Transferring to University of Montreal and I have some questions.

[TheZax]

I'm currently studying computer engineering at Concordia University in their coop program, I did 1,5 years. Right now, I'm working at first internship.

After doing some CS course and some from electrical engineering, I have decided that CS is a better fit for me. So I decided to apply for winter admission to the joint CS/Math major program at University of Montreal (or Universite de Montreal). I would've liked to apply to McGill as well but their program is closed for transfer students who wish to apply for January admission. I also don't want to stay at Concordia for various reasons.

UdeM is a really good school academically but my main concern is it's image and reputation in the tech industry. I was wondering if you guys could shed some light on that issue. How well is the school known in the field and will the fact that it's french affect me negatively on trying to land jobs in the rest of Canada? Do big tech companies (Microsoft, Google, Amazon ect...) recruit from them? I've been to CUSEC last years and haven't seen a lot of students from UdeM, but I got to talk to some from Ecole Polytechnique de Montreal.

[Tony]

University de Montreal is certainly one of the leading research Universities in Canada -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U15_(universities)

TheZax @ Sun Sep 30, 2012 8:09 pm wrote:

Do big tech companies (Microsoft, Google, Amazon ect...) recruit from them?

Unless it's U Toronto or U Waterloo, the answer (from what I hear) is no. Although that just means that you'd have to apply directly instead of a through-school posting, and do a phone interview instead of in-person.

[TheZax]

Tony @ Sun Sep 30, 2012 9:36 pm wrote:

University de Montreal is certainly one of the leading research Universities in Canada -- http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/U15_(universities)

TheZax @ Sun Sep 30, 2012 8:09 pm wrote:

Do big tech companies (Microsoft, Google, Amazon ect...) recruit from them?

Unless it's U Toronto or U Waterloo, the answer (from what I hear) is no. Although that just means that you'd have to apply directly instead of a through-school posting, and do a phone interview instead of in-person.

I didn't know about the U15, thanks for that. My main concern though is being able to land a job outside Quebec, I really want to see the rest of the country and getting a job in other provinces would help. A lot of you guys are from outside Quebec, I would really appreciate some insight on how the university is viewed or how well it's known in the technology field outside the province.

[2goto1]

For hiring in general I don't think that it's a concern at all for employers outside of la belle province. As long as you have good communication skills, as English is the lingua franca in the rest of the provinces.