To a casual observer, it might appear strange that international students with bachelor’s degrees and years of work experience in their home countries would go all the way to Canada for another degree. It even comes across as counterintuitive if one considers that many apply for lower credential programs, like a diploma or certificate, in the same field.
While some international students do this mainly as an immigration pathway (let’s get that out of the way), others come to Canada to upgrade their professional qualifications by earning an additional credential and gaining valuable exposure to the Canadian job market.
One such international student is Mary Jean Ompod, a second-year Network Engineering Technology diploma student from the Philippines. Before arriving in Canada, she already had a computer engineering degree and spent nine years working as a Network Analyst for Accenture, one of the world’s top management consulting firms.
“I’ve learned a lot more in NAIT because we have a lab. We have our own switches, the routers, and we can play with it. So that’s why you will really learn how to configure and make things work.”
Last month, Ompod was featured in a post by Alberta Gaming, Liquor and Cannabis (AGLC) describing the work she did configuring VLT machine switches and making wiring diagrams last summer.
Ompod initially applied for a job with AGLC that was related to soldering — bonding metal surfaces together, sometimes for electrical components. “It was not very related to what I’m studying right now,” she explained, but being experienced and certified in soldering, she applied anyway.
Weeks later, her department chair sent an email encouraging students to apply for more jobs with AGLC.
“I saw that there were a lot of positions open, not just the one I applied. There were [jobs] like desktop support, network support, everything. There’s a lot for students. And it was the last day of application,” said Ompod. She applied for three more jobs with AGLC, and was accepted for the Network Analyst role.
She never got interviewed for the soldering job. Instead, Ompod’s work involved maintaining network connectivity in AGLC’s facilities — including casinos.
“But not the regular computers that we use in casinos, but the VLT machines or the slot machines,” she said. “So network connectivity, meaning it should connect to the internet, connect to the servers, to everything. Or simply saying, the machine should function as it should be.”
“Because, you know, if a machine is down, they lose money,” said Ompod. Her work also ensured winners would be properly connected to the database.
Ompod enjoyed the hands-on nature of her experience as a Network Analyst at AGLC. In the Philippines, her work involved checking an already existing network and making recommendations based on the logs.
With her summer job at AGLC, however, she had to configure the actual network, which involves a higher skill level than checking logs. At AGLC, “the circuit or the network is not existing, so you have to configure. You’re the one configuring the switch,” she said. “That’s what I lack[ed] in the Philippines. I [didn’t] know how to configure. I can only read logs but I [didn’t] know how to do it from scratch and make it function.”
Ompod views her Network Engineering Technology diploma program at NAIT as an upgrade to the bachelor’s degree she earned in the Philippines more than a decade ago. “My bachelor’s degree, mostly it was just theory. But I’ve learned a lot more in NAIT because we have a lab. We have our own switches, the routers, and we can play with it. So that’s why you will really learn how to configure and make things work.”
Ompod advises NAIT students interested in summer positions to apply for posted opportunities anyways, even if they are not sure they qualify. When Ompod applied for the AGLC jobs, she was unsure of her chances. “I checked the requirements. Even me, I didn’t think I can get into this requirement. But I just tried. So that’s what got me into it, because I tried.”
Students who need assistance creating resumes and cover letters can view the NAIT Career Services profile on Ooks Life, or their Instagram page @naitcareerservices to learn about their workshops and events.
Feature image supplied
