Hiring in waterloo??

[qwerty123]

When Bill gates came to Waterloo he said Microsoft takes most students from UW.
So my question is how many people were hired from SE and how many from CS?


THANK U ALL!

[Prabhakar Ragde]

SE targets roughly 100 students a year (typical size of an Engineering cohort, of which they have only one).

CS has been as big as 700 students a year, and admitted 450 last year.

SE and CS students compete for the same jobs, in co-op and on graduation. How good the individual is plays more of a role than what program they are in.

And many students in both programs do not want to work at Microsoft.

[qwerty123]

I was not particularly interested in Microsoft - but wanted a realistic feel of how many students get hired by the top technology companies.
So, to rephrase my question : some idea of how many students get hired in the first year co-op placement and in the final job placement, from CS and SE respectively, in the big software companies (IBM, Google, Microsoft, Oracle, SAP).

[Prabhakar Ragde]

I don't have those figures. I know that the big tech companies have a significant presence, but there are also smaller firms, plus placements in IT departments of non-tech firms, government, and university positions. Perhaps some of the current UW students on this board can estimate percentages for you. (It's the wrong time of year to actually go on JobMine and look.)

[Tony]

"top technology companies" is a subjective term. The companies you've listed are large corporations... though my personal preference is with small startup companies. The kind that Google was, while it was still running out of a garage.

I don't have the percentages for you, but I also feel like knowing that exact number wouldn't have much significant impact. Would you make different decisions if the number was different?

Some idea -- big companies don't really take first year students. Though job search gets easier with every year. Second year you might get an interview with IBM, 3rd/4th are best bets for Google/Amazon/Microsoft.

Though the main point is that such companies have certain standards that they are looking for. If you are up to par, you'll get a job. If you are not up to par, you will not. If you think that you just have to be in the top whatever% of your class for a guaranteed position, then you are in for a disappointment, there are no guarantees to anything.

[Prabhakar Ragde]

I know a couple of students whose first placement was at RIM. But they were exceptional students. Tony's observations are accurate.

I also know that the co-op people despair about the complacency of students (not surprising, we instructors do also). I was told by a senior administrator that a week after job postings were released in the winter term, 30% of first year students had not applied to a single job. God knows what they were waiting for. Maybe a personal call from Bill Gates.

[qwerty123]

ok I get it....

I also wanted to know if any of you know any reasons why would a student choose CS over SE??(except science courses)

[Prabhakar Ragde]

Flexibility in scheduling and in adding/combining/changing majors/minors/options.

Much more choice of electives.

Having different people taking different majors in your classes.

Being able to take the advanced math and CS courses, or to take regular math courses but ones designed for math students, not engineers.

Better recovery and fallback options if you run into difficulties.

[qwerty123]

Thanks so much.....your responses are very helpful in streamlining my thinking..

But could you also give your opinion on the reverse question..... i.e. why would someone choose SE over CS

[Tony]

some discussion over at http://compsci.ca/blog/the-spirit-of-software-engineering/

[Prabhakar Ragde]

SE over CS: the biggest reason is easier access to ECE courses. If you truly want to combine hardware and software, this is the way to do it. But few SE students take that route.

Some view some of the points I made above as favourable to SE. They like a program with few choices and the idea of being with the same people in all their classes.