Finished co-op last year. It wasn't bad. Some jobs I had paid well and gave me a lot of experience. It can go both ways but I found personally it was a combination of luck, good employers, and hard work. Luck played a large role for me.
Coop is a nice 4 month break from school, and you get paid! Most of the time you dont do that many things, but you do get to learn a lot. And learn how to be a professional
Depends. My first co-op term, the job search process and interviews were just depressing. This time, it was so much better because I had experience. I feel it is a combination of experience, luck, previous work term evaluations, and how you present yourself to the interviewer.
It's a mixed bag. Positives: - Get experience and grow up a lot (real world responsibilities to other people, yo.) - Get paid - Try out different jobs in different industries to see what you might actually want to do with your life. - Learn how to apply for job, interview skills, etc. (Probably the most useful thing I've learned so far) - Learn skills beyond your area of study (I'm a math student, but my co-op career has taken me down the path of web development. This could also be seen as a negative, though, if your area of study is all you want to do)
Negatives: - Work your ass off extra hard on academic terms trying to find a job. - You might get stuck in a boring/underpaid/distant job because of how the system works. - If you do go to another city, your personal life will probably take a hit. - You will be in school a year longer than your high school friends and many of your university friends. And they will move on without you when they graduate. - Scheduling your courses to meet all your academic requirements and graduate on time can be a huge headache.
Overall, I recommend it, but it's not for the faint of heart.
Finished co-op last year. It wasn't bad. Some jobs I had paid well and gave me a lot of experience. It can go both ways but I found personally it was a combination of luck, good employers, and hard work. Luck played a large role for me.
ReplyDeleteCoop is a nice 4 month break from school, and you get paid! Most of the time you dont do that many things, but you do get to learn a lot. And learn how to be a professional
ReplyDeleteDepends. My first co-op term, the job search process and interviews were just depressing. This time, it was so much better because I had experience. I feel it is a combination of experience, luck, previous work term evaluations, and how you present yourself to the interviewer.
ReplyDeleteIt's a mixed bag.
ReplyDeletePositives:
- Get experience and grow up a lot (real world responsibilities to other people, yo.)
- Get paid
- Try out different jobs in different industries to see what you might actually want to do with your life.
- Learn how to apply for job, interview skills, etc. (Probably the most useful thing I've learned so far)
- Learn skills beyond your area of study (I'm a math student, but my co-op career has taken me down the path of web development. This could also be seen as a negative, though, if your area of study is all you want to do)
Negatives:
- Work your ass off extra hard on academic terms trying to find a job.
- You might get stuck in a boring/underpaid/distant job because of how the system works.
- If you do go to another city, your personal life will probably take a hit.
- You will be in school a year longer than your high school friends and many of your university friends. And they will move on without you when they graduate.
- Scheduling your courses to meet all your academic requirements and graduate on time can be a huge headache.
Overall, I recommend it, but it's not for the faint of heart.