My Life As A Co-Op At ZGL
By Sachin Beepath (University of Waterloo)
My co-op position at Zero Gravity Labs was my first ever co-op placement. I had no idea what to expect and I was kind of nervous to start. I was one of two co-ops that got hired to be part of ZGL. On the first day everyone was very friendly and welcoming which made me feel very comfortable and allowed me to be myself.
My first co-op placement
I am currently studying physics and astronomy at the University of Waterloo and have some programming knowledge, so when they hired me as a software developer I was a little nervous that the job wouldn’t be right for me. However, the team really helped when I struggled and that allowed me to develop my programming skills and learn a little bit about data science and machine learning. I’m very grateful for the fact that they believed in my ability to adapt and learn quickly.
Work was fun
One thing that really stood out to me was how fun it was to just be at work. I really enjoyed coming to work everyday. The space the lab works out of is so nice and is the perfect place to be creative and dream up the biggest ideas. Having this comfortable space allowed me to be so much more productive. The atmosphere was always positive and it was just a very cool space to be in. There were also some fun events that would happen like “Grilled Cheese Wednesday” which was just a cool way to relax and bond with my co-workers.
Collaboration was everywhere
Every member on the team was willing to contribute ideas or would lend a hand whenever I needed help. Everyone that works at ZGL is so friendly and really cares about doing the best work possible so it was very inspiring to be around them. Since we were in the lab there was a lot more exploration and research being done so I was able to learn a lot while working on an experiment. I joined during the transition period from the Vikings team the the Zero Gravity Labs team. I got to see the the beginning stages of the lab and take part in the discussions that eventually lead the team to their current projects.
We did real work
One of the main things that really made working here such a good experience was the fact that they trusted me with my own experiment. Although it was not a huge ground breaking experiment, it felt good knowing that I could be trusted with conducting my own experiment and contribute to the research being done at the lab.
My four months at Zero Gravity Labs went by so quickly but I can honestly say that I really enjoyed working here and couldn’t imagine a better first co-op placement.
Sachin Beepath is a 2nd year Computer Science student at the University of Waterloo and among the first batch of Zero Gravity Labs Co-Op Students.
