24 year old american - no college degree

[polyrhythmicSouL]

Hello all,

I've been considering , day and night, moving from the US to make a fresh start in a new place. The thing that keeps blocking me most , in my mind, is that fact that I dont have a college degree. My gift and my curse has been the fact that i'm the self education type summed up by the statement "I dont need to pay other people thousands of dollars to teach me in classes I have no interest in just to obtain a piece of paper. I can make it on my own." Accept , at this point i'm beginning to regret my young arrogance or purhaps i'm beginning to doubt my young idealism. Either way , I believe you kind folks can help me in some way, shape or form or else I wouldn't be here pouring my heart out lol.

I'm very much a people person/caretaker type. I have the counsel/bartender type personality , i've been a tour guide for a beer brewery ,a door to door appointment setter , a party promoter , an independent salesman and i've taught myself how to fix and assemble computers(mostly hardware). In the past five years I have consistently devoured information about the world , its ways and makings, its global economy and macropolitics , its history and its symbiotic spiritual nature. However I have no degree.

I guess this is a humble call for advice on getting myself going in the Montreal area ( I also dont speak more than 2 words of french at the moment - but I learn fast, especially when immersed in a subject ) ... Any idea where I could look for jobs , what kind of jobs they might be. My plan is to begin some type of college in the area - any idea what the policies may be for foreigners ??

any help for this lost 20-something year old would be greatly appreciated
~ Eric

[Bevdeforges]

Have you taken a good, hard look yet at the visa requirements for Canada? Immigrating to Canada

The issue is going to be how you can meet the skills and education requirements for a visa, as these generally require paper qualifications and/or fairly extensive experience. To get a study permit, you need to show that you have the resources to pay your tuition and living expenses. (Most countries LOVE having foreign students, since they pay full tuition - unlike the local students.)

In any event, it wouldn't hurt to start learning French now. Having a second language can really help, no matter what profession or skill you are using to qualify for a visa.
Cheers,
Bev

[polyrhythmicSouL]

lol ... WELL ... that certainly changes things a bit doesn't it hahaha ...

thank you very much for the informative insights Bev. Many thanks and best of luck for 2008

~ Eric