<p>I'm a prospective student who is really intrigued by Northeastern's co-op program. I'm majoring in international business and I think the work experience would be a great plus. I am kind of nervous though because I have heard from some alums/students that co-op is not nearly as great as the school touts it to be. Some people have said that it is quite difficult to find a co-op job or one that is in your intended field. I even heard from someone who said they had to take a co-op totally unrelated to their major just so they could keep their housing. I also heard from people that co-ops were not much more than fetching coffee, making copies, etc. Is there any truth to this or have I just encountered a few outliers? I understand each individual experience is different, but I'm curious to hear opinions from current students/alums. I'm really drawn to Northeastern for co-op/job placement especially in these economic times, but if I enroll and it doesn't deliver I fear I will regret my decision to have gone. Any opinions would help, thanks!!!!!!</p>
<p>LOL who are you talking to???. International business is one of NEU’s strengths. You will not have a hard time finding a job or coop placement remember they supply you with the contacts and its your job to close the deal through interviews. Also you can contact alums for internships and if you find yourself getting coffee and whatnot its your job to take the initiative and ASK for work. I know on wallstreet typically whatever school your from YOU WILL be making coffee runs and doing photo copies but that takes 20 minutes at most. It’s your job to get the most out of your internships understanding the overall larger picture of what’s going on and putting down the experiences you gained onto your resume. Please do not act like you are owed anything. </p>
<p>Contact the coop advisor to get more detail man.</p>
<p>thanks bud…yea i had a feeling that these may be unique situations. i totally understand thats its the students job to secure the job, but i just wanted to make sure the resources are top notch. i mean i could go to any college and try to hunt down an internship, but i just want to be sure northeastern has the connections to put it above the rest. as for coffee runs and whatnot i totally understand that and i’m fine with that, but i just want to be sure that for these coops they do eventually let you get experience in the field. i don’t mean to sound like a jerk here but to me, a 6 month stint doing nothing but answering phones, getting coffee and making copies doesn’t really match up to the work experience i pictured a coop as or how the school advertises them. i’m fine with the coffee runs and whatnot but i just want to know that the entire coop isnt like that. i’m sure it varies a lot, but i mean just in general. and just on your final point, i really don’t think i’m being unreasonable or anything. northeastern is a very expensive school and their primary draw is coop, so yes, i do think it is partially their job to deliver on their promise. i mean i don’t think i’m owed anything or that ill have some cushy job land in my lap, but i do want to work in the field. i could just as easily go to a state school and hunt down internships working in a mail room if thats where most coop employees find themselves. the draw of coop to me is working in the field and i just want to make sure my investment will pay off. i’m not trying to be a snob or jerk or anything and i hope you get my point, but its just a big decision and i just want to know the reality of coop before i commit. thanks again.</p>
<p>I agree with Budfox. Also, I know people who have had awful coops (like any job, it does depend on the employer), but far more experiences I’ve heard of have been good. Both of mine have been great. You’ll also have a coop advisor who should have a feel for the different jobs and be able to help you out, and there’s a new feature where students can rate their experiences online so you can read those before applying.</p>
<p>I think most coops have some degree of answering phones/making copies/getting the mail, but that should not be nearly your entire day. Usually you help out with the mundane stuff and are given the opportunity to do much more exciting stuff, sit in on meetings, have more responsibility and explore other areas of interest. I think most of them are a mix, but the scales can tip in either direction.</p>
<p>From what I know of business though, I think there are a lot of opportunities.</p>
<p>DTC don’t sweat just make sure you concentrate on getting top grades and opportunities will be around everywhere. From my fathers advice (who works on wall street) he says ivy kids always walk in thinking they deserve something. That attitude gets you killed. Be humble and things will fall into place. I guarantee if you coop on Wallstreet your going to run into some competition with these kids and its always good to be level headed. Good luck man.</p>
<p>thanks again bud. yea i hear ya, my parents say the same thing. i think im partly just stressin’ out. i’m between northeastern and another university which has the traditional 4 year program with the opportunities to get internships on your own. i was at a welcome day for the other school and a lot of the kids seemed to have these really mundane internships, most of them unpaid, which in my opinion didnt seem to add anything to their business education. (aside from working in an office environment i guess) i just wanted to make sure coop was different than this. like i said in my first post i also recently saw some neu alums say some not so great things so i think i may be a bit paranoid haha, but like i said before my main reason for wanting to go to nu is the coop opportunities which (from what the school promotes) seems way better than just a general internship. i just want to make sure i’ll really get something out of it, otherwise i’d rather save myself some money and head somewhere else.</p>
<p>Yeah the clear distinction between an internship and coop is its 2 months vs 6 months. Two months is pretty limited and doesn’t give you a big exposure whereas 6 months you have time to understand the business and how groups interact. At the end of the day man go with your gut instinct and place yourself where your going to be happy…cheers, sounds like you got some great options.</p>
<p>Yeah, I think you’ll be fine. Getting a co-op is just like getting a real job… you have to be a strong candidate and you have to sell yourself. If people are getting ****ty co-ops, it’s because of the person, not because of the co-op opportunities. Have work experience coming in, get good grades, be presentable and seem competent, you’ll be fine. True that the economy isn’t helping people get employed… it’s been tougher this semester than in the past, but that’s life and hopefully (for everyone, not just NU), the economy stops sucking at some point in the near future. Or at least before I have to pay for my own health insurance.</p>
<p>Co-op FTW.</p>