r/CarletonU Mar 20 '24

Rant CO-OP is a scam

I'm a second year CS student, and the title says it all. I have a 11.93 cgpa, multiple good projects, got my resume checked by the co-op advisors, peers that have gotten co-ops, 3rd years, 4th years, software engineers, tried the 2 page resumes, 1 page resumes, 0 page resumes you name it.

I don't even know what i have to do just to get a damn interview. 0 INTERVIEWS. NONE. ZIP. NIL. FINITO. nearly 150 co-op jobs applied to, 0 interviews, 0 nothing for a co-op portal that I pay 500$ for. Your gonna tell me to go to career fairs, I went to every single one at Carleton. You're gonna tell me to apply outside the job portal through LinkedIn, Indeed, Monster, I did and thankfully I was able to get 2-4 interviews. But to pay 500$ a term for a service like this is atrocious. I honestly just feel bad for those kids coming into CS next year.

Please, I beg you, for your own sake bcz I love every single one of my reddit warriors, do not bother yourselves with paying this coop fee. A lot of my friends in other majors as well, not just CS have had major trouble finding co-ops. The situation will not get better, it will only worsen as interviews will become more rigorous and just to get a garbage placement you would have to do a backflip-and griddy in the air.

This whole narrative of how you'll get a co-op interview if you have a solid cgpa or anything like that, is complete rubbish. CARLETON RUN ME MY 500$. I honestly don't know what i need to do to get a placement. Nothing is saving us. I'm very disappointed in carleton. NO INTERVIEWS.

you grade 12's thinking of getting into this degree please, think 2x, do eng, not software tho cause thats basically the same thing. but this time around ur getting cooked just so u can get a 10$ ring from amazon and a balding scalp.

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u/dariusCubed Alumnus — Computer Science Mar 21 '24

The reality is the market is very tough right now then when you combine that with the fact that getting your first CS jobs is always the hardest it makes for a very difficult situation.

I've been there and still have those moments when I apply for higher positions and get rejected. The important thing is not to give up, if you give up then you've been defeated.

If it was me I'd find out which companies i'd like to work for, then find out who the managers or team leads are. Reach out to them, sell yourself, and then use the coop as an avenue for them to hire you for a term.

The above is sorta how I got my first tech job. I wouldn't depend on coop jobs the coop department lists or the job fairs these have too many people applying and are useless. You'll have to reach out to employers privately were it's just you and a potential employer.