OT: University/College Questions Part V

[waffledave]

If ever you're interested, apparently, Ubisoft will be looking for a bunch of programmers, starting this winter, to work in their new Québec city offices.

Ubisoft would be a great place! Thing is, moving is not impossible for me but it does also depend on my wife.

 

[waffledave]

I really hope for you, I've been searching since march and not a single interview yet.

I have a masters degree in industrial relations with a GPA of 3,9 and I'm younger than the norm to get this degree (I'm 26, done at 25).

Good luck mate!

Ah man, that's rough. Best of luck to you! I'm in Computer Science, but older than average (31). But I also have a business degree and a fair big of professional experience, just not as a programmer.

 

[atrud66]

If you're interviewing for a coding position, your GPA doesn't really matter. Even your degree doesn't really matter. What's important is the projects you've worked on and how you perform in technical interviews. Good luck!

 

[Mathletic]

Ubisoft would be a great place! Thing is, moving is not impossible for me but it does also depend on my wife.

Also, if ever doing a masters is in play. With your GPA I think you're in good position to land a scholarship from either the NSERC or FRQSC. Pending on the one you can land, you get a 20k scholarship (some more) free of taxes. So if you land a couple of jobs at school + work in the summer you're looking at interesting money + you get a better resume in 2 years down the road with your masters. You'd kind of have to hurry though as deadlines are approaching quickly.

 

[waffledave]

If you're interviewing for a coding position, your GPA doesn't really matter. Even your degree doesn't really matter. What's important is the projects you've worked on and how you perform in technical interviews. Good luck!

Well, I would say GPA does come in to play in some cases. Morgan Stanley, for example, recruits purely based on academics (though if you get into their program, which is several months long, you still need to pass the program and technical interviews to get a full time offer). The place I interviewed at today took me immediately due to my GPA, though the interview itself focused on my projects and the technical questions.

I was a manager in banking and finance and when I was hiring, faced with 500 resumes, you got to weed them out somehow. I interview people I found interesting but usually a solid GPA more or less guaranteed I would interview them.

Also, if ever doing a masters is in play. With your GPA I think you're in good position to land a scholarship from either the NSERC or FRQSC. Pending on the one you can land, you get a 20k scholarship (some more) free of taxes. So if you land a couple of jobs at school + work in the summer you're looking at interesting money + you get a better resume in 2 years down the road with your masters. You'd kind of have to hurry though as deadlines are approaching quickly.

Thanks for letting me know. I am still undecided about a masters... I would like to do it but already being out of work for 2 years has been rough and my wife and I kind of want to settle down and start planning out family. I need a bit of stability.

 

[atrud66]

Well, I would say GPA does come in to play in some cases. Morgan Stanley, for example, recruits purely based on academics (though if you get into their program, which is several months long, you still need to pass the program and technical interviews to get a full time offer). The place I interviewed at today took me immediately due to my GPA, though the interview itself focused on my projects and the technical questions.

Might be that way for coding positions in finance but in tech, they often don't even ask for your GPA. The school you go to might land you an interview but it's mostly previous internships, jobs, and projects (GitHub page) that get you an interview. I just had an on-site final interview with Microsoft this past weekend and got my initial interview because they had preliminary interviews at my school. The resumé I gave didn't even have my GPA

 

[waffledave]

Might be that way for coding positions in finance but in tech, they often don't even ask for your GPA. The school you go to might land you an interview but it's mostly previous internships, jobs, and projects (GitHub page) that get you an interview. I just had an on-site final interview with Microsoft this past weekend and got my initial interview because they had preliminary interviews at my school. The resumé I gave didn't even have my GPA

Well, like I said, it does definitely help. I got an interview with Microsoft as well and had zip on my resume in terms of projects at the time. They straight up told me it was based on my academics.

 

[LyricalLyricist]

I really hope for you, I've been searching since march and not a single interview yet.

I have a masters degree in industrial relations with a GPA of 3,9 and I'm younger than the norm to get this degree (I'm 26, done at 25).

Good luck mate!

What are you applying to? Do you have experience?

 

[The Price is Right]

Hey guys I am graduating in Political Science in December. Wondering if anyone has any idea of poli sci internships in Montreal? Thanks

 

[covfefe]

Any CFA candidates or charterholders in here? I am starting to gear up for Level II this summer, the work/life balance is starting to rebalance to...just work. Hopefully it pays off in the long run though

edit: to Price above - are you at McGill? I graduated from McGill with a Poli Sci and Economics degree a few years back, did some placements through McGill CAPS at the UN in NYC and then decided to switch to finance. Highly recommend looking into your school's programmatic offerings, pick the brains of a prof you are close with, ask TA's, etc. I hated the sort of grovelling aspect of networking in university but 3 years down the road realize how effective just asking people for help/connections can be

 

[waffledave]

I was offered a job but had to turn it down because they wanted me to start right away, which means I wouldn't be able to finish my degree... at least not anytime soon. It was a good, career building job at a big company but I have 1 more semester left... If they wanted me now hopefully they'll want me later.

 

[Fazkovsky]

Got declined to jmsb I didn't apply as a mature student but rather as a transfer student . I sent them a mail and he told me I am rather a transfer student . I studied in French before in cégep and uni and my gpa was very low

Either I should have applied as a mature student or taken some classes to up my gpa but I'm not a fan of wasting a year or so

 

[lo striver]

I was offered a job but had to turn it down because they wanted me to start right away, which means I wouldn't be able to finish my degree... at least not anytime soon. It was a good, career building job at a big company but I have 1 more semester left... If they wanted me now hopefully they'll want me later.

you probably could have gone part time taking 1-2 course per term to complete the program. big companies do give you time to study / go to courses and pay for them. that's what I did.

 

[waffledave]

you probably could have gone part time taking 1-2 course per term to complete the program. big companies do give you time to study / go to courses and pay for them. that's what I did.

Yes I could have, but I'm in my 30's and we are waiting for me to finish school before having kids, so I kind of want to get this done soon.

 

[LyricalLyricist]

Hey guys I am graduating in Political Science in December. Wondering if anyone has any idea of poli sci internships in Montreal? Thanks

Look at CAPS if you're in Concordia. McGill might have same thing.

 

[lo striver]

Yes I could have, but I'm in my 30's and we are waiting for me to finish school before having kids, so I kind of want to get this done soon.

I was in my 30s and already had 2 kids at the time. Needed money to support them. Worked out really well for me.

 

[waffledave]

I was in my 30s and already had 2 kids at the time. Needed money to support them. Worked out really well for me.

Different circumstances. I don't have the kids but want them... Just not willing to do that without more stability.

 

[HabsTown]

What are you applying to? Do you have experience?

Forgot I wrote in that thread haha.

Sadly, I only have a 4 months internship (at the end of my bachelor) as experience in the field.

Then, I went directly into my Masters and here I am today!

Initially, I wanted to focus on organizational development and/or formation but now, I look for pretty much everything HR related (labour relations, HR generalist, health and safety at work)

The hardest part is to land your 1st job. As I see, there is so many job offers (as much as director) asking for only 5 years of experience. If I could start now, I would be able to become a director before 30 yo, which is awesome.

 

[waffledave]

I went from being stressed about finding a job to now being stressed about taking the right job. I have been getting a lot of interviews and potential offers lately from companies that are looking to hire me in advance for when I graduate next year. Good companies too, some big firms and some growing startups with strong reputations.

I am happy and feeling good but I went from feeling anxiety to not being able to get hired to feeling anxiety of taking the wrong job.

On one end, the security of having a job already locked up for when I'm done school is great, but at the same time, committing before I have a chance to explore the market further is stressing me out.

I suppose there is no negative in accepting a strong, solid offer in my salary range and oriented with my career goals and staying there for a year or so to leverage into something better down the line. I just wonder what exactly is an appropriate offer for me and whether I am better off holding out closer to my graduation or not.

I don't want to accept something now and then turn around and back out later on if something better comes along. I feel that would burn some bridges.

 

[QuebecPride]

I went from being stressed about finding a job to now being stressed about taking the right job. I have been getting a lot of interviews and potential offers lately from companies that are looking to hire me in advance for when I graduate next year. Good companies too, some big firms and some growing startups with strong reputations.

I am happy and feeling good but I went from feeling anxiety to not being able to get hired to feeling anxiety of taking the wrong job.

On one end, the security of having a job already locked up for when I'm done school is great, but at the same time, committing before I have a chance to explore the market further is stressing me out.

I suppose there is no negative in accepting a strong, solid offer in my salary range and oriented with my career goals and staying there for a year or so to leverage into something better down the line. I just wonder what exactly is an appropriate offer for me and whether I am better off holding out closer to my graduation or not.

I don't want to accept something now and then turn around and back out later on if something better comes along. I feel that would burn some bridges.

It's really tough to know what terms are good or not. What I hate the most is that we're somewhat alone in the process.

But I think it's a great idea not to overcommit if you're not sure yet.

 

[ltpato]

I went from being stressed about finding a job to now being stressed about taking the right job. I have been getting a lot of interviews and potential offers lately from companies that are looking to hire me in advance for when I graduate next year. Good companies too, some big firms and some growing startups with strong reputations.

I am happy and feeling good but I went from feeling anxiety to not being able to get hired to feeling anxiety of taking the wrong job.

On one end, the security of having a job already locked up for when I'm done school is great, but at the same time, committing before I have a chance to explore the market further is stressing me out.

I suppose there is no negative in accepting a strong, solid offer in my salary range and oriented with my career goals and staying there for a year or so to leverage into something better down the line. I just wonder what exactly is an appropriate offer for me and whether I am better off holding out closer to my graduation or not.

I don't want to accept something now and then turn around and back out later on if something better comes along. I feel that would burn some bridges.

I just had one last question for you, I remember you talking about working in the banking industry, was your business degree any useful? How was the job you were doing there? Was it hard or moderate? Did you get in the job knowing 100% what you had to do or did you learn as you?

 

[waffledave]

I just had one last question for you, I remember you talking about working in the banking industry, was your business degree any useful? How was the job you were doing there? Was it hard or moderate? Did you get in the job knowing 100% what you had to do or did you learn as you?

My business degree was useful in terms of skipping some steps when I would get promoted. Every single thing you do, you will learn through an extensive training program. The positions I had involved long on the job training sessions of up to a year. My first position there started in January and I officially ended my training and got my mandate in October or so.

You get a lot of support but the job is not especially easy. A lot is expected of you and you need to be aggressive to get sales and get new clients. They tell you exactly what to do and how to make it happen but it involves lot of work and there is little downtime.

I had a position once where I was doing business financing. This involved a lot of analyzing financial statements to be able to structure good loans and my business degree came in handy for that, but there were extensive courses they make you do to learn that anyway. The training for that position was 18 months.

 

[ltpato]

My business degree was useful in terms of skipping some steps when I would get promoted. Every single thing you do, you will learn through an extensive training program. The positions I had involved long on the job training sessions of up to a year. My first position there started in January and I officially ended my training and got my mandate in October or so.

You get a lot of support but the job is not especially easy. A lot is expected of you and you need to be aggressive to get sales and get new clients. They tell you exactly what to do and how to make it happen but it involves lot of work and there is little downtime.

I had a position once where I was doing business financing. This involved a lot of analyzing financial statements to be able to structure good loans and my business degree came in handy for that, but there were extensive courses they make you do to learn that anyway. The training for that position was 18 months.

Perfect answer. Thanks!

 

[ltpato]

My business degree was useful in terms of skipping some steps when I would get promoted. Every single thing you do, you will learn through an extensive training program. The positions I had involved long on the job training sessions of up to a year. My first position there started in January and I officially ended my training and got my mandate in October or so.

You get a lot of support but the job is not especially easy. A lot is expected of you and you need to be aggressive to get sales and get new clients. They tell you exactly what to do and how to make it happen but it involves lot of work and there is little downtime.

I had a position once where I was doing business financing. This involved a lot of analyzing financial statements to be able to structure good loans and my business degree came in handy for that, but there were extensive courses they make you do to learn that anyway. The training for that position was 18 months.

Sorry but last question : How many hours were you working a week and also was there any kinds of benefits your workplace would give you?

 

[Laurent]

Sorry but last question : How many hours were you working a week and also was there any kinds of benefits your workplace would give you?

You looking at Finance by any chance? From your questions that is the vibe I'm getting