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Engineering: uOttawa vs Western

Newbie
Dec 24, 2013
36 posts

Engineering: uOttawa vs Western

Hi there, its come down to these two as my options. I plan to go into mechanical engineering if that makes a difference.

So far here's what I have:

-Western has higher overall reputation
-Ottawa's Engineering is supposedly better (Western still a reputable program)
-Western's Campus is much nicer (Arguable but I think its true)
-Ottawa has the better COOP for sure (Western still has coop)
-Western has a much better social scene
-I have five friends going to uOttawa for engineering (Yes I'll make lots of new friends but its nice to have a few going with you that you know.)
-Live in Toronto so Western is a bit closer if I need to come home for whatever reason.

Overall I dont know what to do because I feel that I would have a much better time at Western but Ottawa has the better program and coop. At the same time employers won't care too much about whether you got your degree from western or ottawa because both are good and accredited. So I'm stuck. Any advice is appreciated.
37 replies
Sr. Member
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May 10, 2015
513 posts
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Vancouver, BC
why not waterloo..? if u wanna stay in ontario that is..
Newbie
Dec 24, 2013
36 posts
Sorry I should mention, I did not make Waterloo, UofT, McMaster etc. I had an 88.2 avg so I got into Western, Ottawa, Carleton and Ryerson. I've narrowed it down to the first two.
Sr. Member
Jan 28, 2007
876 posts
68 upvotes
Carleton is a decent university too. I would take Ottawa or Carleton out of those.

Btw ryerson while being ridiculed here a lot is also not so bad, but I have no idea how their coop works or even if they have one. So at the end your choice should be the one with the coop.
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Nov 12, 2011
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jetfirex2 wrote: Carleton is a decent university too. I would take Ottawa or Carleton out of those.

Btw ryerson while being ridiculed here a lot is also not so bad, but I have no idea how their coop works or even if they have one. So at the end your choice should be the one with the coop.
+1. Ottawa is a much nicer city than London too. Lots of government coop jobs here. I graduated from Carleton and go to uottawa now.
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Sep 20, 2014
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Lol 6-8 years an 80-85 average could get you into UW and UofT.
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Nov 8, 2013
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Mecca
2009M5 wrote: Lol 6-8 years an 80-85 average could get you into UW and UofT.
Ya very true, its amazing how competitive it is now. Not to mention back then you had a much better chance at getting a job in your field.
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Oct 26, 2003
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someone tell the op there is no job in engineering
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May 10, 2011
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divx wrote: someone tell the op there is no job in engineering
There is still plenty of jobs in engineering... But gone are the days that Nortel will pay $45k plus bonus to any fresh grads out of school. Like the universities, the job market is also a lot more competitive now. However if you do well in school you should be able to land a job, especially in Ottawa.
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Nov 8, 2013
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csi123 wrote: There is still plenty of jobs in engineering... But gone are the days that Nortel will pay $45k plus bonus to any fresh grads out of school. Like the universities, the job market is also a lot more competitive now. However if you do well in school you should be able to land a job, especially in Ottawa.
Why especially in Ottawa?
Sr. Member
Jan 28, 2007
876 posts
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High school is so easy one can skip half of the classes and still come out with a 90. I have seen people graduate with 80+ overall with almost no attendance. And not all of them are the genius types either.
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Aug 10, 2015
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Ottawa is definitely the nicer city. I would put a lot of weight on the strength of the co-op program though.
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Aug 9, 2011
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GTA
Ottawa has the better reputation compared to Western. City is nicer too. Western is ....... western. Not really a nice place to stay IMHO.
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Aug 9, 2011
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LUMilkman wrote: Ya very true, its amazing how competitive it is now. Not to mention back then you had a much better chance at getting a job in your field.
and what about university enrollments, that's gone up as well so they go together due to competition. Supply & demand.
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May 10, 2011
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Ottawa
LUMilkman wrote: Why especially in Ottawa?
Because Ottawa probably has the highest concentration of engineering jobs in Canada. It is (or was) called the Silicon Village North for good reasons. There are plenty (relatively) of high tech positions in both private and public sectors.
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csi123 wrote: Because Ottawa probably has the highest concentration of engineering jobs in Canada. It is (or was) called the Silicon Village North for good reasons. There are plenty (relatively) of high tech positions in both private and public sectors.
i thought that label applied to waterloo? with all their tech startup, at least it used to be the case when RIM was the king of mobile
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Jan 3, 2009
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Tausif123 wrote: Hi there, its come down to these two as my options. I plan to go into mechanical engineering if that makes a difference.

So far here's what I have:

-Western has higher overall reputation
-Ottawa's Engineering is supposedly better (Western still a reputable program)
-Western's Campus is much nicer (Arguable but I think its true)
-Ottawa has the better COOP for sure (Western still has coop)
-Western has a much better social scene
-I have five friends going to uOttawa for engineering (Yes I'll make lots of new friends but its nice to have a few going with you that you know.)
-Live in Toronto so Western is a bit closer if I need to come home for whatever reason.

Overall I dont know what to do because I feel that I would have a much better time at Western but Ottawa has the better program and coop. At the same time employers won't care too much about whether you got your degree from western or ottawa because both are good and accredited. So I'm stuck. Any advice is appreciated.
University of Ottawa.

Having friends going into the same program and living in a new city with new friends off the bat is a huge asset. I would never trade in going to school with my five closest friends. Our group got bigger with new friends - but there was always that comfort there right off the bat. It can be stressful moving to a new city on your own - not to say that it is not doable.

Western's social scene is overrated. Ottawa still has a social scene and Montreal is right there as well.
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Nov 8, 2013
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Mecca
csi123 wrote: Because Ottawa probably has the highest concentration of engineering jobs in Canada. It is (or was) called the Silicon Village North for good reasons. There are plenty (relatively) of high tech positions in both private and public sectors.
I've never heard this before. I find it hard to believe it has more high tech jobs than Toronto or Waterloo.
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May 10, 2011
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Ottawa
divx wrote: i thought that label applied to waterloo? with all their tech startup, at least it used to be the case when RIM was the king of mobile
There are more one city that claim that title. If you are talking about number of companies, waterloo may have the edge. But if you are talking about the number, startups are no match for the established ones. Even Nortel no longer exists, most of the jobs are still around, because the companies were bought out in pieces by other companies. Just those positions along probably are more than the people employed by hundreds of startups. Plus there are plenty of other big players in town.

Ottawa also has the advantage of having most of the federal government here, and there are a lot of high tech position in that sector. Plus all the contracting companies that work exclusively on government projects.

An other major employer is the defense industry. DND itself employs a load of people, and there are again a ton of companies work directly or indirectly with them.

Anyway I am not surprise if you think otherwise, since it is always regard as a well known secret.

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