<p>chem eng student here. I'm graduating in december, and I have yet to make a clear decision on whether or not I want to attend grad school. My plan right now is to work in industry for a while before making my decision. I believe an internship at a good company will help me make up my mind. I haven't had an internship yet, which is regrettable. But I'm wondering if it's possible to get a co-op after I graduate. I suspect it will raise some questions and maybe some red flags, considering I should really be looking for full time employment by that time. I honestly don't know what I want to do with my life right now</p>
<p>Think about it this way… if you are applying to graduate school, will a co-op/externship/internship be best, or will full-time employment be best? I would imagine that you would not enter graduate school until September, 2014, so that gives you 20 months to play around with.</p>
<p>I’d look at your options. Obviously, you would want more security than a summer internship, but you wouldn’t want to sign a two-year contract with any big companies either. If I were you, I’d look for full-time, at-will employment and then figure things out from there. That way, if you decide NOT to go to graduate school, you already have a backup plan.</p>
<p>You can still get an internship for this summer… it won’t be the most prestigious, but there are still many out there, ready for the taking. If you have other plans, great, but don’t forget that your job search should take about 15 to 20 hours out of each week once school starts in September. Start looking in different industries over the summer, hone your resume and start applying to jobs as early as you possibly can. It’s very competitive out there, so you want to maximize your opportunities to get offers.</p>
<p>well I mean the reason I prefer internship/co-op to full time employment is because I just want a glimpse into industry. The process engineering, manufacturing, and r&d. I think that will help me loads in deciding what’s best. I have always been inclined towards research, so I’m probably going to apply for grad school and eventually work in r&d. For now, I just need to get my toe in the water and see what’s out there. <em>fingers crossed</em></p>