Co-op at U of T: Professional Experience Year (PEY)
Are you interested in turning classroom knowledge into valuable work experience? How about charting your career path, building industry contacts, and making money all at the same time?
If you answered yes to all of the above, then this is a great time to start thinking about the Professional Experience Year (PEY). PEY allows students to apply their engineering knowledge in a 12—16 month, project-based, professional internship. With work terms longer than just 4 months, PEY gives you more opportunity to gain true professional work experience.
PEY: Much more than just a co-op!
Many universities offer traditional co-op programs–helping students get repeated exposure to the work world and to industry employers by placing them in a number of short job opportunities over the course of their undergraduate studies.
At U of T we take co-op to the next level. PEY is about more than just exposure to jobs. It’s about accomplishments. Internships that are a year or more in length allow students to complete large-scale projects. It’s about developing lasting relationships with employers, and having stories to tell about significant practical experience outside of the classroom. It’s about preparing yourself for a career and gaining professional experience. It is an opportunity that is unique to U of T.
Operating for more than 20 years, PEY has earned an outstanding reputation in both academic and industry circles. By taking part in this program you’ll be making industry contacts, gaining valuable career skills and significant professional experience before you graduate. The length of the placement provides the right amount of time for you to have involvement in large-scale projects, build relationships with employers, and reach professional accomplishments and milestones.
Currently almost 550 of our students are employeed in engineering jobs in more than 280 companies–including placements in Toronto, across Canada and in countries such as China, Japan, Botswana, Romania, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Spain, and the USA–just to name a few!
Did we mention these are paid internships? On average, students typically earn between $40,000 and $45,000 during their PEY placements.
Interested? Learn more about this unique and dynamic program and read about what students have to say about their PEY experiences at www.pey.utoronto.ca
