Before searching for a job in Canada, it’s important to understand the local job market, job demand and the average salary in your chosen industry. This information will help you properly prepare for your career in Canada.

In Canada, a common interview question by employers is to ask candidates about their salary expectations. By researching fair and reasonable salaries in your industry ahead of time, you will be able to answer by providing a salary range (e.g. between $40,000 and $50,000) and you will also know whether a salary offer by an employer is reasonable. Remember that salaries in any industry can vary widely by location and company so it’s important to be flexible during the salary negotiation process and to use your research as a starting point only.

Here are several resources related to salary information in Canada.

Job BankOpens: Find earnings and average weekly salaries by industry. You can also search salary averages across Canada or by province.

PayScaleOpens: Access an extensive database of publicly available jobs. In addition, see detailed job descriptions and get information on job satisfaction, job demographics, common job skills and how pay varies over time and between locations.

Monster Salary WizardOpens: Easily find salary information as well as brief job descriptions for each position and details about pay and bonuses.

Salary ExpertOpens: Get an understanding of global salaries compared to the cost of living depending on location.

WowJobsOpens: Find salary information based on job title, skills, description and location (postal code, city or province).