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Co-op vs Internship

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  • Feb 26th, 2006 7:14 pm
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Aug 30, 2004
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Kitchener

Co-op vs Internship

The University of Waterloo offers a co-op program
- 4 months of school, 4 months of work, repeat

McMaster University offers an internship
- after 3 years of a 4 year program, 16 months of work

Which is better? Discuss...
Rogue Chameleon
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Jr. Member
Feb 15, 2006
100 posts
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From my own experience in engineering program:

4mth co-op:
PRO - During the 5 year program, you'll work in serveral companies, or even serveral industries. You can build up more contacts and see which field you like the most. I say chances of being re-hired by one of the companies is pretty high. Of course, that's assuming you have good performance.
CON - Fromsummer job experience, I think 4 months are too short to do "real" work. You may not be able to follow through bigger project and be prepared to do small, useless, non-sense projects (the bigger the company, the worse it is). Even if the company hires you for another term, the next time you go back is 4 mth later. It's like starting from scratch all over again.

16mth internship:
PRO - Since you are staying in the company for more than 1 year, you will most likely be treated like a regular employee. The term is long enough for you to go from training, doing smaller project, to participating in major projects. You get to see deeper within the company and you will pick up more real experience.
CON - You won't build up as many contacts as the 4mth co-op programs. Chances of being re-hired is up to only one company. If you don't like what you do, the 16mths will seem like forever.

I did the 16mth internship and I would recommend that to everyone.
Jr. Member
Feb 15, 2006
100 posts
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jerryhung wrote:Waterloo

All other ones are followers ;)
I know UT has PEY (like McMaster's long internship), UGuelph has co-op as well
Thanks for the discussion and comparison.
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Aug 15, 2005
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Waterloo all the way!!

With the Co-op program, you get paid AND you have several work term experiences in different companies. With the Internship program, from what I understand... you don't get paid as much (or anything at all) and you're basically being trained for 16 months of repetitive work.

It depends on you though, I prefer the Coop program because of the variety of jobs you can get over the one 16 months internship.
Deal Addict
Apr 27, 2004
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I've found a good balance at Carleton U ... we have 2 x 4 months work term after 2nd year and then 3 x 4 months work term after 3rd year in a row .. now you can choose to work at the same place for 1 or 2 or 3 work terms .. you can do some real work and get involved further than on a 4 month work term but at the same time you get to try different companies in the next work term ... If you like it you can stay at the same place for another work term ... I've already done a 8 month work term at RIM after my second year and now working at Oracle for another 8 months after my third year .. wanna try a smaller company for my last 4 month work term this summer ...
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misskaren wrote:Waterloo all the way!!

With the Co-op program, you get paid AND you have several work term experiences in different companies. With the Internship program, from what I understand... you don't get paid as much (or anything at all) and you're basically being trained for 16 months of repetitive work.

It depends on you though, I prefer the Coop program because of the variety of jobs you can get over the one 16 months internship.
Actually you do get paid at the same rate during your internship.... approx $40K a year for an IT job.
Rogue Chameleon
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Sep 7, 2003
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UofA lets you do either 4 or 8 months. So you could do 8x2 or 4x3 or 8&4.
Jr. Member
Mar 23, 2004
129 posts
Toronto
also, i believe the last coop term at uw is usually an 8 month term.

so it's 4 4 month co-op terms, and then one 8 month term.

at least that's how it was with my program.
Member
May 28, 2005
314 posts
it should be mentioned that you could be doing grunt work for 16 months in an internship just as easily as you can in a 4 month co-op. depends how seriously the hiring companies takes you.

I would recommend co-op because of the contacts you make and the job variety. more potential job references, more exp in diff work environments and your resume would look great if you end up in a few big-name companies.

look at it in the long-term...when you're out of school. what will bring you closer to getting your ideal job?
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Jan 5, 2006
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awesome-o wrote:it should be mentioned that you could be doing grunt work for 16 months in an internship just as easily as you can in a 4 month co-op. depends how seriously the hiring companies takes you.

I would recommend co-op because of the contacts you make and the job variety. more potential job references, more exp in diff work environments and your resume would look great if you end up in a few big-name companies.

look at it in the long-term...when you're out of school. what will bring you closer to getting your ideal job?
4-month co-op all the way.

This will be the ONLY time in your life that you'll be able to switch professions and/or industries easily.

Once you start FT employment, it'll very difficult to move around without a bit of maneuvering, and you certainly can't move jobs/departments every 4 months without fostering some ill-will.

Co-op was a god-send to me as it prevented me from going into a field that I would have hated.
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Sep 30, 2003
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This really really shouldn't be a deciding factor in your school choice. Both co-op or internship will put you ahead of a "normal" program since you've gained some work experience.

There are pro's and con's of both but with any job you will naturally get out of it what you put into it.

Also keep in mind that even students in non-co-op/internship programs have at least 3 summers (of 4 months) which allows them to get experience.


few things to note (since ppl have mentioned them):
all university jobs (co-op or internship) are paid.

I think SimSV summed it up nicely.
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There is no happy ending
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Feb 5, 2005
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I think Sylvestre and Sims, is right too. I'm about to go on a 16 month internship, but regardless any experience is good. When the above posters say stuff like "you might be doing the grunt work on a 16 month internship", this is all situational... it really matters what company you work for.

Honestly another thing is, that the pay of the co-op/internship should not be a deciding factor either. Great, the money is good, but more importantly these are oppurtunities to learn stuff about yourself, and the workforce. These are also oppurtunities to screw up and make mistakes in your career...
Jr. Member
Nov 4, 2003
177 posts
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I'm in a co-op program at Waterloo so I don't have any experience with 16 month co-op terms but know of some friends at UT who are doing it.

The co-op program at Waterloo is definately worth it. With 6 work terms, you can eventually work you way to the top jobs if you don't have much experience in your field when starting uni. Whereas with a 16 months internship, you're stuck with the first job you find. I'm in 4th year now and most of my friends and I have jobs in the US which pay a lot more than those in Canada and give you better experience. All of us stated with junior-level jobs and quickly found jobs with better/bigger companies. Also, you can do quite a bit of work in 4 months. If nothing ever gets done in 4 months, why would the companies keep hiring co-op students?

Also, Waterloo attracts all the best employers (especially in computers and accounting). Microsoft, [rfdlink=/forums/autolink/redirectpage.php?linkid=17]Amazon[/rfdlink], Google, Apple, Morgan Stanley, Nvidia, ATI, and the big 4 hires dozens of students each every term.
Sr. Member
Jul 15, 2005
855 posts
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Rememebr that at McMaster, you would still have two summers to do additional work. Mac has a great summer co-op program.. which could help to combine the benefits of both co-op and the 16 month internship.

Remember that your school alone will not get you your jobs.. I have heard of employers avoiding Waterloo since the students tend to be very cocky and demanding and preferred the Engineering and Management students from McMaster.
Deal Addict
Jan 7, 2005
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FYI.

At Mac, you have option for 4month co-op, 8 month co-op, 12 month internship and 16 month internship. As long as you have more then 12 months working experience, you can graduate with a co-op degree. I am completing a 12 month Internship that'll last until end of April and start a 4 month co-op May to end of Aug.
blink wrote:I have heard of employers avoiding Waterloo since the students tend to be very cocky and demanding and preferred the Engineering and Management students from McMaster.
Very true, the Eng & Mgnt student at Mac is always in high demand. Last year, 23 people applied for internship position in my program, Comp Eng & Mgnt, 21 got one. The success rate is far above any non-management programs.
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Dec 10, 2004
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This topic has been discussed very thoroughly, you might want to do a search.

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