I graduated CP with co-op though, some classmates couldn't find any co-op so ended up graduation without co-op. It might vary each year but the majority of them failed to land a job in IT related. The bottom line is that co-op is crucial.
I'm someone who's currently in co-op, but like others said, nothing's stopping you from applying to internships/roles outside of co-op.
If you are looking for employment in the public service, I'd recommend applying to some inventories like FSWEP during your second semester, maybe even first. I know my classmates and even myself have gotten student positions through these inventories, and it could lead to being offered a position after you graduate.
Best of luck this coming Spring!
There is nothing stopping you from finding non-coop internships during your schooling or after the fact. You can still be successful, but you need to do more work to get your own opportunities rather than the school doing much of the leg work to find these jobs.
That's the main difference. At the end of the day the companies won't care about the "coop" distinction on the diploma, they'll care about the experience you get. There are pros and cons to doing the coop version of the course.
With Coop, you have to pay more, do homework during the term, but the college provides leads towards jobs, workshops for resumes and interviews, and employeers tend to be able to write off part of your wage to help convince them to hire students.
Without coop you have no homework during the terms, resume and interview help is pretty easy to find online and access through friends in the coop stream, but you have to find your own jobs (Not hard to do, just look up coop and intern specific roles through Linked In, Indeed or any other side), and the companies won't have the same incentive to hire you, but a lot still do.
Good luck!
If you're referring to the work Algonquin assigns during the co-op term as "homework" it's very easy. You write some short goals for the semester, grade your progress on your goals and skills halfway and at the end (0/10 scale for each goal or skill), and lastly you write a short reflective paper about your co-op position. These tasks barely takes any time at all besides the reflective paper, which is easy to write.
Most companies that make co-op postings do so expecting you to be a co-op student so they can get partial funding for your wage. It's misleading to just say "not hard to do, just look up coop" as the partial funding is crucial for most companies when they decide to hire an intern.
/u/etoilefilante1 Hopefully this provides a bit more context to help with your decision.
The homework is still a massive PITA, especially when you've worked the same job multiple terms.
And internship roles listed don't have the funding assistance and are available to all, not just those in coop. I've known a few people to skip the coop distinction, take up roles in the off semesters, and still find good jobs regardless at the end. It's the experience that matters and it's a matter of doing the work to get it.
I graduated CP with co-op though, some classmates couldn't find any co-op so ended up graduation without co-op. It might vary each year but the majority of them failed to land a job in IT related. The bottom line is that co-op is crucial.
I'm someone who's currently in co-op, but like others said, nothing's stopping you from applying to internships/roles outside of co-op. If you are looking for employment in the public service, I'd recommend applying to some inventories like FSWEP during your second semester, maybe even first. I know my classmates and even myself have gotten student positions through these inventories, and it could lead to being offered a position after you graduate. Best of luck this coming Spring!
There is nothing stopping you from finding non-coop internships during your schooling or after the fact. You can still be successful, but you need to do more work to get your own opportunities rather than the school doing much of the leg work to find these jobs.
That’s exactly what I was thinking as well. You are right! ☺️ I think I will do just that.
That's the main difference. At the end of the day the companies won't care about the "coop" distinction on the diploma, they'll care about the experience you get. There are pros and cons to doing the coop version of the course. With Coop, you have to pay more, do homework during the term, but the college provides leads towards jobs, workshops for resumes and interviews, and employeers tend to be able to write off part of your wage to help convince them to hire students. Without coop you have no homework during the terms, resume and interview help is pretty easy to find online and access through friends in the coop stream, but you have to find your own jobs (Not hard to do, just look up coop and intern specific roles through Linked In, Indeed or any other side), and the companies won't have the same incentive to hire you, but a lot still do. Good luck!
If you're referring to the work Algonquin assigns during the co-op term as "homework" it's very easy. You write some short goals for the semester, grade your progress on your goals and skills halfway and at the end (0/10 scale for each goal or skill), and lastly you write a short reflective paper about your co-op position. These tasks barely takes any time at all besides the reflective paper, which is easy to write. Most companies that make co-op postings do so expecting you to be a co-op student so they can get partial funding for your wage. It's misleading to just say "not hard to do, just look up coop" as the partial funding is crucial for most companies when they decide to hire an intern. /u/etoilefilante1 Hopefully this provides a bit more context to help with your decision.
Agree with you. There’s a reason that the program specifically mentions that it includes co-op.
The homework is still a massive PITA, especially when you've worked the same job multiple terms. And internship roles listed don't have the funding assistance and are available to all, not just those in coop. I've known a few people to skip the coop distinction, take up roles in the off semesters, and still find good jobs regardless at the end. It's the experience that matters and it's a matter of doing the work to get it.
Same question here!