Six years for undergrad (with co-ops)?

Career Opportunities & Internships
1

<p>I'll be a 5th year engineering student for the 2005-2006 school year. I started college in 2001 but changed my major from CS to MechE and that added on year onto my graduation. I'm on track to graduate in May 2006. I recently came upon an opportunity to do a co-op in the fall. Since missing either the fall or the spring semesters would delay my graduation by a year, doing a co-op for fall, spring, and summer would be better. I might as well be working if I am going to be out of school. I contacted the co-op recruiter and he said it would definitely be possible to do a fall-spring-summer co-op rotation and it would be better for the company since I would be working for a longer period of time.</p>

<p>However, there is a dilemma. I would really like to graduate with my 2006 class for two reasons: they are great to work with and I'm ready to get school over with. On the other hand, this particular co-op could greatly enhance my resume and provide the internship/co-op experience that I have been looking for. While my internships over the past few summers have been good, none are as extensive as this one. My goal is to be exposed to many non-engineering aspects of a company and that is what this co-op is offering.</p>

<p>Now onto the question. Would future employers look at my decision to further delay graduation in a negative way? I would be doing it to gain more engineering experience and earn money along the way. I wouldn't be taking time off to travel the world and find myself. While a company may value that extra experience, a particular interviewer may not like the fact that I took 6 years to get an undergraduate degree. But like I said, it would be 6 years for a good reason. Many companies are looking to hire to top engineering students and I don't know if the extra experience would outweigh the amount of time it would take me to get my degree. I guess it could also make up for the fact that I transferred out of a top engineering program to a lower tier program. I transferred down but my level of success has gone up significantly. </p>

<p>Any opinions?</p>

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<p>There is nothing like living your life "on purpose". What is the rush???? At the end of the day employers want to hire the BEST, most well rounded , qualified individual for the position. Your job is to do whatever you need to do to be that person. It is a competative world out there. Education both happens inside and outside an insitution of higher learning.</p>

<p>If you think this is what you need to give you the exposure you want, I say do your thing! Be confident! Be bold! As you said you have reasons for you decision. You not floundering...but living on purpose. You will feel better that you did instead of woundering what if.</p>

<p>I only ask one thing of you...Pray. Ask God's blessings and go for it.</p>