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Are you at a disadvantage by not being in co-op? Yes, definitely. Get in co-op. Seriously, it's really hard to overstate how valuable this is. However, a lot o

by axiom 19y ago

Are you at a disadvantage by not being in co-op? Yes, definitely. Get in co-op. Seriously, it's really hard to overstate how valuable this is. However, a lot of companies that post jobs at UW also post them online. RIM for example hires hundreds of students from UW every term and their entire application process is online so you're probably not at a disadvantage there. Microsoft has their recruiting sessions here every few days it seems, so just attend one of those and hand out your resume. Now that Google has a branch in town just attend one of their sessions too. If you're specifically looking to work for a startup, your best bet is to look up companies in the Accelerator Center (north campus, in the Research and Technology park.) There are about 15 startups there now. Terrapath and SuitedMedia are on a hiring binge, so just walk in there and talk to the president, you'll probably have a job on the spot. Don't be afraid, the guys there are all only a few years older than you, so don't feel intimidated at the prospect of just coming in and talking to the boss :)

paulgb 19y ago
Thanks a lot for the response, I've asked a few people the same question but from an employer the response has a lot more weight. I likely will apply for co-op when the next opportunity comes around. Since you made it sound easy to get a job with some of the smaller/younger startups, I guess the benefit of coop is that the larger companies (RIM/MS/Google/etc.) will take me more seriously? My thinking was that if I choose not to reapply, I would leave my summers open if I felt like working on an open source project, or if I had an opportunity to do research, or get involved with a student start-up, or if I wanted to go home for a few months. I still have to wait a while before I can even apply to transfer, so I will see how things go before making my decision.

by axiom 19y ago

paulgb 19y ago

Thanks a lot for the response, I've asked a few people the same question but from an employer the response has a lot more weight. I likely will apply for co-op when the next opportunity comes around. Since you made it sound easy to get a job with some of the smaller/younger startups, I guess the benefit of coop is that the larger companies (RIM/MS/Google/etc.) will take me more seriously? My thinking was that if I choose not to reapply, I would leave my summers open if I felt like working on an open source project, or if I had an opportunity to do research, or get involved with a student start-up, or if I wanted to go home for a few months. I still have to wait a while before I can even apply to transfer, so I will see how things go before making my decision.