ASET Technology Alberta Winter 2019 - 20

Jinbin Li, P.Tech. (Eng.)

David Sanosa, C.E.T.

CALG ARY

Jinbin Li, a senior mechanical designer in an engineering company, has called Alberta home for the last 16
years. He says it's a great place for new immigrants
to live due to affordable houses and an abundance of
job opportunities. He considers himself lucky to have
moved here with his wife and daughter in 2003.
"I believed Canada was an amazing nation that could
provide a better life and future for my family, and a better environment and more freedom in which to raise
my daughter," said Li.

David Sanosa, a civil technologist who works on road and
highway projects, comes from
a long line of engineers: his
father, brother and brother-inlaw are all civil engineers and
have a construction company
in the Philippines. He studied
civil engineering while living
there and earned a bachelor of
science at university in Manila.

A graduate of Wuhan Textile University, Wuhan, Hubei
Province in China, Li had a mechanical HVAC engineering diploma and worked as a mechanical engineer. In
China, professionals with engineering diplomas are
allowed to become professional engineers if they
achieve three additional years of work experience. He
had hoped he could work as an engineer in Canada
but soon realized it was a different system.

In 2009, he immigrated to
Canada with his family with
the intention of providing a
better life and education for
his three children. It wasn't
easy finding employment in
his field and he had to work in retail and hotel jobs to support
his family for the first two to three years.

"Because I was a newcomer, lacked Canadian experience, and faced a language barrier, I found it quite
difficult to find my first job in my field when we moved
here," said Li. "I knew I needed more time to get used
to everything so I started a job as an assembler at a
manufacturer and learned English at school."

A federal government program for internationally trained engineers in 2011 gave him a career boost and he was finally able to
land a career-related position.

He discovered ASET during a website and job search.
ASET certification was a requirement in all the job
postings for which he applied.
In 2005, Li got his first job related to his field: working as a mechanical engineer in a small consulting
company. "That restarted my career in the engineering
field. Everything became better and better after that,"
said Li.
This year, he earned the ASET designation of P.Tech.
(Eng.), which allows him the chance to practise engineering independently within existing codes and standards, giving him even more confidence in his career.

20 | WINTER 2019 | TECHNOLOGY ALBERTA

He learned about ASET from a co-worker who was an R.E.T. His
current employer paid for his ASET certification and gave him a
raise when he earned his C.E.T.
He is happy living in Alberta. His kids have settled in and are
studying and working at the same time.
"The best aspects of Alberta are the mountains, low taxes and efficient transportation," said Sanosa. "The worst part is our weather. It gets so cold sometimes."

ASET Technology Alberta Winter 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of ASET Technology Alberta Winter 2019