Gaining confidence through coding and research on co-op
Sophia Devinyak (she/her) is a fourth-year Physics and Astronomy student. Having completed five co-op terms, she shares her unique experience working a diverse range of jobs and problem solving as a co-op student.
Sophia's co-op journey:
Work term one: As a programmer at National Research Council Canada, Sophia was writing programs for equipment so that experiments could be controlled remotely during COVID-19.
Work term two: At TRIUMF, where she worked as a data analyst, Sophia developed two programs to analyze data collected during experiments. She also earned valuable hands-on experience by participating in a few experiments herself and performed maintenance on the detectors used in those experiments.
Work term three: For her third work term, Sophia was an undergraduate research assistant at the Faculty of Mathematics at the University of Waterloo. She was part of a research team which applied mathematical and computational techniques to the study of human body functions. They developed a computational model to study how potassium levels in the human body react to different stressors.
Work term four: As an undergraduate research assistant at the Faculty of Science at University of Waterloo, Sophia was working with a professor to look at simulations of the universe. They studied how angular momentums of gases in galaxies evolve as galaxies are formed.
Work term five: For her last work term, Sophia worked at Environment and Climate Change Canada as an atmospheric boundary layer research assistant. She worked on developing a computational algorithm to measure the height of the planetary boundary layer.
Q&A with Sophia:
What are some highlights from your co-op terms?
“I got to go to Vancouver in person and participate in experiments designed to investigate the nature of extremely rare isotopes, which is an experience I’m very grateful for."
“I learned so much by meeting and working alongside talented researchers from all over Canada.”
“During my third co-op term, we worked on a computational model of biological systems, which was later published in a scientific paper.”
“When I started my undergraduate career, I never expected I would be contributing to research papers as an undergraduate student."
“I feel proud knowing my contributions were useful towards advancing our understanding of science."
What did a day-to-day look like for you on the job?
"Most of my work was on a computer. Whether it was coding scripts to analyze data or tune computational models, coding is a skill I used every day in all my co-op jobs.”
“I was also reading a lot of different papers, especially in the first few weeks of each co-op, to gain the necessary background knowledge needed to make meaningful contributions to the projects I worked on. It’s wonderful seeing all the loose ends come together at the end of the work term and being able to present your work to others.”
How do you feel now compared to when you first started co-op?
“I feel much more confident and surer in my skills, especially when looking for a job.”
“At the beginning of my undergraduate career, I didn’t have much experience or skills and I kept wondering what I should even put on my résumé."
“All the job postings had so many requirements and I felt as though I didn’t meet any."
"It was stressful finding a starting point. Even when I got my first interview, I was anxious about wanting to present myself in an authentic yet professional manner.”
“Now, having done five co-op terms and gaining so many new skills, I feel much more at ease. Interviews now feel like a regular two-way conversation with other scientists."
“I also have a sense of direction and know what I want to do.”
How did you face challenges in the workplace?
“It’s easy to feel disheartened when you encounter difficult challenges and feel the knowledge gap between you and full-time employees who already graduated and have multiple years of experience, especially during your first few co-ops. It is valuable to try and solve problems on your own, as you learn so much through this experience. This is especially true if you are working remotely, like I did for most of my co-op terms."
"However, at some point you need to reach out to your colleagues and supervisors. They know that you are still learning, and don’t expect you to know the answer to every problem. It is through collaboration that we learn the skills required to solve problems efficiently in the future. When solving problems on your own, try to break your problem down into smaller steps and determine which step you don’t understand. It is easier to find the solution once you have identified the exact question you are struggling to answer."
"Thankfully, now there are so many resources out there on dedicated websites and coding forums. Breaking your problem down is also useful for when you want to ask for help from your superiors. They will certainly appreciate that you took the time to understand the problem and came up with a concrete question before asking for help.”
What’s next for you?
“I am graduating soon, so this is an exciting time for me. I am looking forward to taking the next steps in my life. School is rewarding, but can get busy and stressful at times, so it’ll be nice to enjoy a summer with my family before moving on to the next stage. Despite choosing a different career path than my previous experiences, I am sure that I will be able to use the problem-solving skills I developed through co-op.”