This article is about the Cornerstone International Community College of Canada (CICCC) where I learned computer programming to become a programmer in Vancouver.
In this course, you will learn front/back-end programming languages. For example, HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React.js, and Node.js. Also, you can look for jobs as front-end developers after completing the class.
I was supposed to change my career from a salesperson to a web developer, but I didn’t become a programmer that’s why I wrote this article for people who want to know about this class and the job hunting situation.
Contents
About myself
First of all, this is my brief introduction. I’ve been working at a company as a salesperson for 3 years. At that time, I had never learned about computer programming and English. So I decided to go to Canada to study English and computer programming to change my life.
When I worked at the company I even didn’t know about the difference between Java and JavaScript. In addition, I couldn’t type keyboards without checking each key’s position.
The Co-op program is one of the ways to work in Canada and get some education in specific fields. After the course, most of the students can get opportunities such as volunteer jobs, internships, and part/full-time jobs. Also, those experiences have some possibilities to be part of the process of getting or applying for PR in Canada.
The class was really good for me. However, some of my classmates who already had some work experience were not satisfied with the class. In my opinion, the class is helpful for the beginner’s first step in programming, but it doesn’t work for some of the students sometimes.
In this field, how much you study it by yourself is important for getting jobs or making a career.
My job hunting and the Co-op program
After the class, you can start working at a company that is related to what you’ve learned. In my course, I have to work 960 hours as a programmer or I have to get some positions where I can use my skills. For instance, if I worked at a restaurant as a server, I couldn’t count the time to graduate from college because the job is not related to my course or program.
However, if you worked at a restaurant as a server, but you also have some computer tasks in your shift, you can count the time to graduate because the time is related to your class. This depends on the college rules. Please check them about it before you start to work.
In my case, I started job hunting after the class, but I couldn’t get interviews and I was not picked up in the process of the document, too. There were many reasons such as unlucky, timing issues, and company situations.
From my experience, most of the companies looked for senior programmers or close-level people at that time. I felt a company that is looking for beginner or entry-level programmers was a rare case. Moreover, I was a little bit late for the job seeking because other classmates already started it. Also, some of them already had volunteer opportunities or part-time jobs during the class.
“The gap of skill level that is between mine and companies asking” and “I didn’t have enough self-studying time” are the reasons.
FAQ
This is like a FAQ by myself. If I could ask myself about this college, I would answer like below.
Q. I’ve never learned computer programming, but can I take the course?
A. That is not a problem whether you have some experience already or you don’t have anything. I know some of my classmates who quit the course in the middle of the term and another person who didn’t have any experience, but he was getting better. So, everything is up to you.
Q. Windows or Macbook?
A. Both of fine. People most likely don’t care about the model and bland, but you should have a good-quality laptop at least to work on the class project. If you don’t care about the keyboard, you can buy a laptop with an English keyboard.
Q. In-person or online?
A. They have both class styles, but I would recommend in-person classes because if you are a beginner and you have a question, in-person classes would make it easy to solve the problem with an instructor.
Q. Is the assignment difficult?
A. That is not too difficult and complicated because an instructor has already given us the lecture about that and we can use the way in the assignment as well and just Google it. If you have a question, you can ask it to your instructor or classmates. The most important thing is how much you have understood about the class and the project.
Q. How much should I speak English in the class?
A. There is not too much conversation or discussion time because most of the time we use a laptop and just write codes. So, if you compare other business or hospitality courses with it, this course is not like that.
Summary
In my case, I started to look for jobs after finishing the class, but I couldn’t get a job. So what I’m doing for my graduation is I’m currently working at a company where I can work on some HTML and managing databases. When I asked my college about the job, they said I can count it to my graduation time.
My manager said we would give you some programming tasks in the future. So I expect it and I hope even this experience is going to be a good portion of making new my career in my country.
To sum up, I’m going to learn programming again and look for new opportunities to get work experience. My classmates, instructors, and the college were very helpful and gave me a good time. I appreciate it.
Original Japanese article is below.
Thank you for reading this article. I hope it will be helpful for you and see you soon.
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