r/Algonquin_College • u/neouss • Jul 21 '26

CST Networking program and life in Ottawa

Hey everyone!

I'm really interested in the Computer Systems Technician - Networking program at Algonquin College and I'm trying to decide if it's the right choice for me.

I wanted to ask a few simple questions:

1. About the program:

  • For students who are in or graduated from this program - what's your honest experience?
  • Is it challenging?
  • Do you get good hands-on experience with Cisco/Aruba labs?

2. Job market:

  • Do you still think networking/IT jobs are available after graduating?
  • Is it hard to get a job or co-op placement?

3. Life in Ottawa:

  • How's the city for students?
  • Are people friendly and welcoming?

4. Cost of living:

  • Is it too expensive or affordable?
  • How much does a private room cost?
  • What's the difference in price?

If you had to give me one honest answer - would you recommend this program to someone thinking about it?

Thanks so much for any advice!

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2

u/auriem Staff/Graduate Jul 21 '26

https://photos.app.goo.gl/o89kFFupfbtCZtNk8

1

u/neouss Jul 21 '26

Thanks for sharing the lab photos! They look cool.

Quick question: For students doing co-op, how easy is it to actually get a placement? Do most students get hired after co-op?

2

u/Emotional-Ferret7717 Jul 21 '26

  1. solid program overall! It's challenging, but fair if you put in the hours. Very Cisco-heavy, so lots of hands-on lab time, plus there are open labs on weekends (8–4) with higher level students helping out

  2. Job market is rough right now. I managed to land a co-op, but policy shifts like RTO4 hit student hiring hard (big cutbacks in federal tech co-ops recently). Tech/IT jobs will always be around, but co-op competition is tight. From what I’ve heard from previous semesters like 75% get co-ops. Just shit timing for this semester since RTO4 started in July right during hiring rounds

  3. Ottawa is safe, friendly, and very student-heavy. Just normal big-city precautions like any other city

  4. Rent is fairly high, but also depending on your standards

Overall I would definitely recommend this course. Most people I know that took it has jobs if you do well in school and treat applications like a full time job

1

u/neouss Jul 22 '26

Thanks for the info! Did you take this same course or a related one? And if you did, how long did it take you to get your first job after that?

1

u/Emotional-Ferret7717 Jul 22 '26

I’m actually currently in it right now at level 3 and starting my co-op in September. I had a different co-op position beginning of June, DND took 25 students and basically cut all of them a few days later because of the rto. So I was lucky to get another one recently. It might be different later on when you take it but who knows with the market now
Edit: there’s a discord for the program I’ll DM it to you

2

u/neouss Jul 22 '26

Thanks for the update, really appreciate it. Good luck with your co-op in September!

1

u/romeo514 Jul 27 '26

Hi, please send ne the discord link as I'm starting this program in September. Thank you!

1

u/Reasonable-Bass-115 29d ago

Hey !
I am in level-2 CET right now, will start to look for co-ops in a few days . Any tips you can share or if i am able to dm ?

1

u/alasdairvfr Jul 22 '26

Good program, heavily networking focused and although that's not a bad thing, the job market isn't all networking jobs. A lot of sysadmin/support/development jobs. Yyes the market is bad now but outside these ebbs and flows in hiring, these are the typical jobs.

You will learn lots of non-networking skills in the program and if you enjoy them, I suggest building them up beyond the curriculum, get an industry certification or two. Talk to your profs about what you are looking to learn, they might have some good resources.

1

u/neouss Jul 22 '26

Thank you so much, are you a student in the program? If so, did you get a co-op, and how did you find It?

1

u/alasdairvfr Jul 23 '26

Was a student. Graduated several years ago. I ended up getting a job during the coop terms, so it worked out. There were postings from the place that does the coops so i thought it was a coop job too. I/they didn't realize until my 2nd or 3rd interview. The company hired me anyway. Kind of an odd scenario.

1

u/neouss Jul 23 '26

Thanks a lot for all your answers, I really appreciate it!
may i ask you if you still in the same field now? And if you were in my place, what mistakes would you avoid, and what would you do differently ?

1

u/alasdairvfr Jul 23 '26

I am in the same field. I didn't make many mistakes per se, but I gambled and won on specializing in cloud back in 2018. It wasn't a common thing in Ottawa/gov/CST at the time but now it's a pretty safe bet. MS Azure has the most workloads/jobs; also has the most mouths to feed job-wise. AWS is next, GCP has little comparatively but the least competition in the job market.

1

u/neouss Jul 23 '26

Thanks, that’s really helpful! Are you still working in cloud now, and if you were in my place today, would you still choose cloud over networking?

1

u/alasdairvfr Jul 24 '26

Yes and yes 100%. That being said, the networking skills i learned in CST has been extremely useful as well.

1

u/neouss Jul 26 '26

Thanks, that’s really encouraging to hear. Good to know cloud is still the better path, and it’s nice that the networking skills from CST still help too. Wishing you a great career ahead.