Inventory Analyst - Chris

History in the making

As one of the first entrants into the University of Regina's Co-op Program in fall 2006, history major Chris Burgess wasn't sure what to expect from his job placement at SaskPower. Fast-forward three years and Burgess is a full-time inventory analyst and manager of the SaskPower steel yard in Regina. His journey from student to SaskPower employee is living proof that an Arts degree is worth a lot more than the paper it's printed on.

While on the surface Burgess' first work term didn't seem to have a lot in common with his studies on Depression era Saskatchewan, he soon found his skills as a student were easily transferrable to his new job.

"There's a lot of critical thinking and research tasks involved in getting a degree that give you the basic skill set you need to survive in the business world," says Burgess.

It also helped that he was surrounded by an experienced and friendly staff willing to teach him the skills he would need in his new position.

Education and experience

"Just because you're an arts grad or you took history or whatever, that doesn't mean you're limited to trying to write scholarly works about Canadian history or something like that," says Burgess. "You can fit right in anywhere, you know. If you've got the skills you can do the job."

Just because you're an arts grad doesn't mean you're limited to writing scholarly works.

While in the past an arts degree may have been seen as a good way to get educated but a less than effective way to make a living, improvements like the U of R's Co-op Program have made students like Burgess much more valuable to companies like SaskPower.

"These days, as long as you have that degree behind you and you know what you're doing, it doesn't really matter what faculty you're from," says Burgess.