<p>When I was in school, the late 1980s, the Ivy engineering school I was at had well over 75% of students doing internships and/or co-ops. I did internships after every year of college, the first was at an engineering firm, the last two were at a pharmaceutical company. I got them through family connections, but some people get them through the college.</p>
<p>If he is going to end up in school for six years anyway, taking a semester to do a full-time co-op position might be a great idea.</p>