<p>My son just started his 2nd year in engineering and is majoring in Industrial. He is also thinking he will get an MBA in the future. He is trying to decide right now if he wants to co-op or not. I was hoping some of you could pass on some words-of-wisdom on the subject. Any personal experiences would be helpful. Also, what is the difference between a co-op and an internship? I see that there are some summer internships that seem pretty interesting. Are these as beneficial to your resume as a co-op?<br>
Apparently a lady from the co-op office came by one of his classes to talk to the students, but mainly she talked about co-oping at companies local to his school. I think he would enjoy more of an adventure than that. She didn't make much of an impression on him.
Any thoughts on the subject?</p>
<p>The difference between an internship and a co-op is the structure of the program, but it has some deeper consequences. An internship is just interning at a company; it can be part-time, during the summer only, and it's generally for 1 semester/term only. A co-op is a full-time position structured with 1 company over the length of the undergraduate program. Most co-ops are done through the co-op program at the school, and often require 3 or more semesters. Although it's probably not a strict requirement, all of those semesters will be with the same company. There is often a requirement that a certain amount of fall/spring semesters are co-op semesters (that way, you can't just go summers-only). You should go to the school's co-op website or office and look at the requirements for the program. </p>
<p>Because there is a bigger commitment on behalf of the student and the company, it is usually a better experience. The co-op student should get more and longer-term responsibilities as compared to a summer intern. Because the company has more invested in the student, they are extremely likely to offer the student a position after graduation. The student should therefore be careful in choosing the company they co-op for, since it is a bigger commitment. Because of the co-op schedule, there generally won't be any semesters off; you will either be co-oping or in classes (including all summer semesters). The likely schedule is that co-op and school semesters are alternated (ie. classes in the fall, co-op in the spring, classes in the summer, co-op the next fall, etc.). This takes away some other opportunities like travel abroad (if the goal is to graduate in 5 years). As a consequence, graduating in 5 years is very likely and generally expected. </p>
<p>While co-oping at a company near the school could be nice for some people, there's no reason why he couldn't co-op across the country. If he goes to a top engineering school, then there will certainly be recruiters all over the country looking for co-op students. Companies recruiting at your school will depending on the connections of the co-op office and the strength of your school's engineering and co-op program. </p>
<p>Co-oping is great because it is a good resume builder, and co-op students generally get paid well. Most companies treat their co-op students very well. There are a few drawbacks because of the time required to meet the co-op program requirements, so I would recommend a co-op for those who are sure about what they want to do. A co-op is generally a bit too much of a commitment for a person who isn't sure or one who is likely to change majors. </p>
<p>These aren't hard and fast rules. At some companies, there is no distinction between interns and co-ops. It is possible to take several internships at the same company and get the same experience as in the co-op program. </p>
<p>Overall, I'd recommend co-oping.</p>
<p>I co-op-ed back in the dark ages through the Cornell Engineering College at IBM research in Yorktown Heights. I would suggest he at least interview for the program and see what kind of offers he gets. For me, it was my first experience with professional interviews and working in a professional setting. The college also vetted the companies to make sure the jobs were meaningful. Each school is different, at Cornell I took my 1st sem Jr classes the summer prior, then worked that fall, then returned the summer after Jr year. The summer at school was tough with a full engineering course load, but it was fun and several classmates around also. In that day when internships were less prevalent, it certainly gave a leg up when interviewing for a permanent job. We had companies come from all over the nation (don't remember if there were any international) to interview for co-op, I remember getting a call from Intel in Phoenix who kept telling me what the temperature was there.. Northeastern used to have its co-op program be 5 years, don't know if that is still the case. I liked the program I did where I still graduated on time. Another option is pay or credit, I was paid ($400 a week!) and that was also fine with me to make up the credits over the summer.</p>
<p>also the Cornell co-op program had limits on the interview process, for instance you couldn't find out the salaries ahead of time they wanted you to pick the job on its merits. They also didn't allow interview trips to the companies. I think it did a good job of keeping this in perspective. This was over 20 years ago, may be different now.</p>
<p>My son is an engineering student too, and I have a few observatations on co-oping. First, it can be a great experience if you like your company. But if you don't like it so much, you are stuck. OTOH, if you intern for three months over the summer, you have the same amount of experience and also retain the opportunity of trying a different company each summer. (I think my son is going back to the same company next summer, so it can go either way.) The other slight inconvenience for the friends in co-op is that they are out of sync with their classes in relation to their non-co-oping friends. They can no longer necessarily go to class together or work on assignments together. Finally, it is proving to be a slight problem in the leasing/housing department, as not every kid wants to support a 12 month lease so the co-oping kids(s) can take classes over the summer.</p>
<p>Thanks everyone for your great insight! I will forward your comments on to my son and hopefully they will assist him in his decision.</p>
<p>D is a coop now, 2 of 5 work terms complete. I was an intern 25 years ago. SKY gave a great overview. KLF725 has spelled out the cons well. A few additional items.
- One comment about not liking the company. My D school does have an option to get out of coop if it is not a good match. It should be spelled out in the school materials.
- You send they were talking about cooping locally. This is a great option. D coops with a local company (picked school because of local coop opportunities). She has no 12 month lease problems because school/coop is local. Stays involved in student activities (student government, clubs) and local friends/chruch and does not have to move every 4 months. Uses time between semesters to travel (went to Mexico and Austria/Germany last year). D can also takes a night class during work term to shorten time to graduate.
- D is at company that only hires from coop or previous contractors so this could be an issue depending on industry/company.
- One former coop told us they had 3 times as many interviews at graduation as friends that had not cooped.</p>
<p>I tried to become a coop student, but jobs were scarce in the 70s. But I did get some interview experience, and I did change majors as a result of seeing the sorts of jobs employers were offering for CS majors at the time. So even if he doesn't ultimately take a coop route, the experience can be valuable.</p>
<p>if i co-op locally, do you think it would be possible/manageable to take at least 1 class?</p>
<p>My D coops locally. She has taken a class each of her coop sessions. It is possible/manageable. The benefit is it will reduce your gradutation time. My D will graduation after 4.5 years (most coops take 5 because of work terms) and will have 1.5-2 years work experience.</p>
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if i co-op locally, do you think it would be possible/manageable to take at least 1 class?
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<p>It depends on the flexibility of your employer. A co-op is a full-time job, so you will be expected to make up your time appropriately. Some jobs it doesn't matter when you get your work done, as long as it gets done. At other jobs, it is expected that you are always available during your shift. If your co-op is in a factory, and you are responsible for over-seeing quality, then you can't just leave for 2 hours to take a class...</p>
<p>So I wouldn't necessarily plan on taking a class before discussing it with your employer. I also wouldn't recommend staying local just because it might allow you to take 1 class per co-op semester. I think you will be better served by taking the best job you can, even if it means spending an extra semester or two in school.</p>
<p>My D is through half of a 4 session coop (two semesters, two summers which works out to two 7 month sessions -- she went mid-January to mid-Aug this year and will do mid-May to December next) in mechanical engineering. In addition to being paid somewhat decently, the experience has been very good -- besides other learning experiences, she designed a "new" product, actually an upgrade of a previous product, prepared and made management presentation on the product, its feasability and cost per unit to get approval for manufacturing, and then also worked on the design of the production line modifications that had to be made to accept the change. The company was local in relation to home (Chicago area) and she was able to take one night course during the semester that transfers to UIUC as part of its gen ed requirements. In any event, she will end up graduating in 5 years instead of 4 but it seems to be well worth it (company for which she is coopting has already indicated it would like her back after graduating).</p>