My freshman engineering daughter started out emphatically saying that she was only going to do summer internships so co-ops weren’t on my radar at all. Since going back to school for second semester, she did more exploring about co-ops, went to a career fair this past Tuesday, interviewed Wednesday, and was offered a 3 semester co-op last night. Her school has a well established co-op program so I’m not necessarily worried about the logistics for course scheduling/housing but just need some reassurance that this is a good path to be following.
The co-op is with a large, well respected polymer company, and is a pre-ldp program. (DD is studying chem e and working on a collaborative leadership certification). They have a health care division which my daughter is particularly interested in, and the recruiter said they would tailor the experience to her areas of interest. The pay is great (I’m still shocked that companies will pay kids, with basically no experience, these kinds of salaries), they provide housing, cover travel costs, etc…
This is such a big shift in her thinking and I’m worried that she didn’t think it through well enough. I feel like she opted to co-op because it was so hard to get a summer internship as a freshman. That said, she did extensive research with this company (as did my husband and I after she was offered the initial interview), and she thinks they are the perfect fit for her interests and will be a great co-op experience.
She’s talking to her engineering prof today who runs the co-op program to get her paperwork completed on the college side, and the company HR is forwarding all of their form to her to get signed.
We pay for housing by semester and co-op students don’t have a penalty for leaving mid year (and have priority registration when coming back). (Her roommate for next year was happy for her, so I think she is OK that she’ll be getting some one new for 1/2 the year). Her school’s courses run all year long so course sequencing shouldn’t be a problem (the chem-e department strongly encourages co-oping). She has enough incoming credits to probably still graduate with her class in the spring but we told her to not worry about that since she’ll be gone two semesters during the school year and not all courses are offered in summer session.
Other than getting experience at only one company for three semesters (which she sees as a huge positive), are there “cons” she should be considering?
Co ops often lead to full time employment after graduation. The company is offering to build her job around her interests. The college is co op friendly. Future roommate is okay with it.
You seem concerned because it is a last minute decision. I understand, but don’t let your uneasiness hamper this great opportunity.
Ah, over 10 years ago. That would have been nice if they didn’t consider my Co op as income when I was in college. Good to know they changed regulations for the better.
And @TomSrOfBoston is correct, formal co-op income doesn’t impact aid. (That we knew! It’s one of the very first things on her school’s professional practice FAQ page!)
As a parent, I am always thinking about potential downside of things. Not in a negative way, but in a protecting my child kind of way. So I get your concern.
Sounds like a great opportunity just fell into her lap. Take a few deep breathes and let this good news sink in.
My DD already met with the co-op coordinator this morning and has a meeting this afternoon with the chem e co-op coordinator. The company was also in touch and HR told her she could also start in the summer if that made more sense with course sequencing, so that’s the priority question for the chem e coordinator. The company is being super flexible and her contact with their HR has been wonderful. She also has the option of extending the co-op by a semester if she’d like. So far I’m impressed and my daughter has thought through much more than I gave her credit for. I’m feeling reassured that this is a positive.
My D was a Chem E at Purdue and did a 5 term coop with a major Chemical Company. She graduated this past May. If you’d like to PM with specific questions I’d be glad to answer them to the best of my ability. Our D knew she wanted to coop before she started applying to schools. Her 5 term coop did add a year to her graduation time but she finished in 8 semesters. She graduated with 22 months of work experience, made a significant amount of money so she graduated without debt (actually with money in savings as she’s pretty frugal). It would probably be easier to graduate either with only an extra semester or on time with a 3 term coop. As others have mentioned coop earnings do not affect your EFC or financial aid or scholarships. She learned a lot about living independently, how to interact with adults in a work environment, she felt she understood just how processes worked much better than her fellow students who had not had work experience. My D’s company started their coops out on smaller projects then worked them into larger more collaborative projects as the years went on. They are intended to be productive so they are not simply make work type of things which is how they justify paying them. Those they are interested in they ask for an interview before they graduate. My D chose to interview with another major company and is employed by them.
Things to consider. Where will she live during coop? Is there housing provided? A stipend? Or is she completely on her own. What about housing at Purdue since she won’t be attending full academic years? How will scholarships be handled since summer sessions are considered half a semester? How will she feel about changing friend groups each semester? (My D’s best friends and her husband actually came through her coop) Her breaks will be shorter especially between spring, summer and fall. Winter break is usually similar. Since engineering is so sequential be sure she stays on top of her courses and in touch with her adviser. Occasionally a course one is supposed to take is not available since your D is out of sequence. It was never an issue for my D, however, it would have been had she attempted to graduate a semester early.
If your D is interested in industry I think a coop is an excellent way to provide both work experience and an added dimension to her resume. Everyone of my D’s friends who she cooped with are well employed. If she intends to do research or go on to a graduate degree it might not be as necessary and she would definitely be able move onto graduate school sooner without the coop. Good luck to her.
As a manager of an engineering group of a large company (now retired), some of my biggest questions I had when hiring a college grad were:
Do they really know what it is to be responsible to show up day after day for work? You don't get as much time off as you did in college and it can be a mental grind for some.
How well do you work with others? Engineering is definitely a team game.
Do you really want to do the job I am hiring you to do? After all, the company will be investing quite a bit of time and money to train you (think years). You do a bit of everything in college. Large companies tend to make on specialize and some become disinterested after a while and what to change.
There are many ways to demonstrate that you have the qualities that assure me that you will give positive feedback to those questions. But one of the best ways is via a coop. Many companies use coops as long job interviews and will reward those that they choose to have come work full time with very generous offers.
I would be looking to take them up on their offer for a coop position.
I did 2 summer internships (same big company, different locations) in 1982/1983. They were very helpful - I’m actually working at that same company 35 years later**. But based on discussions with other engineers over the years, a longer assignment is even more useful to the student and the employer. There’s just more time to get ramped up and become a good contributor.
** that kind of long-term employment is not so common these days … but the co-op experience is really useful after graduation whether you end up there a long time, a short time, or not at all.
Just wanted to cycle back and let you know that my daughter formally accepted the co-op offer today. Her department wants her to do a summer start and the company was good with that too. She is very excited.
