University Reputation vs. Job Experience

[dedakia]

Hey everyone,

I am in grade 12 in Canada and will be applying to universities soon and am conflicted between which engineering program to go to. I'm trying to decide between the University of Toronto and the University of Waterloo. It seems that UfT has a better world-wide reputation as it has the 8th best engineering program in the world, but Waterloo has a co-op program where you are able to do internships at 4 -5 different companies while studying there.To be fair, UfT does offer an internship, but it is only 1 internship that lasts for 12-16 months straight at one company.

My question is, what is more important when you are being hired for a job, the reputation of the university from where you got your degree, or the experience that you have gained through working with different companies?

 

[fss]

My question is, what is more important when you are being hired for a job, the reputation of the university from where you got your degree, or the experience that you have gained through working with different companies?

Experience as shown through references / letters of recommendations. I've had plenty of resumes come to me that listed work experience only to find out that they didn't actually do a good job upon checking their references.

College reputation doesn't really mean anything, especially past your first "real" job.

 

[Choppy]

I agree.

Between U of T and Waterloo there won't be much of a difference to employers - both are well-established engineering programs.

Co-op work experience is a great asset - not only does it fill out your resume, but it allows you to explore different possible career tracks so you can make more informed decisions later on. Of course, the disadvantage is that you spend more time in school, whereas the non-co-op track students are out into the work force a year earlier making full time wages rather than co-op student wages.