Thx again. you already replied on names..i meant employers..This campus makes lot of sense to me becos it is like 15 mins from my home by bus and 5 mins by car. The only reservation is that I have an mental block to get over.. that is I always envisioned a big campus like UBC, waterloo UofT type since high school and to go to surrey which is small and very nearby is not sitting well inside me, Hmmmm need to get over the hump.
you'll get your chance to experience both campuses, judging from the course list the program is pretty similar to the plain old CS program so you'll have no trouble finding your courses at both campuses. the commute to burnaby is kind of a pain on transit. bus, train, train, bus, too many transfers.
At surrey you get smaller classes (usually), a more convenient location, and much more light. burnaby is full of dark windowless lecture halls.
If you are planning to go into software development (as opposed to theoretical computer science) then I think software systems is actually the better program. At first I was worried like you that maybe software systems would be seen as less desirable than computer science, but that has not proven to be the case.
In terms of jobs you can do all of the same jobs with either degree. There is no difference. For example the coop jobs available for both majors are identical, and big name employers don't care what your major is, just how good you are.
As others have said the surrey campus is also very nice. If you already live right by there it will be quite convenient. It is also more than likely though that you will end up taking some courses up at burnaby too. I managed to take courses in surrey exclusively for 3 years, but now my last couple of semesters have been split between burnaby and surrey.
I would definitely recommend looking into software systems. Plus if you decide you want to switch into computer science it is very easy to do (especially if you switch in your first year.)
Money is good in the states. 70-80k is the norm for new grads, and six figure is easy to achieve. In Vancouver? Keep dreaming. You're looking at 40k starting. I know web developers making 35k. This city is a joke. I just saw a job posting for QA developer asking 4 years of experience paying $13/hr.
I have spent 2 years doing coop and contract work, plus a couple of CS-graduate friends working in the industry already. Starting 60-70 is not the norm. Companies like SAP, Telus or maybe HSBC, sure. But the majority of tech companies in Vancouver tends to be medium sized companies. If you're expecting 60-70k for new graduates, you're going to be disappointed. It's too much risk for a company to take. That's more intermediate level developers, and probably 80k or so for seniors. Difficult VC funding and expensive office spaces doesn't leave a lot left for companies to attract talent.
For CS co-op, it's between 15-20/hr usually. Apparently our coop office doesn't allow companies to post jobs if it pays below 15/hr.
^Have fun spending 63 cents on a stamp to send the invoice and an extra 10 cents for the envelope and 25 cents worth of calories burned in food leaving you only $1.02 left. Dumbass.
Comments
Is Computing Science - Software Systems at surrey campus well respected in the job market?
Thx.. How is the co-op program and do you know some names? and also the $$$?
Thx again. you already replied on names..i meant employers..This campus makes lot of sense to me becos it is like 15 mins from my home by bus and 5 mins by car. The only reservation is that I have an mental block to get over.. that is I always envisioned a big campus like UBC, waterloo UofT type since high school and to go to surrey which is small and very nearby is not sitting well inside me, Hmmmm need to get over the hump.