----------------------------------- Nathan4102 Wed Apr 17, 2013 7:39 pm Co-op at UW CS ----------------------------------- I'm planning on doing Co-op at UW in CS in a couple years, and I'm wondering roughly how much you make over 5 years or per year compared to tuition and other fees. Does it pay off tuition and fees? Do you make money? Or does it not even come close? Thanks Nathan ----------------------------------- crossley7 Wed Apr 17, 2013 7:42 pm RE:Co-op at UW CS ----------------------------------- If you do some looking around on the UW site it should give you a number but likely will be in the range of 40-80k so if you play it right you can make money or at least come out without any debt ----------------------------------- Tony Wed Apr 17, 2013 8:09 pm RE:Co-op at UW CS ----------------------------------- The variance is pretty big. It ranges from "below minimum wage" (one still pockets minimum wage, but due to subsidies the employer is not footing the complete bill) to "intern at facebook" (which nets as much as a seasoned full-time developer at many companies). Most students would start out in the low half of the spectrum and work their way up as they get experience. Top students move through the ranks faster. While you might still need to hold a student loan for the first 2 years, top students easily graduate with profit at the end. Do take note of that whole "top students" part. No one is given a job at Facebook / Google / Amazon / Microsoft. You must compete against everyone else in the world who want the same positions. ----------------------------------- Nathan4102 Wed Apr 17, 2013 9:16 pm RE:Co-op at UW CS ----------------------------------- Thanks for the info crossley and tony, I guess uni won't be that hard to pay off! :D ----------------------------------- andrew. Thu Apr 18, 2013 9:55 am RE:Co-op at UW CS ----------------------------------- I'm currently in third year ECE at UW. We make enough each coop term to cover most tuition + living costs. It varies from program to program though. Here's the salary information: https://uwaterloo.ca/co-operative-education/why-co-op/co-op-earnings ----------------------------------- Nathan4102 Thu Apr 18, 2013 3:56 pm RE:Co-op at UW CS ----------------------------------- Great, thanks for the link! Do you suggest living on campus, in an apartment in the city, or staying at home and driving every day(30 min each way)? ----------------------------------- Tony Thu Apr 18, 2013 4:24 pm RE:Co-op at UW CS ----------------------------------- on campus first year for the benefit of a social life. Then anywhere that is easily accessible by walk/bus. ----------------------------------- andrew. Thu Apr 18, 2013 8:33 pm RE:Co-op at UW CS ----------------------------------- For first year, stay in res. I'd recommend finding some friends to live with for second year and later. As for an "apartment in the city," there's not much around the school that isn't student housing (crowded, usually cheap but dirty). I live in a residential apartment near Conestoga Mall. It's a nice apartment because the other tenants are also mature and not annoying, but it's a lot more expensive and way farther (you have to drive or take the bus from the mall). ----------------------------------- Nathan4102 Thu Apr 18, 2013 8:51 pm RE:Co-op at UW CS ----------------------------------- Thanks guys. I've actually got two friends who are going to the waterloo area for post secondary(WL and Trios)!so I might get an apartment with them somewhere in waterloo... You're suggesting I do res first year to find friends to bunk with 2nd year, correct? If that's the case, then I might just skip that and get a place with these guys, "cheap and dirty" sounds fine to me! ;) ----------------------------------- andrew. Thu Apr 18, 2013 9:07 pm RE:Co-op at UW CS ----------------------------------- I wouldn't skip the res part. All of my friends that did that regret it now. Living in residence allows you to meet a crap ton of people that might not be in your program. It'll help you down the road. ----------------------------------- Tony Thu Apr 18, 2013 9:54 pm RE:Co-op at UW CS ----------------------------------- right, there's a lot of value in knowing a diverse group of people at your University, not just 2 friends that you already have somewhere in the city. ----------------------------------- Nathan4102 Thu Apr 18, 2013 10:33 pm RE:Co-op at UW CS ----------------------------------- Alright, thanks for the tips guys. I'll probably donres for a year, and then get an apartment in the city after that.