External Information Regarding WARG Co-ops

Owned by Daniel Puratich
Last updated: 2024-11-25
6 min read

Overview

This document is intended to be shared outside of WARG to give context to those interested in doing a co-op with WARG. This summarizes the process from an external perspective and intended to be sent by WARG to those interested in our co-op program; mostly as a response to email inquiries.

Please note that WARG can only hire UW students who are entering a co-op term. This is a requirement set by UW and enforced by our adherence to WaterlooWorks.

All WARG positions are unpaid. WARG provides a learning opportunity and the co-op credit. The concept is that WARG co-ops can use this opportunity as a jumping off point to get a stellar co-op for their next co-op term. WARG is entirely a volunteer organization and the funding we receive covers our competition attendance, materials, and equipment in the pursuit of Team Charter so this policy is merely a derivation from that.

See https://www.uwarg.com/join to join the team as a normal member. Requirements and more information about our normal onboarding process can be found by following that link!

Co-op Openings

Example past job descriptions and drafts of our future postings can be found under Co-op Job Descriptions . Please note our active postings can only be found in WaterlooWorks and will be thoroughly announced in our Discord when the they are accepting applications.

Any student can join our Discord, join the team, and learn more about the team as a standard member at https://www.uwarg.com/join . We of course need new members to keep the team going, but co-op students require a significant amount of overhead with respect to administration, management, and mentorship that we are often not equipped to handle. For this reason, if you do not see any postings from us on WaterlooWorks or announced in our #announcements channel in Discord then it means we do not have a co-op position available. We do not accept co-op applications outside of these postings and will not consider other candidates. This is for our convenience to keep the system standardized as we receive hundreds of applications for all of our postings and have a limited quantity of qualified and willing co-op managers. We take pride in upholding a strong co-op program and ensure all managers are poised to provide an excellent to students.

We do not want to be a “co-op mill” providing co-op credits for minimal commitment nor do we want to be a “co-op sweatshop” pigeonholing co-op students into menial tasks. These are pitfalls other design teams have fallen into that we seek to avoid. Lots of our co-op students have found success following a co-op with WARG and we seek to maintain the procedures we’ve used to build such an effective system.

Application and Selection Process

Timeline:

  1. WARG posts exclusively on WaterlooWorks (WW), when allowed to do so by UW, and advertises this position on Discord servers related to UW as well as via email

    1. This is typically quite late, around cycle 4-5

    2. We do not do postings or offers outside of the WaterlooWorks platform for our convenience.

    3. Previous postings for reference can be found at Co-op Job Descriptions

  2. After the postings close, the applications are collected for review by WARG leadership and co-op hiring coordinators

    1. Submissions are only accessible to WARG leadership ( Lead ) and co-op hiring coordinators

  3. Interviewees are selected and interview requests are sent by email.

    1. Typically this is done a few days after postings close.

    2. We do not do interview using the provided by WaterlooWorks as it is excessively annoying for us.

    3. If you are unsure about the status of your application, feel free to email us:

  1. Interviews are conducted

    1. Generally these are 30 to 60 minutes in duration

    2. There will likely be two interviewers, one of which will be the manager of the co-op

  2. Offer selection is made and interviewees are informed

    1. Most likely you will receive a direct offer via email or be informed of rejection via email.

    2. In rare cases we may use WaterlooWorks ranking

Expectations

From you as a co-op student

As a WARG co-op, you are a member of the team (by satisfying Member Definition ) and have the same expectations as any other member: Expectations of Members. The difference is that you are required to have greater commitment to and involvement with WARG including but not limited to:

  • Location is in person or hybrid (on site at least 1 time per week)

    • Remote co-op is not currently supported by WARG

  • The position is full time, but your working hours are flexible

    • As long as you are making progress and attending meetings, you can do whatever you want with your time

  • You are expected to attend syncs with your mentor (daily)

    • Your mentor organizes this with you

    • While the scheduled length is at least 30 minutes, the syncs can vary in duration.

    • Having syncs as short as 15 minutes per day is possible if there isn’t much to talk about though syncs may exceed an hour in duration.

  • You are expected to attend the regular WARG meetings (1-2 times per week)

    • WARG meetings are typically held during the evening on Discord

    • Most meetings are scheduled for 1 hour

    • Your mentor informs you which meetings you are expected to participate in (e.g. weekly subteam meetings)

  • You are expected to participate in flight tests relevant to your project (variable, typically 1-2 times per month)

    • Flight tests are typically 1 entire day during a weekend

From you as an applicant

  • Co-op hiring team looks exclusively for the criteria mentioned within our Co-op Job Descriptions when discerning between applicants.

From WARG

This is what WARG commits to co-op:

  • Several projects are road mapped in advance so that you have a guide for measuring progress

    • You have the option of selecting and switching between projects at any time

      • You can also propose a completely new project; consult with your mentor and/or subteam leads

    • Projects are structured deliberately to focus on learning and are often decoupled from key team requirements to avoid excessive pressure on a co-op student.

    • Projects from previous co-ops:

  • You are mentored by an experienced member who provides support and is on site

    • Daily scheduled syncs of at least 30 minutes and up to a few hours

    • Your mentor assists you directly with onboarding, guidance, and coordination

  • Opportunity to interact with other projects and members

    • Don’t be afraid to participate!

    • We don’t want co-op students to feel siloed on their own project

Copy Pastas

Because a lot of conversations on this matter are repetitive, here are some common copy pasteable answers to common questions we can use in text (Email or Discord) conversations: