Kayla Sinclair came to campus at 5:30 in the morning to get in line and found 300 people ahead of her.
“I didn’t get to sign up until 9:30 or 10, and I was only able to sign up for one,” she said. “The rest were full.”
Sinclair, a sophomore majoring in chemical engineering, was signing up for interviews with various companies participating in The University of Alabama’s engineering co-op program. Through the program, she and other selected students would alternate between three semesters of full-time work with an engineering company and full-time study at the University.
“You almost can’t get a job without one,” she said. “[Students] are being warned that co-ops and internships are one of the first things on the list to be looked at by employers.”
Roy Gregg, UA director of cooperative education and professional practice program, said many employers expect graduates to have related work experience when applying for full-time professional positions.
“Employers want some demonstration of technical skills in a supervised or maybe an unsupervised working environment, and the ability to problem solve or complete tasks while dealing with deadlines and a variety of people,” Gregg said. “This experience should enable better decision-making by a future employee.”
He said 319 applicants have submitted as of Feb. 19.
“We have seen almost a 30 percent increase over last year in student participation due to several factors: the huge enrollment increase, faculty support and parental awareness of a very competitive job market,” Gregg said.
Gregg said the program’s applicants have an average GPA of 3.3, with 28-30 percent attending the University on some kind of scholarship. The program allows students to accept positions anywhere and anytime and 50 percent of students do not co-op in Alabama.
“Thus, many employers provide housing while at work, in addition to the co-op salary: $18 to $20 an hour,” he said. “Many do remain in the Southeast, with a growing number accepting co-op positions throughout the US.”
Charles Phillips, a senior majoring in civil engineering, co-oped with Georgia Power from spring 2011 to summer 2012. He remembers arriving to sign up for interviews at 5:30 a.m. and signing up for five companies within an hour and a half.
“This year, I worked the interview sign-ups, and the first person in line got there at 2 a.m.,” Phillips said. “People who got there at 4 or 5 a.m. didn’t get seen until 9 a.m.”
Phillips said he agrees this increase in interest is tied partially to the increase in the number of students, especially given the large number of freshmen and sophomores who apply, but he also said he feels the University has done a better job of making information available.
“The College of Engineering as a whole has done a better job promoting the co-op program,” Phillips said. “A lot of teachers now allow time for guest speakers to come and talk about their programs.”
He said the faculty and college have been more supportive, and that the staff from the co-op office really cares.
“They have a great foundation, and now they’re growing and expanding,” Phillips said. “They’re definitely moving in the right direction.”
For Phillips, the co-op program is an important way to try out an engineering field. A student’s experience in the program can be an important part of fine-tuning career goals.
“It’s more and more important today,” Sinclair said. “I know a guy who co-oped in Houston and is now making $85,000 a year at his first job.”
Gregg said co-oping is also in the best interest of many employers.
“Students spend several ‘internships’ with the same company and, in most cases, the same supervisors. The end result is a trained employee at graduation. On average, 35-40 percent of co-op graduates stay with [one] company. [This eliminates] recruiting and training expenses and the costly high-risk turnover rate of first-year college hires,” Gregg said. “In the meantime, the co-op students are productive members of the organization at a fraction of the cost of full-time engineers. These companies have programs because it is in their best business interests. They are not just being good guys.”
Gregg said co-op education has been in place since 1906, and some employer partnerships have been in place for over 100 years.
“It is part of their culture. Their upper management teams are products of their co-op program,” he said. “It is a familiar engineering concept that has become a desired expectation for these kinds of employers. Many employers have caught on and want the same staffing outcomes.”
Gregg said the program’s new slogan, “Alabama and Beyond,” reflects the top priority of employer expansion as we continue to strive to assist our growing number of students in becoming the best individuals and most prepared graduates they can be.
Sinclair said she hopes the program can continue to make more connections with companies, who need to know they can come to the Capstone and get quality engineers.
“Students from the College of Engineering are definitely able to compete,” she said. “We’ll be even more able to compete if there were more co-op opportunities for everyone.”
More information about the program can be found at coop.eng.ua.edu.
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