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Friday, April 14, 2017

The Co-op Experience

Hi! My name is Rachel Koize, and I’m a current junior in Mechanical Engineering. I’m also a 5-term co-op student with S&C Electric, a power manufacturing and distribution company in Chicago, Illinois. Before visiting Purdue, I had never heard of a co-op; I was surprised to find that Purdue has one of the most structured and respected co-op programs in the nation. Here are some other key things I’ve learned along the way:

·       
 I took this picture while getting ready to conduct
endurance testing on a new material on an
overhead grid product. It passed!
 
While an internship typically lasts for a single summer, a co-op is a contract between you and your company to return for multiple semesters. This means that the company has the chance to really build into you as you return each semester, the learning curve of starting at a new company each time is virtually eliminated, and you get to work on longer-term projects over longer semesters. As a third-term student last fall, I was already being trusted with the same kinds of responsibilities as the full-time engineers in my department. I had the unparalleled opportunity to go take a course from the American Society for Quality with my coworkers in Orlando. Co-op companies love investing in their students!

·         Co-op gives you an unmatched depth of experience. A co-op is a great option for someone who wants to explore a lot of different areas within the same company. I’ve already had the chance to work in two different product engineering departments, as well as in a quality engineering role. It’s a great way to learn what you love and rule out what you don’t.

·         Co-op projects give me a chance to apply what I’ve learned in school, and vice versa. Purdue counts spring, summer, and fall terms as semesters. A co-op student will switch off between full-time work and full-time school for each semester. This means I get to fully focus on my responsibilities wherever I am, and I’ve noticed several times that my class-based knowledge will build into my understanding of a work project, or the other way around. Getting firsthand experience with how things are done in industry has been very valuable for quickly picking up new course material.

·         Even though I’ll graduate a year later, co-op has been completely worth it for me. I love the way my projects require me to work with engineers all over my company. I’ve gotten to do everything from conducting product testing in negative 50 degree thermal chambers to redesigning complicated assemblies for easier manufacturing – I’m rarely sitting bored at my desk. Solving real problems means I have to go downstairs to the plant floor and talk to the people who know the process best. I’m also getting paid well for my time, and co-op students typically get a raise for each semester they return.


If you’re interested in co-op, it’s super easy to get involved at Purdue! Students typically do a 3-session or 5-session co-op; depending on which one you choose, you can begin as late as your junior year. As a 5-session co-op, I interviewed for my position in the spring of my freshman year and began work the following summer. Professional Practice Days on campus draw companies from all over the nation, many of which prefer to hire their engineering students here at Purdue. Good luck and Boiler Up!

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