Generally you need to get a resident state license ASAP in order to continue driving.

Washington State If you’re not a US Citizen you can drive with your foreign license for up to a year. If you have a license from British Columbia you can transfer it Otherwise you have to re-do all your tests

California You have 10 days after becoming a resident to re-do all of your tests and obtain a new license Wait time is more than a month at DMVs for driving test, writing test can be done walk-in At least for CA, you could be handed a hefty fine ($1000) if you’re caught driving with an out-of-state license while living there. We have a comprehensive guide for future California residents! Check it out here!

New York State Why are you getting a driver’s license? You have 30 days after becoming a resident to transfer your Canadian license to a NY one



🤑 Tax

You become a US tax resident on the day you move, and will need to file 2 partial-year tax returns that year - an exit return in Canada and a resident return in the US. You’ll also need to file a second US non-resident tax return for the beginning of the year if you worked in the US on a co-op term that year before moving. Some good readings: Leaving Canada, Entering US.

Declaring non-residency in Canada Read this article from the CRA Form NR73? Residency Ties Notify your banks, etc.

Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) If you are an American Citizen or Resident (ie. this doesn’t apply to you during coops unless you are American), and you have 10K+ USD in Foreign Accounts (eg. TFSA, chequing or savings accounts, etc.) you MUST file a FBAR form with the details of these accounts annually by April 15.

Settling your Canadian Accounts Generally, it’s probably a good idea to consolidate your accounts as much as possible because it’s less reporting to do (if you have to), there’s less stuff to manage, and fewer moving parts in general. Dividend investment accounts (fine in RRSPs if Cali didn’t exist) RRSP You can hold a RRSP while a non-resident of Canada, although most (if not all) brokerages will heavily restrict/block your access to the account. The IRS considers a RRSP as an equivalent to the 401k, so Federally you will not pay any tax on any income earned within the RRSP, although some states do not treat it this way Does other states have other restrictions? We can cover the biggest cases (ie. NY, WA, CA) California: CA does not treat a RRSP as a tax-deferred shelter, instead taxing it like a Margin account. If you’re holding a RRSP, it’s probably best if you invest in full-return securities (ie. those which don’t provide a dividend). TFSA Your TFSA is not considered a tax sheltered account by the IRS Since it’s easy to liquidate you should probably shut down your TFSA



🏥 Health insurance, wtf?

Generally, you’ll lose access to the Canadian healthcare the moment you move away from Canada, so from that point on your sole source of medical coverage would be from your employer-sponsored healthcare plan. You’ll enroll into a plan sometimes during your first month of work, and that coverage should apply retroactively from your start date.

But… WTF are all these acronyms? (EPO, PPO, High Deductible)

Copay: When you receive a medical service, you have to pay the specified fee. There are different amounts for different services, and they should be outlined in the benefits package.

Coinsurance: When you receive a medical service, you have to pay a percentage of the medical bill.

Deductible: The amount of money you pay yourself before your healthcare plan starts paying for you (minus the copays/coinsurance fees). For example, if you have a health plan with a $250 annual deductible, then you are on the hook for the first $250 in fees. And then after that, you will only pay for the co-pay or co-insurance fees.

Out of pocket max: The maximum amount of money you will pay in a year, including all copays.

In/Out of Network: Insurance providers will partner with hospitals and clinics to provide a discount or exclusive service for you. If you go to these "in-network" providers, then it would be cheaper than if you went "out-of-network:. More on this in a second.

Balance Billing: Balance billing occurs when you visit an out of network provider. The provider will charge you the difference between what your insurance consider a "customary charge" (ie. what they would have paid to an in network provider for the same procedure). Some states (including California) have enacted laws against this practice (especially in emergency situations), but you should still avoid visiting out of network providers if possible.

What about Canada/International? You might qualify as out of network when you seek medical treatment abroad.

Types of Health Plans

EPO : This type of plans tend to favor the provider’s network, with discounted/cheap fees if you stay in the network, and very expensive to no coverage if you leave the network.

PPO : This type of plans tend to favor the provider’s network, with very low to no fees if you stay in the network, but you retain coverage if you leave the network.

HMO : See EPO. HMOs typically handle the full lifecycle of your healthcare. For example, if you have a Kaiser HMO, to remain in-network, you must visit a Kaiser GP, specialists, hospitals, etc. Typically, you will also have to see your GP for a referral to a specialist.

High Deductible Health Plans (HDHP): You and your employer contribute money to an HSA (Healthcare Savings Account), which is used for your own medical expenses. The remaining funds will roll over every year, so this could be a good idea if your health is in a generally good shape. Downside: You generally will pay more money when you do claim insurance in the form of higher deductibles and coinsurance.

👴(Retirement) Savings

It’s never too early to save for retirement / important investments such as a house later in life.

There are two broad categories of tax-sheltered accounts you’ll be looking at - 401k and IRAs. 401ks are typically tied to your employer, although you’ll be able to take the account with you (and convert to an IRA if you’d like) when you leave.

401k Matches and Vesting: These accounts, while tied to your employer and being less flexiblity than an IRA, have a higher contribution limit. Some employers offer a “match” on 401k contributions, which is worth maximizing. Be cautious of vesting periods as well - typically, that means the match is only yours after you’ve been employed for a period of time (the vesting period). A pretty common thing nowadays is the “mega backdoor” which allows you to contribute past the 19k IRS limit with post-tax money. More on this later, but it’s well documented.

Traditional IRA : You can think of a traditional IRA like a RRSP in Canada; it’s a tax-deferred retirement account. Generally, you can only withdraw from the IRA after age 59½ without paying a tax penalty, but there are a number of other exemptions (eg. buying your first home).

Roth IRA : A Roth IRA is similar to a TFSA, but it has more limitations. Like a TFSA, it’s post-tax, however the withdrawal of any accrued earnings on the contributions will be subject to the same tax penalties and exemptions as a traditional IRA (contributions will always be withdrawn first penalty-free before “tapping” into the earnings). The Roth IRA is currently recognized under US/Canada tax treaty (Subparagraph 3(b) of Article XVIII). The tax treaty preserves the continued tax deferral of any accrued earnings and tax-free withdrawal in Canada given that the following criteria were satisfied: 1) No contributions were made to the Roth IRA while being a Canadian tax resident; 2) A one-time election under paragraph 7 of Article XVIII to defer any taxation in Canada was filed upon return.

Various Pre-tax deductions

Commuter Subsidy : Many companies offer a pre-tax commuter account, which allows you to allocate pre-tax dollars towards commutes (usually transit, Uber Pool, Lyft Shared). Some even provide a monthly amount as a benefit.

Flexible Savings Account (FSA): A FSA is an account which allows you to set aside pre-tax dollars towards healthcare costs not paid for by insurance (ie. copays, coinsurance, deductibles, etc.). Employers may allow you to rollover up to $500 from one year to the next. You can generally pay using your FSA account if they belong in this list of approved expenses.

Keep in mind you can only change your FSA contributions during your benefit enrollment periods, so once you change your amounts you can’t change it until a major lifetime event or the next enrollment period (usually a year from now)!

Note: There is also a dependent-care FSA that is subject to different rules, which is not covered here, and FSAs are not available with all healthcare plans.

Health Savings Account (HSA): A HSA is similar to a FSA in that you can save pre-tax dollars for healthcare expenses, with the difference that contributions are rolled over year-to-year. Your employer may contribute to your account under eligible healthcare plans.

Normally, a special debit card will be provided, allowing you to pay for any qualified expenses directly from your HSA account Alternatively, you may reimburse yourself by withdrawing from your HSA bank account. This is useful when: 1) You forgot to pay with the HSA debit card or did not have it on you.

2) You have incurred international eligible expenses (exception: prescriptions drugs purchased abroad must be consumed abroad to be considered an eligible expense). Use an appropriate spot FX on the day of the payment for currency conversion purposes.

You may reimburse yourself retroactively for any eligible expenses that occurred after the establishment of the HSA. So there is no need to wait for your HSA to accumulate before buying that new pair of glasses or getting that massage.

You may invest the money in your HSA once it is over a certain threshold (e.g. 1k). Investment options will be similar to that of a 401k and would likely be limited to fixed income and indices.

Non eligible expenses will be subject to income tax plus a 20% withdrawn penalty.

Once you turn 65, there is no longer any penalty for withdrawing from your HSA for non-eligible expenses, although you will have to pay income taxes on the withdrawals (eligible expenses can still be withdrawn tax free)

Note: HSAs are usually only available with High Deductible Health Plans (HDHPs).

Meetups, Conferences (PD, but useful)

Meetups (see: meetup.com / eventbrite.com) can be useful places to meet other people who have an interest in the things you do! While they’re commonly used for tech-related topics like React, machine learning, or data science, there are many cool hobby-related ones too (like underwater basket weaving!)

Conferences can be a good place to meet other people, learn, and have fun! Some of these can get disorganized or flat-out preachy, so do your research before plopping hundreds of dollars on a ticket. Check with your manager to see if your company will cover your ticket or accomodations.

🙏 Contributing

Did we miss something? Please help out by submitting issues or PRs over at Github! We’re looking especially for people who have lived in the US for a while and are more knowlegeable about taxes and saving tips, but anything you think would help out others would be good to have!

🙌 Wall of love

💖goes to: Yu Chen Hou, Deon Hua, Ruo Tai Sun, Rongzhao Li, Alex Madrzyk, Wendy Lu, Justin Paulin, Raymond Ji, Jacob Moore, Ambareesh Balaji, Yiteng Zhang for collaborating on this guide!

Made with ❤️ in beautiful, downtown, San Francisco.