<p>im a freshmen mechanical engineering major and i have some questions about internships and co-ops.</p>
<p>What are the main differences between internships and co-ops? which one looks better in a resume? which one is more important for employers? Do either help for grad school options? How many internships or co-ops should i try to get? should i try to do some of both?</p>
<p>im sure i have other questions but thats all i can think of for now lol thanks in advance!</p>
<p>anyone wanna help me out here?</p>
<p>any input at all would be great…</p>
<p>They’re basically the same thing: work experience. Co-ops are usually multiple semesters with the same company while internships can be one semester or multiple semesters with different companies. Co-ops are best if you are co-oping with the company you want to work for or a company very similar, internships are best if you are unsure and want a broad experience. </p>
<p>Both look good and I think how they are viewed is situational.</p>
<p>Each school seems to do it slightly differently so you need to check with the schools you are interested. Some do coops alternately with semesters or quarters such as Drexel. Stevens does coops alternately with semesters or you can select to do an internship that would only be done in the summers. </p>
<p>Some schools do a coop or call it an internship once you reach Jr. year and it is for 6-8 months so a semester and summer for a single company. </p>
<p>So the experience of working for an outside company is the same but the length of time you are doing it may dictate what type of opportunity you are involved in.</p>
<p>how many co-ops/internships should i shoot for?</p>
<p>Co-ops are generally 3 terms. At my school it is 2 semester and a summer. A co-op is essentially the same as doing three internships at the same company. I would say the advantage of a co-op or internship with the same company is you have more chance to gain more responsibility since they will have a year to get to know you. This may also increase the chance of employment after graduation. If you don’t know what area of mechanical you want to work in 3 different internships may be better so you can figure that out. I chose to co-op but I am very confident in the type of civil engineering work I want to do. There are also co-ops that let you work in different areas of the company each term so you still get some variety but it would still most likely be less than 3 separate internships. All that to say both have there pros and cons and both will look good to employers just make sure you do one of them.</p>
<p>^ While I am sure this is true at your school, what a coop vs. internship means, and where you do them and how long they last, varies by school. </p>
<p>The key is to get work experience and the more work experience, the better quality the experience, the better your job prospects. That can happen through a coop or through an internship.</p>
<p>I think for someone who knows what they want to do and has the skills to get 2-3 summer (4 month) internships, they’re better off not doing co-op and graduating in 4 years. For everyone else, co-op tends to be a great option. Especially with companies that let you rotate around a bit and get exposure to different sectors of the industry during your co-op (ie a co-op with an O&G producer that rotates you between production and reservoir etc.). Also, if you’ve failed to land a summer internship between first and second and second and third year, a co-op allows you to get some quality experience on your resume before you graduate, and gives you at least one in at a company.</p>
<p>That’s my opinion. Some people will tell you to do co-op, no exceptions. There’s really no right answer and this has been debated time and time again. If you want the best answer, ask the companies in the industry you’re interested in, they are the ones that will be hiring you so it’s really only their opinion that matters.</p>
<p>^^^^ that is definitely another advantage of an internship that I forgot to say. Co-oping at my school adds a year to graduation. Co-op length will vary by school but almost all the ones I looked at wanted 3 terms. This was to get cooperative education noted on your degree which is not a big deal. Its the work that matters. No one is going to force you to stay for 3 terms if you don’t want to. Again this is at my school but co-op students tend to make more money which helps make up for the extra time. Not to say an intern can’t make as much or more. Intern pay can vary allot because it is not regulated by the school where co-op is. There are several co-op programs at my school that also provide housing. I know money is not the reason for doing this but its something to think about.</p>
<p>thanks for all the responses!</p>
<p>bumping an old thread with a few new questions. Someone told me that co-ops:
<p>any merit to this? I was curious because, since I’m about to start my sophomore year, I feel like its too soon to tell if I will want to go to grad school. It also seems a little too soon to devote myself to one company when I’m not entirely sure what direction to take after graduation. I am also involved with 2 student organizations. so, does this mean a co-op is not for me? im really torn about this, I don’t know if I should just do internships during the summer or do co-ops…</p>