Internship and Work study
Graduate with real work experience on your résumé
Every CST student completes an internship before graduating. Students who want more work experience can add two paid summer work terms through the ATE work-study program, starting at the end of first year.
Final-semester internship
The internship course 420-653-DW closes out your DEC. You put everything from three years into practice in a real workplace and get a clearer picture of which part of the field you want to pursue.
- Guaranteed: The program places you. You never graduate without work experience.
- Often paid: Historically about half of students land a paid position.
- At least 7 weeks: Starting around mid-April. Many employers keep interns longer.
- Supervised by Dawson: Internship coordinators follow up with you throughout.
Work alongside developers and IT teams at companies ranging from local web shops to firms like Morgan Stanley and TS Imagine. Build software for a research lab: data collection and cleaning, IoT prototypes, simulations, or interfaces for research platforms. A Dawson faculty mentor meets you weekly to help with scope, tools and debugging.
ATE work-study program
Alternance travail-études lets you start working in the field after only one year of study. You complete two paid summer work terms, one after first year and one after second year.
- Earn money every summer: doing work related to your program, not just any summer job.
- 8 to 12 weeks per term: (minimum 225 hours), starting around mid-May.
- Employers want ATE students: Québec gives them a tax credit on your salary and your supervisor’s, so you are an easier hire than a regular intern.
- Grow with one company: Employers can bring the same student back the following summer, so you build on what you learned the year before.
- Recognized on your diploma: ATE participation is noted on your DEC.
