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CO-OP or internship after graduation

rmjkdd
edited July 2014 in General
Hi folks!
I am a cs major, finishing up my junior year. I have this dialemma between co-ops and internships and I want advices from you guys, especially from engineering majors.
Ideally I do not want to apply for a co-op terms, instead finish up quickly and get a job or an internship. The main reason for that is because I am an international student and co-op employments do not benefit me when it comes to immigration process. Work experience ONLY after I graduation counts. I'd like to get in the line while software developers are still in the "needed professionals" catagory.
Because of that I didn't do co-op and have been taking 4 courses each semester. I'm expecting to graduate in two more semester at current pace. Some of my friends, however, told me it's very tough to get a job after graduation without experience, which didn't surprise me. But they also said I won't be eligible for most internships as I will not be a student by that time. THIS is bugging me a lot.
Does being graduated really reduce my chances or eligibility of getting internship? If it does, do I have a practical chance of getting some sort of work after graduation? I would rather do some co-ops than being unemployed for months.
Every advice is appreciated :D

Comments

  • ryan
    You are in a bit of a tight spot.

    Yes I would say companies will be far less likely to hire you as an intern if you are not in school. Part of it is the government actually subsidizes coop student wages, something they wouldn't do for someone not in school. As well many companies, especially those with larger internship programs, specifically target students and will often not accept applications for non students. Period.

    On the flip side I think it is likely too late for you to start coop. In general they want students to complete at least 3 coop terms. At the end of the day this is not a hard requirement, but it is their goal. Because of this they generally block students with more than a certain number of credits from joining coop. The cutoff for too late is 90 credits. If you have 90 credits or more you need special permission to do coop, and they are unlikely to admit you. Part of why the number is 90 is that it generally takes 2 terms from when you start until you will have a placement, by which time many students with 90 credits will have completed their degree requirements.

    I think what you are going to have to focus on is getting a really good resume together, finishing school, and then apply for an entry level job somewhere. If you are good, have some experience (tech related work or otherwise) and/or a good portfolio of work it will not be impossible to get a job. It's just you will be competing with many people who have somewhere between 1-2 years experience from internships including interview experience and a rather refined resume.

    So I guess in your last year try to work on some cool projects that you can include in applications. As well try and take advantage of some of the career services SFU offers to try to get a good resume together before you graduate.
  • rmjkdd
    @ryan,
    Thanks for your advice! :D
    I am, actually, already in the co-op program. I finished some of the prep workshops for it, but was still hesitating.
    Right now I have close to 90 credits and after this summer semester it will exceed 90 units threshold. I guess that's why they let me in without much hassle.

    I'm an average cs guy, I do alright on courses, I like programming, am not bad at it, but nothing exceptional under my belt neither. So I guess I should try to do several co-op terms. From my own assessment with information you provided, I think I will have huge risk of being unemployed for some time if I join the job market without professional experience. Thanks for the help, I'm more clear about it now.

  • ryan
    If you are already enrolled in coop then you are in much better shape! Even one good coop term could prove to be very valuable. Many companies will offer successful coop students full time positions once they are done their degrees if they are close to graduating. So extending your degree by even just one term so you can do a coop placement could lead directly to a full time position, or at the very least valuable experience and money as well.

    Good luck!

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