Top 10 remote jobs in Canada in 2022

Lately, there has been much less talk about the pandemic than before, but some of the restrictions remain. It's not just about masks, but also about the fact that some companies still haven't returned to work in offices, and you can't enter Canada without a vaccination.

The good thing about this is that there are so many jobs online right now. In December 2021, Canada conducted a survey of remote workers, and only half of them think they'll go back to their regular jobs this year. And once upon a time, only freelancers could boast about remote work. Now it has become so normal that no one is surprised by remote work.

A great many professionals can perform their duties from home, and just as well as in the office. Some even say that productivity increases at home. According to the same survey, 88% of Canadians like working remotely, and 56% don't want to go back to the office.

But let's cut to the chase, the professions. Some of them moved into 2022 from last year's ranking, but there are also new ones that weren't as in-demand before. The rankings are published by Randstad; the rest of the occupations will be from the popular job search website Indeed.

Top 10 professions

Tenth place went to technical support specialists. They've moved back a lot compared to the previous year. Apparently, companies have gotten better at doing business online, but there are still tech support specialists at any enterprise, so you can't do without them. Most problems can be fixed remotely, so tech support does not need to be in the office.

According to the Indeed website, tech support professionals in Canada earn an average of $51,500 CAD per year. And there are more than 1,600 jobs in this profession at the time of publication more than 1,600, including some that only look for remote workers. Companies in Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver have the most offers.

In ninth place are administrative assistants. They, too, were more in demand last year, but the need is still high. Since many offices work remotely, they need assistants remotely to organize calls, and virtual meetings, create presentations, support the team, plan work, and be a link between different departments or between employees and the manager.

Administrative assistants make even slightly more than tech support specialists — an average of $55,000 CAD per year. And there are a huge number of jobs for them, over 8,700 at the time of publication. Companies can be found in any major city, but more offers are from Surrey, it's British Columbia, Toronto, Vancouver and Edmonton, and Calgary in the province of Alberta.

The next place in the ranking is occupied by data analysts. The job is not easy, it requires a lot of concentration and attention, just right for a quiet home office. Data analysts analyze huge amounts of information, on the basis of which the company then makes decisions on various issues. Even before they switched to remote working, most companies used cloud storage to store data, so analysts do not have to be present in the office.

The average salary in Canada for such specialists is $58,500 CAD, not bad at all. There are fewer jobs here, about 4,000, most employers are from Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and Mississauga, this is in the province of Ontario. Don't be surprised that there are fewer job openings and the profession is more in demand, according to the rankings. The rankings are for the year as a whole, and the vacancies are given at the time of publication of the article.

Seventh place — project managers. These specialists, on the contrary, moved forward. Last year they were at the very end of the rating, in tenth place, and over the year the demand has increased slightly. You can't do without project managers, they can work in any field, because they are really needed everywhere. Managers organize the development of new products, modernize workflows, and so on. Most of the work can be done online, talking to the team on calls and video conferences, but sometimes personal presence is still preferable, so a hybrid work format is ideal for project managers: partly remotely and partly in the office.

The pay for such responsible work is appropriate — $75,500 CAD a year, but it is not the highest salary in the ranking. Project managers can choose from 7,700 open positions. More offers, as usual, are in Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal, as well as Calgary and Ottawa.

The next line in the ranking goes to social media managers. They have moved up as far as ninth place. This is not surprising, because technology continues to evolve, and companies are increasingly looking for clients on social networks, even if they have an offline business. Social media managers are one of the most flexible professions when it comes to telecommuting because all they need is access to social media, content creation and planning software, and communication with their team and clients. You can probably even do the job from a smartphone if you want to.

Social media managers can expect to earn $52,000 CAD a year, and there is a profession with similar duties but in demand in Canada a little more. There are about 1,000 jobs on the Indeed website for the social media management profession, mostly from Toronto, Vancouver, and Montreal.

Top 5 professions

So, the five most in-demand remote professions.

At the top of the list are digital marketers, a profession that is somewhat similar to social media managers in terms of duties. While managers are more concerned with content, marketers focus on promoting business and attracting new customers, whether the company is online or offline. Just like managers, marketers don't have to be in the office; they can work anywhere. By the way, since last year, marketers have also become more in demand, because the competition among businesses online is getting higher, and everyone needs to stand out.

But such specialists earn less — an average of $49,000 CAD per year, but there are more jobs for them — more than 1,600. The cities are the same — Toronto, Montreal, and Vancouver.

The fourth place is occupied by bookkeepers. They keep daily financial records, keep track of financial transactions that take place in the company, make calculations and fill out documents. It's sort of like an assistant accountant. In the majority of companies, all documentation has long been done electronically, and electronic signature systems are now being used, so specialists do not necessarily have to be in the office.

On average, bookkeepers earn $47,000 CAD a year, and there are about 3,000 open jobs nationwide for them right now. Oddly enough, last year this profession wasn't in the top of the in-demand list at all. And, by the way, the distribution by the city is also different here. Surrey and Edmonton are at the top of the list, followed by Toronto and Calgary.

Now the top three are the most in-demand remote professions for 2022. If you're a specialist in one of them, look for jobs with Canadian companies right away! And then you'll find out what were the most in-demand professions last year and how you can work with Canadian companies if you live in your home country.

The third place goes to accountants. Unlike accountants, they create and analyze financial statements, as well as check the company's accounting records, and can monitor the accountant's work. This year they are more in demand than last year, moving as far up from the eighth place.

According to statistics, Canadian accountants earn about the same as the other professions in this ranking — $54,000 CAD a year. But jobs for them are 8,000, a huge number. There's a reason accountants are in third place. It is true that there is one problem with this profession — you have to retrain for it because accounting differs from country to country. So this profession is unlikely to be suitable for those in their own country. But it can be considered if you plan to immigrate to Canada and work remotely there.

The second line was taken by senior software developers. Last year they were not in the ranking at all, but this time they are right in the lead. It's actually surprising that there are no other IT-related professions in the top, not counting tech support specialists. Software developers can work from any location where there is a stable Internet, and the house is great for this. Perhaps even more so than the office. As with other professions, communication with the team can happen online.

Software developers have the highest salaries in this ranking, averaging $100,000 CAD a year. And the jobs for them right now are about 6,500, the most from Toronto, Vancouver, Montreal, and Ottawa.

Who's at the top of the list? Which profession will be the most in-demand this year? It's call center representatives. It's great for telecommuting because it's much quieter to work at home than in a noisy office where dozens of operators are sitting at once. Most call centers make calls through software that can be installed on a home computer. Plus operators communicate with clients in chats and by post, there are no problems here either.

Last year, operators were in demand because during the pandemic, companies had a lot of problems: offices closed, delivery deadlines got messed up, reservations were canceled, and so on, so there was a great shortage of operators. A year has passed, and they are still very much needed, and even their place in the ranking has not changed: in 2021, they were number one too.

There are now 2,500 offers on the Indeed website for call center operators. Companies are mostly located in Toronto, Montreal, Mississauga and Vancouver. But the salary of such specialists is not happy, it is the lowest in the ranking — only $37,000 CAD per year. By Canadian standards, not very much. Besides, to become an operator, you have to have a good level of English or French.

Top professions in 2021

Let's take a look at what professions were the most in-demand a year ago. In first place were call center operators. Administrative assistants were in second place, they are now in ninth place, and in third place were technical support specialists, who have moved up to the tenth place. In general, the ranking has not changed much, most of the professions in it remain, except that they have slightly changed places.

Working for a Canadian company from your home country

How can you work for Canadian employers if you live in your other country? It's really quite simple here. Many companies do not register people as employees but work with them under contract, that is, they are self-employed. A company can conclude a contract, or as it is called, a contract for work, with a specialist from any country, there are no legal restrictions. This is exactly how the Immigrant.Today project team works, by the way.

The only downside to this collaboration is that it doesn't count as Canadian work experience and won't help with immigration, unless you apply through the Self-employment Persons program, but not all occupations qualify, only creative ones.

The second disadvantage, or not really a disadvantage, but just a fact you have to accept, is that to look for a remote job you have to write a Canadian format CV, change it for each job, and write each employer a cover letter, and be interviewed — just as if you were looking for a regular job in Canada.