Hi,
I am a sophomore Mechanical Engineer and I recently got an offer from a company to do a co-op with them for two terms. Although i like the company and i think the co-op itself would be interesting, i dont see myself going into their field when i graduate, so im skeptical in taking a semester off from school in order to do a job i ultimately dont think i will want to continue. I also plan on completing my masters degree at the same school, so I was wondering if it would be a good idea to postpone my graduation date to work in a field I am not excited about.
Thanks
Do you have prospects of a coop job in your field? If not a coop experience would be beneficial.
I dont at the moment,however i plan on applying to more internships/co-ops over the course of the semester. There are also several classes that I am required to take that are only offered a particular semester, which may further alter my schedule for graduation
Is there anyway to get it down to one semester? Which company? Have you had any internships or industry jobs so far? How do summer prospects look? Is it good money that you need to help pay tuition?
I dont currently need the money for tuition as im on a scholarship, but it would be nice to start saving up some money for after college. I had an internship my senior year of high school, but couldn’t find anything summer of my freshman year. My prospects for the summer currently are quite bleak, however i do intend to apply for several internship opportunities within the next few weeks. The company is Lubrizol, and I am fairly certain that they are only hiring Mechanical Engineers for co-op positions.
My DS, also a ME student, took a co-op doing something he wasn’t interested in - after being there a while, he now can see himself doing what he’s currently doing at co-op. Please don’t ask me to explain what it is as I just nod my head when he tries to explain it. But the point is to keep an open mind. Life brings lots of opportunities and changes & sometimes we end up doing something we never thought we’d enjoy, but you might find out that you do really like it.
You don’t sound excited about the opportunity at all, so my initial thought is go with your gut. Personally, my daughter, who is also a ME major, accepted an undergrad fellowship that requires research, a co-op, and a year work commitment after graduation in something she was not planning on pursuing BUT the money is to important to pass up. I’ve often found that taking a path I wasn’t planning led to the most growth. Good luck with your decision.