Meet Alex, a third-year Mechanical Engineering student at the University of Waterloo who initially had dreams of delving into nanotechnology. Disillusioned after facing a tough co-op search, Alex became a vocal advocate for students to carefully consider their program choices, especially in terms of job placement rates. With a penchant for coding, Alex has taken several computer science courses and often encourages peers to explore the intersections of engineering and software development, revealing a pragmatic side to their academic journey.