We are excited to share our 2024 Applied Science Co-op Year in Review! 2024 has been another successful and record breaking year, thanks to the support of our industry partners. We invite you to explore this year's highlights, including placement statistics, top employers, student successes, and salary and geographic distribution.
SALARY DATA
These figures reflect earnings from industry positions in Canada. Note that Co-op students must be paid at least the provincial/territorial minimum wage, work a minimum of 35 hours per week, and complete at least 420 hours over a 4-month term.
| Discipline | Minimum | Maximum | Median | Average | Data Points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BDES | $3250 | $6041 | $4030 | $4219 | 25 |
| BMEG | $2639 | $5890 | $3750 | $3853 | 139 |
| CHBE | $2722 | $6250 | $3987 | $4127 | 230 |
| CIVL | $2821 | $6084 | $4333 | $4334 | 439 |
| CPEN | $2762 | $8393 | $4160 | $4487 | 252 |
| ELEC | $2882 | $8073 | $4160 | $4333 | 423 |
| ENVL | $2947 | $5958 | $4288 | $4283 | 88 |
| GEOL | $3575 | $5767 | $4680 | $4636 | 37 |
| IGEN | $3250 | $5363 | $3987 | $4054 | 91 |
| MANU | $3120 | $8061 | $3987 | $4157 | 116 |
| MTRL | $2925 | $6067 | $3913 | $4037 | 63 |
| MECH | $2510 | $6860 | $3987 | $4172 | 506 |
| MINE | $3969 | $6000 | $4914 | $4900 | 31 |
| Masters | $3120 | $8061 | $4914 | $5073 | 227 |
TOP 10 CO-OP EMPLOYERS
We’d like to recognize our top industry co-op employers who generously supported a remarkable number of students in2024. The table below highlights our Top 10 Industry Employers and the number of work terms secured with each. Notably, the University of British Columbia was the top overall employer of APSC Co-op students in 2024; however, academic institutions are not included in this breakdown. A special shout-out goes to Teck Resources Limited, Metro Vancouver, and Ledcor, each of which provided an impressive 53 work terms for APSC Co-op students!
| Employer | Work Term Count |
| 1. Teck Resources Limited | 53 |
| 1. Metro Vancouver | 53 |
| 1. Ledcor Group of Companies | 53 |
| 2. Tesla | 51 |
| 3. ATCO Ltd. | 45 |
| 4. Kardium Inc. | 42 |
| 5. Suncor Energy | 41 |
| 6. Microchip | 34 |
| 7. Ballard Power Systems | 31 |
| 8. EllisDon | 30 |
| 9. WSP | 29 |
| 10. City of Vancouver | 28 |
SOME 2024 HIGHLIGHTS
PLACEMENT DATA
Applied Science Co-op students demonstrated an impressive commitment to their job search in 2024. The overall data resulted in a 78% placement rate throughout the year, with a 92% placement rate in Winter, 68% in Summer, and 88% in Fall.
| Discipline | Winter 2024 | Summer 2024 | Fall 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Architecture | 86% | 45% | 83% |
| Biomedical | 92% | 64% | 83% |
| Chemical & Biological | 91% | 65% | 90% |
| Civil | 98% | 80% | 91% |
| Computer | 78% | 57% | 79% |
| Electrical | 88% | 68% | 88% |
| Environmental | 100% | 84% | 90% |
| Geological | 100% | 71% | 100% |
| Integrated | 91% | 57% | 92% |
| Manufacturing | 89% | 67% | 97% |
| Materials | 81% | 60% | 88% |
| Mechanical | 98% | 70% | 93% |
| Mining | 100% | 65% | 100% |
| Masters of Engineering | 97% | 71% | 79% |
| Total | 92% | 68% | 88% |
You may notice lower summer placement rates for computer and integrated engineering students, which can largely be explained by fluctuations in the tech sector. The architecture summer placement rate also decreased, due to a doubling in the number of students seeking positions compared to last year, though the number securing a May position remained the same. Despite these variations, most engineering disciplines demonstrate robust employability across multiple work terms.
LOCATION DATA
This map highlights the geographic distribution of APSC Co-op student work terms across Canada. While students engaged in work experiences across the country, a significant 66% occurred within the Lower Mainland. Many students pursued international work terms, gaining valuable experience in countries such as the United States, Japan, Germany and China.
INTERNATIONAL PLACEMENTS
Top international Placement Countries (Not including the United States)
- Japan - 0.72%
- Germany - 0.69%
- China - 0.53%
- India 0.16%
- France & New Zealand - 0.13%
Shout Outs!
Employers love hiring APSC co-op students.
We received extremely positive feedback from employers and students in 2024. Check-out a few of our highlighted quotes below!
QUOTES FROM EMPLOYERS
“The co-op program provides the industry with highly motivated and capable candidates who are open to internships in varying lengths. Our current student exemplifies professionalism and upholds UBC Engineering's reputation as a school that effectively prepares its students for the professional world.”
"This program is a win-win for both students and the work places that employ them. While young students bring their fresh and out of the box approached to the work place, they learn the tips and tricks of the trade from experienced professionals and learn about the real world interactions at work. "
“We love having students join us because they typically bring a great attitude and new/fresh ideas!”
“We've had nothing but excellent experiences with the UBC Co-Op programs, and welcome the opportunity to participate in the future. We also would absolutely recommend this program to anyone else looking to hire a student.”
"I rate this program highly because it consistently provides highly capable and motivated students who add immediate value to our team. The program is well-structured, ensuring students are equipped with both foundational technical knowledge and the ability to adapt to real-world challenges. Their professionalism, eagerness to learn, and ability to take on meaningful responsibilities makes them excellent candidates for both short-term contributions and long-term recruitment pipelines."
QUOTES FROM STUDENTS
“Overall, I believe that the program provides a terrific opportunity for undergraduates to develop meaningful beginner work experience in between their studies. In addition, the support and guidance from the Co-op Career Advisor is also a welcoming touch for undergraduates like myself, who have little to no prior experience, to navigate the engineering industry while retaining confidence that someone is monitoring our progress.”
"Co-op has definitely been the best part of my degree. The real-world job experience has been invaluable and the support I've received while job-searching has been very helpful."
“Overall, I believe UBC Co-op has been incredibly helpful with my job search. With all the resources and support they offer, I've learned a lot and improved my job searching skills significantly.”
STUDENT OF THE YEAR
Congratulations to our 2024 Co-op Student of the Year Award Winner, Matthew Chow! Matthew is an undergraduate student in his third year of the Computer Engineering program. He has specialized in embedded software and has 12 months of co-op experience where his contributions have had real-world impact, with his work now deployed across vehicles, energy systems, and robotics globally.
From working on clean energy software simulations at Generac Holdings in Vancouver, to building automotive firmware for Tesla’s Cybertruck, and launching self-flying drones at Zipline in San Francisco, Matthew has gained diverse and abundant work experience through the co-op program. Matthew has also made a significant mark on the UBC community. As a Software Team Lead for UBC Solar, he mentored peers and led the team to competition, and as a Technical Director at the IEEE UBC Chapter he helped launch Innovent – a multi-disciplinary competition which partnered with UBC Biztech and featured industry professionals. He also worked with the Cansbridge Fellowship accelerator as a UBC Ambassador to organize a student conference focused on career exploration and global work experiences, and to update the program’s recruitment process to provide impactful student resources. Congratulations, Matthew!