From co-op journey to shaping a career path: Nick’s story

It was through three co-op terms with JDI’s Transportation and Logistics division that Nick Allison developed a clear picture of what he wanted his career to be.

Nick entered university without a planned direction, moving between programs for business, engineering and finally computer science. He now sees these shifts as useful steps that helped him narrow his interests. He’s in his final year at the University of New Brunswick and plans to graduate this winter.

Originally, Nick hesitated to pursue a co-op work term because he was close to graduation, but he wanted real experience beyond summer jobs. Friends encouraged him to try. As he put it: “There was no bad outcome."
His first placement was with the Transportation and Logistics division’s Business Improvement team, where he helped build data tools and made it easier for teams to organize and understand information. The job exposed him to rail, trucking, human resources and health and safety teams.

“Any experience is good experience, especially when it’s real work,” he said.
His second placement was faster paced. As a pricing analyst, he worked with carriers, managed shipments and supported long-term customer contracts.
“You don’t really learn how a business works until you’re in one,” he said.
Nick is now preparing for a third term as an operations assistant, a role that mixes daily problem solving with project work. By graduation, he’ll have nearly a year of experience.

Across his placements, Nick built strong process improvement skills and learned how to manage time and priorities. The teams he worked with were welcoming and supportive, and site tours helped him understand the size of the organization, he said.

“What surprised me most was how many opportunities there are at JDI,” he added.

For Nick, co-op was a turning point in his education and future plans.
“If I hadn’t taken the co-op, I’d be in a very different place right now,” he said, adding that he encourages other students to take the same step: “Any real experience is valuable.”