How much do students typically earn from coops?

How much do students typically earn from coops (engineering major)? Can it help offset cost of attendance?

Over the whole school, the average co-op salary I believe is $18-20 an hour, which translates to 20K before taxes. Subtract taxes (down to 15K), rent (down to 8K or so), food/fun (down to 5K or so), and you’re left with that 5K, give or take. So even over 3 co-op’s, that’s only 15K on average over all years.

Of course, majors make different pay, and engineering leans towards $20-$25 or so I’d say. It’s likely you’ll make less on earlier co-ops and more on later ones, so be aware of that. If you average $23/hour and skimp on rent/food costs, it’s possible to pull in maybe 25K total, but I wouldn’t rely on that much. I think it’s safe to say that 10K over all co-op’s is a safe conservative amount in a 5 years / 3 co-op’s pattern. It also helps that the academics costs are spread over 5 years for some.

Your co-op earnings should be able to cover your room and board for that 6 month period. Don’t plan on it helping with tuition for your other semesters.