YouGoDoIt

Thank you !! :orange:

If I may request you for some more help, could you please tell me a bit about the final work placement trends of SFU MA grads? Is it only a PhD oriented school? How good are the work placements of the MA grads? Kindly help me with this, please please please... Many thanks in advance.

If I may request you for some more help, could you please tell me a bit about the final work placement trends of SFU MA grads? Is it only a PhD oriented school? How good are the work placements of the MA grads? Kindly help me with this, please please please...

Dear whitenoise, Thank you very much for your reply and inputs! Trust me, I am really in need of counsel and I am truly grateful for your insights on this issue. The thing is due to financial constraints I need to start working earlier. So in all probability I won't go for a PhD. It was a very difficult decision turning down UBC & Toronto, but honestly the international tuition was really a lot for me to afford to take out loans (even with a TA-ship). I'm just hoping that the SFU MA helps me in some way in the job market assuming I do well in the program. And thank you again for your input on comparing between programs especially if one is spending a lot of money. I truly appreciate it!

Dear whitenoise, Thank you very much for so kindly taking time out to reply! I am very grateful for your advice and insights. I wrote a long post in reply but I don't know why it's not getting posted here!! But still, thank you for the point about those rental companies and about living costs in Vancouver Vs Waterloo. Cost of living is indeed a big factor!

Dear whitenoise, Thank you very much for your reply. Thank you for taking the time out to provide information and advice regarding both the programs. I am very grateful to you for these insights. The thing is due to financial constraints, I need to start working earlier. So a PhD is out of cards for me. I understand that Waterloo arguably has the best co-op program in North America and the rent is also cheaper than Vancouver. And thank you for the advice about those rental companies. And I have increasingly been hearing horror tales of living costs shooting through the roof in Vancouver!! But Waterloo has international tuition which will make the total cost of attendance very difficult for me. This was the issue with UBC/Toronto as well. It's just too much for a not-very-rich international to afford to take out loans for studying. But that's probably because I'm too risk averse for my own good haha Anyway, at SFU I'm hoping to defray a part of the costs with the TA they're giving, and hopefully land a co-op! Let's see how it goes. But thank you very much again.

Thanks for your reply! But I'm not from North America, and there's no way I can contact people studying in these places (for lack of a network of seniors / friends who're connected in some way to the program / know some information due to being in & around that area!). I don't even have hearsay information and can only go by what is put up on websites. And for someone who has to shift base half way across the globe and start totally anew if I go to any of the above programs, I feel really lost due to not having any 1st hand information / "inside" insights which people normally gather before taking up something that's fraught with so much risk. But looks like I'm just plain unlucky / unfortunate in not deserving any advice, as I've very well seen quite extensive discussions here (over many years) on Econ Master's programs in general, and Canadian MA programs in particular. Plus a lot of discussion on program x Vs y, and on the particulars of deciding between programs. It's just that I'm trying to request people for help, regarding the job market prospects after MA from SFU Vs Waterloo (crux of my loooong post). Feeling very despondent that I'm having no concrete information to guide me in this crucial dilemma. Anyway, thank you again though for your reply.

Can someone please advice me on which of the 2 options would be better for a work placement: SFU MA Econ (they say it comes with optional co-op, but it doesn't seem like a very robust co-op system in MA econ), OR Waterloo MA Econ co-op ? I'll be on a study permit, so how does it work in Ontario's job market for people who are not Canadians or PRs? If I can get any insight from people who're familiar with these canadian programs, I'll truly be very grateful. Thank you very much.

Someone kindly help me, please. Any input / advice is greatly needed!

Someone kindly advise me, pretty please! Your inputs are highly valued and greatly needed... thank you very much. And I'm very sorry for a longer than usual post, but please help me!

Hello! I sincerely request for advice from Canadians and others who are familiar with Canadian Econ programs, please. I will be truly very grateful for any & all insights into the issue below. Thank you so much in advance! I am international student who will be pursuing the MA on a study permit. I have a 4-year undergraduate honours in Economics from India, & a final year UG thesis. I got into UBC, UofT, SFU, Ottawa, McMaster, Waterloo MA Co-op, Dalhousie, UAlberta, etc. After a lot of consideration, I have decided that I'll go either to SFU or to Waterloo. This is due to the international student tuition differential at most places, which makes affording grad studies very difficult for me at UBC & UofT. My goal is to work after the MA, and I am quite sure about not going the PhD route. The MA at SFU has an optional co-op, while the Waterloo program itself is the MA co-op track. But from what I have seen, international students' co-op placements are not exactly guaranteed at Waterloo, even if one is enrolled in the co-op program. I mean, I'm ready to work for searching jobs in the co-op, but there seem to be certain things out of my control in the case of Waterloo (like the Ontario government's cutback / restrictions on hiring students who are not Canadian citizens / PR). I guess in Waterloo, it can happen that I don't get into co-op due to these other factors. And if so, the program will end in 8 months, and I don't want to do such a short program. This is just my understanding, please correct me if I'm mistaken regarding this. Is a co-op position a definite part of the degree for those enrolled in the co-op option (assuming we perform well in the coursework) ? How about co-op positions for internationals ? Is job success difficult for internationals (even if they perform well in the program)? Essentially, how will my visa status affect me in getting a job in Ontario? And neither is co-op job success a sure feature at SFU. In fact, I have read that the job market in the west coast is brutal, and it's better to remain in the east. Is finding a job in the west really that difficult ? But again, Waterloo has the international tuition, which would make it really very tight for me there (though they have given me a TA-ship). So is taking up the financial burden worth going to Waterloo? Or should I go to SFU instead (lesser financial strain) and will the SFU degree help in finding work? I am not complaining, and in fact, am greatly thankful for the opportunity. It's just that given that I have couple of options, I would want to make an informed decision about how my life would change from now on. Given all this, please advise me regarding work placements after the SFU degree, and the possibility of taking up a co-op position at SFU (they have co-op for MA econ). Do students get placed in co-op every year? What about general work placements after the SFU MA? I would be really very thankful for advice, please.

Thanks for your suggestion. That was my first post, and I do not have contacts/followers/friends in the forums here, nor am I part of any users' network-group here. So I assumed chances of others opening my standalone post were low, & I think I saw even those not part of the current cycle replying to posts here (posts about decision timelines as well as school reputation & school selection). There was also discussion on (de)merits of Canadian big 4 programs here, regarding which one to choose finally. Also, I'm afraid these threads/discussion is reserved for people from the western world, is it? I only hoped that out of so many knowledgeable people here, someone may kindly provide me their advice / valuable insights. Sorry for the trouble. Nevertheless, thank you again :)

Hello everyone !! Great discussions go on here, so constructive for starting econ grad school. Thankful that I chanced upon this community here :) Please let me give some generally unimportant details about myself. I am an international student, looking to do my MA in econ, applied only to schools in Canada, got into most places I applied to, was doing UBC Vs SFU till yesterday, and finally chose SFU as it's a small class, good profs I believe, and great for me cost-wise! UBC is too pricey for people like me ($50k everything put together). Now, I'd like to humbly request for information from people who know anything about the following: industry placement opportunities after the SFU MA Econ - where have (recent) past MAs taken up jobs? what is the general placement trend every year (in terms of employers, federal vs private sector, etc.), how supportive is the dept. in facilitating the job search? I'll be a student on study permit, and will apply for the work permit. I need to start working early due to financial constraints, and am really concerned about the job scenario after the degree. I'm willing to work hard to do well. SFU econ website does not put up details about past years' MA placements. Given all this, I'll be truly very grateful if anyone can provide any insights into this aspect please. Thank you so much !