Question for computer science majors and grads

[mikazo]

Question for all the computer science majors and grads:

To current comp. sci. students:

Are you enrolled in a co-operative education program (work terms at a computer science-related enterprise in between school terms)? If so, are you enjoying it, and is it giving you valuable experience?

To comp. sci. grads:

If you were in a co-operative education program, did it benefit you? If not, would it have benefitted you, based on how easy/difficult it was to find a job in the computer science industry and based on what you've seen regarding employers and what they look for in the hiring process?

I live in Canada, have completed one year of undergraduate computer science, and am trying to decide if remaining in co-op is essential to finding a job in the industry after graduation. Any insights, thoughts and feedback would be greatly appreciated from anyone who is or was a computer science student. Thank you.

[imronak]

Well, I am not enrolled in a Co-op program, but Ive known people who got benefit from it.

Its certainly very helpful. Programming isnt just about coding, its about experience, which you probably might not/wont get in university. The industry work experiecne will help you a lot in sharpening your skills. And yes, it helps in getting job too. Either you can easily get a job at the place where you work, or you have that valuable experience, to go for interviews for a new job,

And, yes Co-ops pays off good too. :D

[mikazo]

I imagine a lot of companies will simply hire their co-op students once they graduate too. I know there are a lot of benefits to co-op. I wonder if there are any success stories of grads from the past few years getting hired without co-op?

[macogw]

My school doesn't offer co-op. I think my unpaid intership helped on experience points for my last few interviews. I might be switching to fulltime work, parttime school soon though, since I've been getting offers for fulltime jobs.