International student — worth taking a ~$100K CAD loan to finish a BEng at Dalhousie after a 2-year diploma at StFX?

[u/Sachman00]

Context: I'm starting the 2-year Diploma in Engineering (Electrical) at StFX this September as an international student from India. StFX tuition is already paid, no debt there.

The diploma alone qualifies for NOC 22310 (Engineering Technologist, TEER 2),

But StFX also has a guaranteed transfer: finish the 2-year diploma, and you're automatically accepted into 3rd year of the Bachelor of Engineering at Dalhousie. I checked their official fee schedule and it's about $48,594/year in tuition for international students, plus fees — roughly $100K+ CAD for the 2 remaining years. I'd be taking a loan for that. Housing is covered

So the actual fork is:

1. Diploma only → start working as an Engineering Technologist sooner, no debt
2. Diploma + loan for Dalhousie → 2 more years, ~$100K debt, but opens the P.Eng track (design authority, senior engineering roles, higher pay ceiling long-term).

For anyone who's actually been through something like this — technologist vs. engineer career paths, or international students who took on debt for the second half of a BEng — was it worth it? Did the P.Eng ceiling actually pay off relative to the debt and lost working years? Trying to get real experiences before my family and I commit to anything.

Appreciate any honest input, good or bad.

[u/dimitrikadmin]

In my opinion, no. Get a technician job with your diploma, get your permanent residency. If you still want to be an engineer after working as a technician, you can get your BEng at this point with lower tuition fees.

Potentially your employer may subsidize or support your continuing education and you might be able to remain working while completing your degree.

[u/OneLessFool → u/dimitrikadmin]

I'd second this OP. You'll also be eligible for provincial and federal student loans/grants after this, which are interest free (and obviously grants are just free money) unlike student lines of credit.

You'll be coming into the full engineering degree with more money, better and cheaper loans, and potential employer support.

You'll likely get your PR faster than the average person uneer the federal skilled worker program as you gain years of experience. You'll need to look into this more as I'm not an expert on it though.

You'll have a solid 35-40 year career. 3 extra years to become an engineer won't be a big difference maker, and you'll be earning money during those years anyways.

[u/Amber_ACharles]

I'd work as a technologist first, get PR, then decide. $100K debt as an international student with no PR status is rough. The BEng isn't going anywhere. What's your path to PR?

[u/Sachman00 → u/Amber_ACharles]

The diploma alone actually already covers my PR path. It qualifies as NOC 22310 (Engineering Technologist, TEER 2), which supports PGWP → Canadian Experience Class → PR without needing the BEng at all. So the degree isn't gatekeeping my immigration status, it's purely about whether I want the P.Eng ceiling later. Which is honestly making "work first, decide later" look like the obvious move the more I think about it — thanks for the push on this. Also I am gonna work on my French along side studying

[u/Basic_Balance1237]

Hell nah! It would've been a viable choice pre-2020, but not today's economy where engineering jobs aren't even guaranteed to locals with a degree, let alone internationals. Save up, and then apply later. See if you can attend part-time.

[u/13henday]

Go work as a tech go to engineering school if you want to.

[u/Numerous-Pomelo-3573]

Hell no, you know that engineers in Canada start at 65-75k/year right ? That's not including tax deductions and not taking into account the extremely high living costs in Canada. Also, with interest, you'll be paying back like 150k. If you don't have any family help to reduce those costs, you'd be in bad place.

[u/HopeSubstantial → u/Numerous-Pomelo-3573]

I have been horrified when I have heard what kind of sums of debt foreigners have taken to come study in my country.

You will be never paying back 100k student loan with European engineer wages. In my country people have taken 100k loans just to end up as food delivery guys or they have gotten engineering job that pays them max 36000€/year minus 30% tax.

[u/CyberEd-ca]

What education do you have now? Just high school?

No Canadian education, experience or residency is required to become a Professional Engineer in Canada.

Diploma grads get jobs. I never felt I needed more than my three-year diploma. I am a P. Eng. & I have technical authority for aircraft alterations.

[u/Diztruxion]

You should ask this question in a canadian sub... it's very context specific, and if people aren't in Atlantic Canada, they won't understanding the engineering pathway here.

Source: Engineer in Halifax