<p>Im interested to hear about engineering co-op experiences of people who have done it. I am a chemical engineering student and am planning on co-oping, I am looking to hopefully co-op with 3M so I would like to hear about peoples experiences. What kind of assignments were you given, type of pay, transitioning from the classroom to the workplace etc.I would especially like to hear from those who did co-op with 3M, this would be extremely appreciated. Any co-op experience would be appreciated. Thank you.</p>
<p>I’d recommend to just try for a co-op with an oil company. The pay will probably be close to double what 3M offers…</p>
<p>Don’t take UMEE11’s advice if you don’t want to work for an oil company. I’m sure 3M pays well, and you’re better off working in an industry you want to be in and getting experience there for a little less money than getting experience (and building contacts) unrelated to anything you really want to do.</p>
<p>Thanks for the advice, did either of you ever do a co-op or currently doing one?</p>
<p>Co-op with an oil company (three semesters.) Oil companies are great, especially for chemical engineers. I’d guess minimum starting wage for a ChemE co-op would be around $30/hour in the oil industry. You are unlikely to earn anywhere near that in another industry as an engineering co-op. In my experience, taking the co-op has been great, a very wise decision. I’ve been able to build a great resume and have made good money to pay for school as well. I’m confident that I will be able to find a good job when I search for full-time opportunities this fall.</p>
<p>Chuy is absolutely right, if you don’t want to work in oil, stay away. I just threw the suggestion out there because I know from experience how lucrative the industry can be, especially for people with your major. I enjoy working in the industry, I just wish I had done ChemE because there is a much greater need for ChemEs in the industry over EEs.</p>
<p>What’s the difference between oil companies and the usual consumer goods companies? Like is there a difference in the task you have to do, or perhaps the workplace environment, etc?</p>
<p>I’m not positive but with oil companies you don’t always get to stay in an office alot of the time you end up having to go out to rigs and deal with stuff out there. Which as you can imagine isn’t all that fun and somewhat dangerous. Ex. The BP rig in the gulf…Also you tend to have to go to more Middle Eastern Countries but if you like to travel that really probably won’t be that big of a deal unless of course you are female…</p>
<p>I’m also looking into a Co-Op do you apply through your college or directly to the company?</p>
<p>I did no do a co-op but I knew some people who did and have worked with some co-ops at work. I think it is a VERY GOOD idea to do a co-op. In fact, I think it should be required for an engineering degree. For companies, it is a way to test out potential employees without having to actually commit to hiring them. If someone performs poorly he does not have to actually be fired but can simply not be invited back. For students, it enables them to get work experience without any real commitment so they can see what that company (and possibly a certain field) is like. If you don’t like the company or work you can either decide to not work there full time upon graduation or can find a different place to go back to for your next co-op semester.</p>
<p>I’ve heard of co-ops having a lot of different kind of experiences. Some have been tasked with very important work. Some have been tasked with no work at all. And, of course, plenty of stories in between. In general I think most co-ops strike a somewhat happy medium where they are not given harsh deadlines and expected to work long hours but at the same time do have some stuff to work on.</p>
<p>There are many, many factors that influence the type of experience that will be had. Some managers may view co-ops as nothing more than useless, temporary workers that will go away soon enough and will be assigned little responsibility. Others view them as full time employees with a time limit. Obviously you’re going to have a better experience if you get the latter of the two as the former might assign meaningless tasks like updating excel spreadsheets. Additionally, the type of work being done at the company/business can impact the experience. If there a bunch of projects that do not take very long to complete it won’t be hard to get co-ops involved in something from the ground up. On the other hand, if projects take a very long time and are very complex it might be extremely hard to bring someone up to speed to the point where they can make a meaningful contribution to such a project.</p>
<p>Pay is usually pretty good. It’s not full time level but it’s close enough. You’re not going to get rich but if you save up you should have a good amount saved for graduation.</p>
<p>Pretty much anything related to oil is going to have sub-par working conditions, which is often why it pays more money. Schlumberger, for example, often pays quite a lot to new graduates but in return you can expect to be sent to the middle of nowhere, work demanding hours, etc. I know some people who went this route (they were lured in by the big bucks) and they all got out within 2 years. However, some people may not mind or may actually enjoy this lifestyle.</p>