Hi guys,
I am really excited about coming to mac but i need to ask a question to all engineering students. My question is regarding Co-op and i want to know, how hard is it actually to get jobs (including after year 1). As in is the coop at mac not good or they dont have placements.

Thanx

id say mac eng co-op is pretty good compared to other schools as they don't discriminate against what business you wish to work at for your co-op. i.e. as long as wherever you want to complete your co-op meets the requirements (minimum of 12 weeks, includes engineering specific work,etc) it will count as a co-op. where as other schools only let you pick from a specific pool of employers which can limit your opportunities. of course mac also offers oscar plus which after completion of the mac eng co-op course you can see engineering specific job postings and apply directly there online.

Originally Posted by Brandon.Brad

id say mac eng co-op is pretty good compared to other schools as they don't discriminate against what business you wish to work at for your co-op. i.e. as long as wherever you want to complete your co-op meets the requirements (minimum of 12 weeks, includes engineering specific work,etc) it will count as a co-op. where as other schools only let you pick from a specific pool of employers which can limit your opportunities. of course mac also offers oscar plus which after completion of the mac eng co-op course you can see engineering specific job postings and apply directly there online.

Thanx a ton. So it is possible to get coop even after the first year?

It's really up to you to search out co-op placements for yourself. McMaster offers some postings, but they're usually a tiny subset of what's available out there. If you find your own placement, you also save a ton of money (since you essentially did the office's job for them).

To get "co-op" on your degree, you need a minimum of 12-months of co-op (in a minimum of 4-month placements at a time).

Getting a placement before completion of your third year is quite difficult to be honest. Most employers don't want students who have no completed third year because they lack a lot of knowledge and require significant training. The majority of people who do co-op tend to do it in one 12 or 16 month stint between third and fourth year; essentially adding an extra year to their schooling.

Pay is normally pretty good though (like upwards of $20 an hour) so if you live cheaply during your co-op year, you can use your earnings to pay off all your student debt.

Hope that helps!

Originally Posted by Ownaginatios

It's really up to you to search out co-op placements for yourself. McMaster offers some postings, but they're usually a tiny subset of what's available out there. If you find your own placement, you also save a ton of money (since you essentially did the office's job for them).

To get "co-op" on your degree, you need a minimum of 12-months of co-op (in a minimum of 4-month placements at a time).

Getting a placement before completion of your third year is quite difficult to be honest. Most employers don't want students who have no completed third year because they lack a lot of knowledge and require significant training. The majority of people who do co-op tend to do it in one 12 or 16 month stint between third and fourth year; essentially adding an extra year to their schooling.

Pay is normally pretty good though (like upwards of $20 an hour) so if you live cheaply during your co-op year, you can use your earnings to pay off all your student debt.

Hope that helps!

Thanx a ton.. So if not in the first two years one can always do the 12-16 month one since by that point one know much more.
thanx a lot.

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Thanx a ton.. So if not in the first two years one can always do the 12-16 month one since by that point one know much more.
thanx a lot.

Exactly, and no problem.

slightly unrealted but is it true that mac's mechatronics is not that good?

Originally Posted by Unregistered

slightly unrealted but is it true that mac's mechatronics is not that good?

Not really that it isn't good, it's more that it's in a state of flux. The program hasn't really settled into what it wants to be yet, and because of that, there are still course adjustments on-going in the program.

Unlike Waterloo's mechatronics program for example (which focuses on the mechanical component more), McMaster's is very software oriented. Mechatronics and software engineering + embedded systems are nearly the same program after 2nd year.

So if you're interested in software engineering and like electrical and mechanics to some degree too, then mechatronics would be a good choice. If you hate programming however, I would consider a different stream if I were you.

Its not impossible to get a co-op after 2nd year or even first year. I got one after 2nd year, but you have to be persistent. I didnt get my acceptance until i had already attended my first class of summer school (got a full refund because I cancelled the course in the first week). You have to look a lot on your own, but during 3rd year, for mechatronics atleast, theres quite a few postings on oscar plus because we get to see the all of t he mechanical, electrical and software positions as well

Originally Posted by camais

Its not impossible to get a co-op after 2nd year or even first year. I got one after 2nd year, but you have to be persistent. I didnt get my acceptance until i had already attended my first class of summer school (got a full refund because I cancelled the course in the first week). You have to look a lot on your own, but during 3rd year, for mechatronics atleast, theres quite a few postings on oscar plus because we get to see the all of t he mechanical, electrical and software positions as well

how good is the mechatronics program at mac?

To answer your question about Co-op with my own experience. I came to Mac and every year I searched and searched for a co-op job. After first year, you don't see many postings at all, and really no one even reads your resume. Second year I had about 2-3 interviews but still did not get a co-op job. After third year I tried again, and since I am in a 5 year program (management addition) i didn't even get an interview after third year. This year (4th year) I got 7 interviews, and 3 job offers, of which I took one that is paying very, very nicely. So overall, its all in who you know or just getting lucky until you can take a 12-16 month. The 4 month ones are very very competitive. So it is possible to get a position, just more of a chance if you are willing to take time off between studies.