What are you doing?
Software engineer
Is what you're studying related to what your job post graduation?
Yes, I studied CS
** What is your salary? Is there growth potential in your current position? **
~155K USD + bonuses + options.
Would you recommend your major? Why
Sure, but only if you have the right reasons for going in. If you take CS for the money and with the expectation that a high paying job is going to fall into your lap, then you won't be successful.
Did your UBC degree help you get your job?
A little bit. Most of it was co-op and self study.
How did you find your job?
My co-op employer was willing to wait for a bit and offer me a position after I graduated (I had one term left at the time). I stayed there for 3 years.
Following that, I moved to another shop when an old co-worker from co-op mentioned that he knew of a position becoming available in a company which was working on an interesting problem. I managed to land the job after the hardest interview of my life, and flew across the continent to live there for another 3 years.
I got to where I am now
If you could do it all over again, what would you study?
If I had to stay in CS I would have taken slightly less "theoretical" math and more courses which focused on applicables, particularly user design and experience.
If not CS, then probably something like forestry or nursing.
PS:
You are also working with a lot of young people with similar life experiences so this makes the work culture a lot more pleasant than other environments where you're surrounded by significantly older folk.
I wouldn't say this is true. Work culture has nothing to do with age. A lot of the stuff I have learned has been from seasoned, experienced developers with decades under their belts. Without them, I wouldn't be where I am today. Conversely, one of the worst places I worked at was with a relatively young team which was just drama and politic city.
In speaking with my friends on the East Coast, I've often felt that UBC didn't do a very good job of career preparation in terms of offering coop that was more widespread.
It's up to the student to sign up for co-op. If they don't take it, then complain about a lack of work experience, then the blame rests entirely with them.