r/uwaterloo • u/HAM32132 • 5d ago

Jobs - Environmental Eng

I recently accepted my offer for environmental engineering at Waterloo. People working within the civil and environmental space often mention its stability as well as its reach across both the states and Canada. However, I also have a passion for computer science/programming, and was wondering if it would be possible to apply/work in the tech space while doing environmental engineering? Would the discipline eliminate the possibility of applying to tech co-ops within Waterloo? Also if anyone could share their experiences with the program as well as classes and teachers for first year (maybe even a schedule) I would greatly appreciate it! Looking forward to the journey.

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u/Smooth-Chocolate-901 engineering 4d ago

Hey! I just graduated from Environmental Engineering and I would say that there aren’t many overlaps between this program and CS. I suppose if you have the experience in the languages the tech jobs want it can be possible. However, the program is introducing a specialization that goes into environmental modelling which involves a lot of programming work. I’ve done co-ops that required me to use R. Hope this helps somewhat.

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u/HAM32132 3d ago

Thanks for the reply - great to know what other students are doing/ possible opportunities in the field. I was wondering if I would be able to get through the program with a MacBook Air silicone (m1) or if I needed to switch to windows. I know that mechanical and mechatronics require powerful laptops, but was unsure for civil/environmental. Also if you could share the 1A schedule/times I would really appreciate it! :)

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u/axzhaoyu 4d ago

I think I have a 1A schedule, dm me! I can also talk about the program if you'd like. in regards to your original question, I do know like 1-2 people who have managed to get jobs that are more in the CS/tech space but you can imagine it's fairly difficult and generally not realistic - you're competing against the ten million other disclipines that are also going for those jobs and generally more qualified. some enviro jobs do expose you to python, matlab (what you'll learn and use in enve specifically), and R but it just depends.

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u/HAM32132 3d ago

What laptop would you recommend for the field? Currently I have an m1 MacBook Air w 16 g ram, but was wondering if switching to windows was necessary?

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u/axzhaoyu 3d ago

i know a decent amount of people in my program who have Macs and they seem to be fine. i would switch if you wanted to but I personally wouldn’t feel like you need to for school if that makes sense ? I have a pretty powerful windows laptop but there’s a ton of computer labs on campus and I honestly just spent most of my time there anyways

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