How To Get An IT Job In Canada: College Stories 6/6

Summary

The article details the author's final semester in college, juggling three part-time jobs, full-time studies, and the lessons learned from this experience.

Abstract

In the concluding installment of the series "How To Get An IT Job In Canada: College Stories," the author reflects on the demanding final semester of college. Balancing three part-time jobs and a full course load, the author describes the challenges and growth experienced during this period. Key courses included Enterprise Application Programming, Software Development Project, and Programming Language Research, with the author choosing to explore Swift for iOS development. The article highlights the importance of team projects, real-world applications of skills learned, and the satisfaction of completing a significant project with client approval. The author also shares their routine, managing work at SLiDE and Nokia, tutoring in Python, and dedicating time to study. The culmination of these efforts led to graduation, with the author celebrating the milestone while employed at Cisco. The piece concludes with advice on preparing for full-time job interviews, emphasizing the need for a strong grasp of OOP concepts, data structures, algorithms, and system design, as well as understanding the desired talent and company culture.

Opinions

The author feels a sense of accomplishment and confidence from the co-op experiences, which enhanced their understanding of class material.
There is a shared excitement among the author and their peers about their co-op experiences and the part-time job offers they received.
The author expresses that the Enterprise Application Programming course was demanding but rewarding, particularly the team projects.
Leading a team in the Software Development Project was seen as valuable leadership practice, and the author was proud of their team's success.
The author chose to learn Swift for iOS development, indicating a personal interest and a proactive approach to learning.
The author values the balance between work and study, arranging their schedule to accommodate both effectively.
The final team assignment in Enterprise Application Programming was considered interesting and engaging, showcasing the author's dedication to their studies.
The author appreciates the support of friends and classmates during the graduation ceremony and acknowledges the importance of networking and relationships.
The author advises readers to prepare thoroughly for full-time job interviews, highlighting the difference in difficulty compared to co-op interviews.

How To Get An IT Job In Canada: College Stories 6/6 — Last Semester, Graduation

At last, we are here for the last semester. It was the busiest time I’ve ever been at college with three part-time jobs and full-time study and I am glad that I was able to manage all the schedules neatly. Let’s check out what I’d learned.

First feeling of this comeback was something different in a good way as I got some hands-on co-op experiences. I felt more confident and got better understanding of what I’m learning in classes. And my friends and I were excited to share our co-op experiences from different places and most of them got also part-time offer. So everyone got busy like me.

As you can see, there are five courses left to graduation and one of them is actually General Elective so basically, I’d count as four. Here are important courses I picked.

Enterprise Application Programming (+ Lab) Of course, Java again! You can judge by the name of the course, it’s about enterprise scale in Java with JSP, JSF, Maven, Hibernate, Networking, Web Security, and so on. That’s quite a lot to digest within four months so it will definitely make you keep busy. Plus, there will be some team projects as well.

Software Development Project Interesting subject. Six people as a team will work on a real project from the school, companies, and organizations. What we got was finishing up a Django web application project from last team. I’d say it was 60% completed and the challenge was that we were continuing this project without enough documents— you know, sometimes, starting from scratch is easier than from the middle. I was selected as the leader by majority. It was actually pretty good practice leading the team. Plus, my team members were smart and passionate. So our team aced the project with great client’s satisfaction.

Programming Language Research You will be asked to pick any language that you ever want to learn other than Java, and work on a small project weekly. Many of classmates chose Python which is easy to pick up from Java but I had already worked on some small projects and taught children with Python every weekend so I decided to go with Swift for iOS development.

My routine was like this. One of part-times, SLiDE was on campus and my manager was pretty easy on working place and hours so I usually worked before or after my classes. For Nokia, I commuted to Kanata office two days per week. On Saturday, I tutored students in Python. Rest of time was mostly for the study.

There was a final team assignment of implementing an API REST in Enterprise Application Programming. I found that this is quite interesting and remember that my team and I were working hard on it all day on weekend in the end of April.

Finally, graduation!

The convocation was taking place in the morning in June. At that time, I was working at Cisco so I took a half day off for the ceremony. Not all classmates made it but it was good to see them again and talk about how things are going after the last semester. Thanks my friends who came for my ceremony!

Last tip?

To be honest, you probably have your own tips while you went through this long journey regarding study side. What I would like to suggest for you is that once the semester starts, you might want to prepare for full-time interview seriously if you are aiming to go other companies, e.g. wanting bigger companies, switching to other position, or no full-time available at your previous/current co-op company. Because it will be way harder than co-op interview and most of developer positions require a deep understanding of OOP concept, data structures, algorithms, system designs, etc. Aside from that, you want to check about what kind of talent they look for and company culture they pursue.

Alright, I am closing this college series. Hope you enjoyed my series and I will come back with a new story. Thank you!