PEY Advice from YNCN’s PEY Panel
3 min readDec 31, 2020
PEY Co-op, or the Professional Experience Year, is a 12–16 month work term program offered by the Engineering Career Centre that takes place after third year with an optional 4 four month placement that can be taken the summer after second year.
Here are some words of wisdom from a group of 6 students and alumni who’ve competed PEY in various industries.
What was the PEY search like?
From company research to filling out applications, here a couple key tips on the job hunt:
- Research! Look into different possible industries that you are interested in
- Narrow down industries into the top 2–3 you want to focus on
- Try developing objectives and constraints with what you want to get out of PEY
- If you had a second year internship that you enjoyed, consider requesting a return placement to further develop your expertise in the company
- Apply to as many jobs as you can — you likely won’t hear from most, but this increases your overall chance of hearing back
- Consider ‘tiering’ your applications based on fit and interest to prioritize which applications to spend more time on
- Be weary of application deadlines — they creep up!
What was your most memorable experience during PEY?
PEY is an exciting time away from school. A couple highlights in some PEY experiences included:
- Hosting a learning session for the entire company about a project
- Travelling or moving to a new city for PEY
- Building friendships that lasted beyond the internship
- Seeing things (cool large-scale projects) that come together that might not be seen elsewhere or learned in school
How did your PEY help you in your career?
A couple ways in which PEY helped our panelists:
- It helped secure a full time job (return offer) during PEY — this means less stress looking for jobs in fourth year
- PEY teaches you how to settle in to a ‘real job’ and get into the groove of working full time. Four-month experiences can leave you feeling like you just started, but PEY helps you develop the ability to acclimatize
- The longer exposure to a team, company and job helps with better understanding how to ‘work’ the industry
- It also helps you also learn what you like and what you don’t like to do!
PEY Resources and Tips
- Want to know what it takes to join the PEY program? Check out the Program Requirements and apply ASAP!
- Students in the PEY Co-op program have access to the Resources Hub, which provides support for students in recruitment cycles and work terms! Be sure to check out: PEY Co-op Overview for more information.
- Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Take advantage of the resources and opportunities available to you. Learn from those around you!
- Enjoy it. Time flies.
