➪ How it Works:

Choosing your Co-op sequence:

Choosing a sequence depends entirely on you. I didn’t have any idea what the heck I was doing while choosing co-op sequences before starting school. I literally only went for sequence 1 because I liked how it alternated between work and study terms. In retrospect, however, it feels like quite a sound decision. You guys might feel differently, but as my finals in 1b came rolling in, I essentially had 0 motivation to study, or even put in the effort to pass the term (I did, btw, but that’s besides the point). Add the stress of co-op into the mix, and you’ll find yourself counting down the days to the end of term.

I did know a lot of people who went for sequence 3 or 4, because they wanted the summer after 1B off, or simply wanted more experience/study terms before they started applying for jobs. No judgement there, that's totally up to you. In my case, I was really eager to find out how I would fare in the 'real' world, so I opted for sequence 2. Plus, it also gave me the motivation to start working on some side projects. In all its entirety, opt for the sequence that you feel comfortable in. Switching a sequence is possible, but it might be difficult once you've chosen one, since you have to find someone who wants to switch into your sequence.

The Process:

Co-op will be stressful. Let's just get that out of the way first. It might (and I’ve been given numerous assurances that it will) get better in your upper years, but the 1st time around, its pretty stressful. That’s because this is the first time that most of you are applying for jobs pertaining to your major. I mean, sure, we’ve all had ‘tutoring’ and ‘babysitting’ on our resumes as previous positions that we’ve held, but this time, applying to jobs will be different. Your employer will be looking at your skills with regards to your major. As far as the process in concerned, I’ll try to explain it in as much detail as I can.

You start off your term, and you’ll be enrolled in a PD course. That’s professional development, for short.

This PD course, is unanimously, a huge pain in the ass (no offence to CECA).

The prime purpose of this online course is to get you newbies to make a resume, read a bunch of articles (or just skim through) on how to apply for jobs, how CECA works, how ranking works (you can find explanations for all these terminologies in the co-op submenu) etc. The course is quite a bore, in all honesty, but you have to pass it to get a credit. No, it doesn’t count towards your gpa. It comprises of a bunch of quizzes, and a resume submission.

Now about that resume submission. The resume that you submit to the PD course might be quite different from the resume that you upload on Jobmine. That’s because the resume that your employer is interested in will be quite concise. The one that this course demands will have stuff like ‘interests and hobbies’; details that are deemed completely unnecessary by upper year CS students.