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DevDegree: Work at Shopify and get a free CS degree in parallel

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Re: DevDegree: Work at Shopify and get a free CS degree in parallel

#121

Post by alphakilo »

redis_mlc wrote: post #27
willjp wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are two universities involved: Carleton (Ottawa, Ontario, Canada) and York (Toronto, Ontario, Canada). You must apply and qualify for the university degree, in addition to being selected by shoppify themselves. If I remember correctly when I asked about it, the University also had some say in the selection process. When I looked into it, the number of accepted was quite low (I believe less than 15 per year), wh…

Shopify's HQ is in Ottawa, hence Carleton University. York is in suburban Toronto. Those schools are not quite in the same league as Toronto or Waterloo, but they're adequate.

The Lassonde on School of Engineering at York University started eight years ago. Within the last 8 years The Faculty has made major growth and acquired world-class faculty. The school is more than adequate and was named as one of three schools worldwide to watch in a report by MIT. I suggest you look at the teaching methods of the school and you will see how it differs from traditional ciriculums.

In my personal opinion, the education received in many areas. Lassonde stronger than both the traditional education of University of Toronto and University of Waterloo. I think there are benefits to each school, but they are different benefits. I strongly feel as your statement about the school's not being in the same league are without an understanding of educational institutions in Canada for engineering and computer science.

Source: President of the Engineering Student Union @ Lassonde where I am involved in all parts fo faculty operations.

Re: DevDegree: Work at Shopify and get a free CS degree in parallel

#122

Post by c_codes »

tybit wrote: post #34

This looks a lot more like an apprenticeship to me than a degree. Which I think is fantastic, Universities are generally terrible at teaching practical skills and fantastic at teaching theory.

I'm currently in the program and it is very much both. We work 20 hours a week at Shopify, and take three classes per term, including the summer, at the university. We are paid a salary and our tuition is covered. At the end of the program we will have had 4 placements at Shopify, and receive a Comp Sci Honours degree from the University.

Re: DevDegree: Work at Shopify and get a free CS degree in parallel

#123

Post by blackearl »

matwood wrote: post #113
imtringued wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't think it is unethical. If people get overwhelmed by student debt because their degree doesn't actually result in job opportunities that allow them to pay that debt back then they have no obligation to pay the debt back. It was the lender's decision to invest their money into such an obviously money losing strategy and yet they did so despite the high risk. The word "undischargeable" made the lender blind but…

> It was the lender's decision to invest their money into such an obviously money losing strategy and yet they did so despite the high risk. I have 100k+ of unsecured credit available to me at any given time. If I go and spend that on hookers and blow is that the lenders fault or mine? I believe the lack of personal responsibility is problem that will not be fixed by absolving even more responsibility.

It's a bit of both isn't it? They gave you so much credit because they assessed you as the type of person who wouldn't do that. If they were 100% sure that you would be spending recklessly, you'd probably have a limit of a few hundred at most. Part of their job is making that assessment correctly.

Re: DevDegree: Work at Shopify and get a free CS degree in parallel

#124

Post by oswamano »

xupybd wrote: post #69
keenmaster wrote: post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

When you’re the first large provider of tech apprenticeships, you want apprentices to stick around after graduation. The problem is that Shopify generally can’t force employees to stay (companies hate suing over breach of contract for education subsidies). One work around is to pay a low salary during the training period. That’s exactly what Shopify is doing (160K over 4 years = 40K per year). This could be a cheap w…

I need to move to the states if 40k is a low salary for a junior over there. I started on less than that.

I'd say 40k is a bit low for a junior with a degree and the states does pay some of the highest salaries for developers, so not wrong

Re: DevDegree: Work at Shopify and get a free CS degree in parallel

#125

Post by mabbo »

alphakilo wrote: post #119

It's wonderful to see this on the front page. I'm currently a student at the Lassonde School of Engineering at York University studying software engineering and heavily involved in the school community. The Lassonde School of Engineering opened 8 years ago with a fervour for Innovation and Entrepreneurship. I suggest folks give the school a Google search as it has rapidly developed to become a phenomenonal environmen…

I hadn't heard that York had expanded so hard into Engineering. Fantastic to see, given Toronto's growth in software in the last decade.

Re: DevDegree: Work at Shopify and get a free CS degree in parallel

#126

Post by throwawayhhakdl »

swyx wrote: post #37
chrisseaton wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> now still 100's of thousands in debt Is that hyperbole, or literally your debt is that much?

not hyperbole. there were some compounding factors i didnt mention, but the bulk is quite literally college tuition. i dont need to put my screwed up financial life on display but it's the single worst decision of my life, all for imagined prestige. i'm lucky enough that i will earn my way out of it, but it is quite literally preventing me from starting any businesses right now, which is what i actually want to do. t…

While it would be nice to enjoy that benefit, I feel like that mindset is similar to that which has more or less locked cheap healthcare behind employer plans.

Re: DevDegree: Work at Shopify and get a free CS degree in parallel

#127

Post by greenie_beans »

This is cool. But very conflicting for me personally. Here I am, deciding whether to apply to the Mississippi Teacher's Corp, which would give me a free Master's degree while getting paid to teach. Probably like $35k per year. And then here is this program, which is very tempting to apply to, partly because of the salary. It should be the other way around. Teaching is so much more valuable than coding.

Re: DevDegree: Work at Shopify and get a free CS degree in parallel

#128

Post by coralreef »

disconcision wrote: post #41
vuwumu wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Tuition in Canada is around $10k-20k/year depending on school and status.

Sounds a bit high. From a brief search (computer science bsc tuition, CAD, domestic (non-quebec) student): $6500 UBC, $11000 (McGill), $12500 (UofT), $15500 (Waterloo)

$10k tuition at York U, for the CS degree mentioned in the link.

Re: DevDegree: Work at Shopify and get a free CS degree in parallel

#129

Post by [deleted] »

greenie_beans wrote: post #127

This is cool. But very conflicting for me personally. Here I am, deciding whether to apply to the Mississippi Teacher's Corp, which would give me a free Master's degree while getting paid to teach. Probably like $35k per year. And then here is this program, which is very tempting to apply to, partly because of the salary. It should be the other way around. Teaching is so much more valuable than coding.

[deleted]

Re: DevDegree: Work at Shopify and get a free CS degree in parallel

#130

Post by i_haz_rabies »

greenie_beans wrote: post #127

This is cool. But very conflicting for me personally. Here I am, deciding whether to apply to the Mississippi Teacher's Corp, which would give me a free Master's degree while getting paid to teach. Probably like $35k per year. And then here is this program, which is very tempting to apply to, partly because of the salary. It should be the other way around. Teaching is so much more valuable than coding.

As a somewhat weak rule, compensation seems to be inversely proportional to social value.
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