Waterloo Co-op: A Blessing and a Curse
joshuakalp.in
Waterloo Co-op: A Blessing and a Curse
1–10 of 65 posts
Re: Waterloo Co-op: A Blessing and a Curse
#2I did software coop at UBC, and I can say without a doubt that the coop model is purely an invention of a highly conservative business culture. For those with the skills and the desire, I say skip it. The loss of community with the rest of your class is huge, and the extra time is not worth the money compared to a real post-graduation career.
Additionally, most post-college hiring here in the Bay Area, and elsewhere, is focused on your inherent personal skills, and not on some aspect of "I've done it before". In other words, a coop buys you not much on your first hire out of school, and little post that.
Now this is all bracketed as a computer science coop. If you are seeking to do civil engineering in Canada, by all means stick with coop. Canadian companies are extremely conservative and (typically) won't hire you for what you can do, but what you DID do.
Re: Waterloo Co-op: A Blessing and a Curse
#34 months seems a bit short for this continuous cycle. I go to Northeastern University and they do 6 month cycles of work/school. They also start off with a year and a half to two years of classes on a traditional schedule when you first enroll in college. This seems less relentless than the 4 month schedule described at Waterloo.
Re: Waterloo Co-op: A Blessing and a Curse
#4I went to a university basically no one here has ever heard of but The engineering program has the same 4 month on/off schedule. I was a CS student and the CS department has a co-op/internship program that is a bit different, its a minimum 8 months and max 16 months continuous which is really nice. Actually helps you get settled in and accomplish something fairly substantial.
It also, allows you to organize it in a way that you can schedule it to start right before your last semester, so you can potentially start your co-op, complete it, do 1 semester in school then get out in the work force.
Re: Waterloo Co-op: A Blessing and a Curse
#5[deleted]
Re: Waterloo Co-op: A Blessing and a Curse
#6I did Waterloo engineering co-op as well and yes, it is a bit hectic, but at that age you can handle it. I wouldn't have traded it for anything. I had interesting jobs in a number of different countries. I invested my interest-free student loan in energy mutual funds which turned into a goldmine at that time and combined with my salary I finished university with lots of experience, no debt and a ton of money in my bank account. If that is a "curse" then please curse me some more.
Re: Waterloo Co-op: A Blessing and a Curse
#7I did software coop at UBC, and I can say without a doubt that the coop model is purely an invention of a highly conservative business culture. For those with the skills and the desire, I say skip it. The loss of community with the rest of your class is huge, and the extra time is not worth the money compared to a real post-graduation career. Additionally, most post-college hiring here in the Bay Area, and elsewhere,…
I am currently in the bay area wrapping up a co-op term (4 month intervals very similar to the waterloo experience). I disagree that it isn't worth it regardless of what your skill and desire are. You learn so much from just working that school does not give you, and that itself is worth it. But also while I agree that bay area companies will test and hire you for your skill, you have no foot in the door. You could be brilliant but have a lacking resume/application and they could just pass over your application. The point is that I agree that it may not help in the actual hiring process, but it gives you a better chance to get your foot in the door.
Re: Waterloo Co-op: A Blessing and a Curse
#8I also have a Waterloo Co-Op degree (biochemistry & math), and can say without a doubt that doing co-op was one of the best decisions of my early professional life.
Many, many years later... through academia and industry jobs, and as someone who hires now, a good co-op program is a phenomenal plus to helping you figure out who you are, professionally speaking.
And it lets you see where the blend between application and theory really lies, with respect to your own personal values.
Re: Waterloo Co-op: A Blessing and a Curse
#94 months seems a bit short for this continuous cycle. I go to Northeastern University and they do 6 month cycles of work/school. They also start off with a year and a half to two years of classes on a traditional schedule when you first enroll in college. This seems less relentless than the 4 month schedule described at Waterloo.
I think you're forgetting that a 4 month cycle allows you to do more internships than a 6 month cycle.
Re: Waterloo Co-op: A Blessing and a Curse
#10I did software coop at UBC, and I can say without a doubt that the coop model is purely an invention of a highly conservative business culture. For those with the skills and the desire, I say skip it. The loss of community with the rest of your class is huge, and the extra time is not worth the money compared to a real post-graduation career. Additionally, most post-college hiring here in the Bay Area, and elsewhere,…
Loss of community with the rest of your class? At Waterloo co-op in engineering is not optional. Your entire class is on the same 4-month school-workterm-school schedule.