Hello,
I have been debating whether or not to do a CO-OP in engineering during my undergrad years. I have been hearing different things on both sides: CO-OP’s offer great experience and a good opportunity to go in depth with working in the field while others say that CO-OP’s don’t add much value compared to summer internships and the loss of one year of “engineering pay” that would have been made if graduated early is a huge opportunity cost. OTOH I am hearing these summer internships are becoming hard to get and some companies prefer CO-OP’s to work more with interns than just a 3 month summer. I was wondering what are the thoughts on doing the CO-OP versus sticking with just summer internships. Any help will be appreciated!
Co-ops are good, and co-op vs. internship is ultimately a matter of choice in which neither is particularly better than the other and you should do what works better for you. In terms of opportunity cost, I wouldn’t worry about it - what you lose in 0.5-1 year worth of school time, you get back in salary (a good 70% of an engineer’s salary is paid in a co-op) and in knowledge gained on the workplace and on salary negotiation strategy. Either a co-op or internship looks very good on a resume, as most students graduate without either one.
I’m not sure if this is what you’d like to hear, but really I’d say that it’s pretty much up to you. You’d be fine with either one.
I think there is value to having a longer term co-op, and sometimes I think they can be easier to find than summer internships. But summer internship is great too. The important thing is to try to get some kind of industry experience during your college years.
My son is currently on his second six month co-op. He learned a lot throughout both, however the biggest contributions to his workplaces and largest advances in his skill sets happened in the last 2 months of each co-op.
When I was a hiring manager, I didn’t give any more credit for a co-op over a summer internship. For either one, I was looking to see if the applicant knew what it was like to work an 8 hour day. A work day environment is more of a concentrated effort than the more spread out school type environment. But more importantly, I was also looking to see if they met the “plays well with others” criteria. Engineering is a team effort and you need good team players.
So, my opinion would be to skip the co-op and start your full time job sooner. You do learn more as you work a certain job, whether it be an internship, a co-op, or your permanent job. Why not start learning your full time, permanent job ASAP and get the full time pay that goes with it?
Thanks for the great insight everyone and it’s an eye-opener where everyone stands on this. I guess my last question is related on the relative ease of getting summer internships? Like I’ve asked before I’ve seen concern that–supposedely–summer internships are becoming harder to find because companies see co-op as a better investment??? How true is this?
Summer (and fall/spring) engineering internships and co-ops have been around for a long time. They have never been easy to get (who doesn’t want to work a summer job that pays $20+ a hour?), but summer internships have been more competitive, since more students apply for the summer internships than the co-ops.
Some companies prefer co-ops (the student tends to be more productive, especially in the 2 and 3 “semesters”), others internships (where it’s more of a recruiting tool/try out). Internships being recruiting tools, is one reason some companies only want junior/seniors. In some large companies, you may find hiring managers that prefer one over the other, hence why you’ll find co-ops and internships available.
I’ve known students who went the co-op route, to help pay for school or/and to work for a targeted company(field), in addition to a way to develop some work experience (like a summer internship).
^^^ So true…
Getting a summer internship has never been easy. (Example - In 1982, I arrived “early” outside the still locked placement center for IBM interviews… but discovered that some people had come before dawn with sleeping bags). These days I think there is more recognition of the value of job experience and even more competition.
At schools with required co-op programs (like Northeastern), there seems to be a lot of campus support for job interviewing etc. In general I’m not sure if finding semester co-op job is easier than summer internship. It’s a good question for the placement center at your particular college.
Note that the financial trade-offs will vary greatly by work location and logistic factors. If you have a full-year lease near campus and summer internships are available there, then summer internship may be the better plan. If you could move home for a semester for a co-op job (and not pay dorms) that could be a good way to save money. But… .many students doing co-op in expensive cities spend a lot for living expenses. I think that’s still a good way to go, but you can’t necessarily count on savings much,
I believe there is also a difference in how the wages are handled when it comes to FAFSA. Co-ops are generally considered a college course and the income derived from them is not considered towards the EFC in the FAFSA. Our D is doing a five term co-op which will allow her to graduate in 5 years with 22 months of engineering work experience. It has also financed a good chunk of her education and given her a jump start in living on her own outside of the college environment. It has provided her opportunities for leadership and volunteering (the company encourages it’s co-ops to volunteer so many hours in the community). While I do think the co-op experience is different from actually working for the company as a full time employee I think the overall experience is more complete than a summer internship.