A graduate’s tale
August 25, 2010
Gieliam de Beer, recent Computer Systems Technology graduate.
Gieliam de Beer, a recent graduate of the Computer Systems Technology diploma program at Camosun College, began life in South Africa and moved to Canada as a teenager. He attended school in Vancouver, and following graduation from high school completed a diploma in information technology at Capilano College. From there, de Beer began his career working for Vancouver Coastal Health. Curious to know what Victoria had to offer, de Beer decided to further his education and enrolled in the Computer Systems Technology program.
Why co-op?
Understanding the importance of having work experience, de Beer signed up for co-op and found the networking opportunities that participating in co-op provides to be very valuable. De Beers first work term took him to AbeBooks, where he worked as a student developer with FILLZ—an item management system acquired by AbeBooks in 2007. “It was quite a feat to earn the position with AbeBooks and it was, overall, a very exciting experience. I learned so many new things,” says de Beer.
A chance to try something different
In the past, de Beer worked in web design and content management, and welcomed the opportunity to try work as a developer. De Beer found that when you are working behind the scenes, you really get to see how things happen. “Working at AbeBooks and seeing how people do their jobs really gave me an awareness of what I might like to pursue—where I fit in best,” he says. The co-op experience also gave de Beer an appreciation of his classroom studies and helped him to understand the different aspects of the program – for example, how math is so very relevant to computer science!
School’s not over
Since graduating de Beer has found employment with a local company, Victorian Epicure, where he is working as a web designer/front end developer and is tasked with making the company website as user friendly as possible. He plans to further enhance his education by taking a degree program in technology management through BCIT on a part time basis as he gains work experience.
De Beer offers some words of wisdom to students taking co-op. “Apply! When you see a posting – apply. Don’t wait!”
Find out more about engineering technology programs and co-operative education at Camosun.
