<p>My son accepted a co-op position at the Tuscaloosa Mercedes Benz assembly plant for Fall 2014. If anyone has insight into the work environment there, or advice on any aspect of working there, it would be appreciated.
If you are willing to share but the info is too personal to post, feel free to pm me.
Thanks.</p>
<p>No insight…but congratulations to your son!</p>
<p>Congratulations! That is fantastic!</p>
<p>Thanks, he is excited about the opportunity. Didn’t think he would get one after freshman year - he was mostly doing it for the interviewing experience (for scholarship reasons he can only start his coop sequence in the fall). I am thankful because financially it would have been tough to swing his sophomore college expenses for 2014-2015.</p>
<p>He is a little bummed about out not staying in the same classes as his lab partners/study buddies and it’ll be different living with students and not being a part of classes/studying. His on-campus freshman year experience has been really great for him and next year will be very, very different.</p>
<p>BTW… his job starts on 8/4 but his lease doesn’t start until 8/17. He’s trying to get the apartment complex to let him move in early but if that doesn’t work out, does anyone have suggestions for a 2 week rental situation in early August?</p>
<p>Congratulations! I’ve heard of many students doing engineering co-ops at Mercedes and they have all seemed to enjoy it.</p>
<p>By any chance have you wanted to buy a Mercedes? He does get an employee discount… </p>
<p>As he’ll have a car, he can commute from either Tuscaloosa or Bessemer/Hoover as well as the smaller towns in between. I would suggest he contact the Greystone Inn right across I-20/59 in Vance about a long term stay discount. He might be able to get a lower rate lower than the travelcoupons.com rate in return for getting less frequent maid service and paying in advance. There are other hotels in nearby areas which might also do discounted rates. A quick search shows the Microtel at Exit 77 as being $48.99 per night, plus tax, for his dates. There are also long term stay places in both Tuscaloosa and Bessemer. </p>
<p>If he has a couple friends living in apartments, he might be able to spend a couple nights with them, which would save some money.</p>
<p>My son was looking at a different school that was big into co-ops. They said some of their students stay at Extended Stay America hotels during their co-op terms. I’m not sure if there’s one of those in the area, but something like that, as @Sea_tide mentioned, might be the way to go for a week or two.</p>
<p>The extended stay properties in Tuscaloosa and Bessemer are called Value Place. Prices start at $250 +tax per week for a studio with a double bed. They might have discounts for Mercedes employees or UA students.</p>
<p>Wow that sounds great. My son is super busy right now with projects and getting ready for finals, so I’ll make some calls this week.
Thanks!</p>
<p>Congratulations to your son on his co-op! </p>
<p>Isn’t Sea-Tide great!?! He knows so much about student life at Bama. He has graduated and still come back to the boards to give advice. Hope you are doing well Sea_Tide. :)</p>
<p>To the OP - I pm’d you regarding the Mercedes Benz co-op which was offered to my son for Spring 2015. He has 3 days left to decide whether to accept or decline. Thanks!</p>
My son and I would love to hear about this co-op! Dr. Sharpe has recommended that we contact Dr. Midkoff for more information. Here is the link that started our interest in this program:
http://uanews.ua.edu/2014/09/exchange-program-to-give-ua-students-international-experience/
This seems like a wonderful opportunity for my son since he will be going into engineering and already has 16 credits of German and currently is taking AP German. Any information would be greatly appreciated!
Congrats! Can you post a mention in the Bama Brags? Thanks
I know a student who interned at Mercedes several years ago. He just commuted from Tuscaloosa - he was already in an apartment. I recall that he enjoyed working there but was disappointed when they didn’t hire him permanently.