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.