Why Co-op Is So Awesome For Students

Posted on Tuesday, November 7th, 2017

If you’re thinking about taking a co-op course, you probably have some questions. Most importantly, you probably want to know what benefits co-op can have for you. Why should you take it? What is there to gain?

We have the answers to those questions. For students, co-op is awesome. There are lots of real-world, practical reasons why doing a co-op term can have a great impact on your career. You likely came to school to set yourself up for a good job after graduation; co-op is your ticket to that.

Take a look at these benefits.

Build Your Practical Experience

In the classroom you’ll learn a lot about why things work a certain way. You’ll be exposed to the theories behind procedures and study the frameworks in place in your industry. This is a really good background to have, and can make you a strong hire.

But for gaining the kind of experience that employers want, there’s nothing like hands-on work. And that’s what co-op does for you—it gives you an opportunity, as a student, to get extended hands-on experience in your field. That means that come graduation, you’ll be a desirable candidate to employers in your industry.

Get to Know What You Like

Even once you’ve settled on a program, it can still be difficult to know what area of your industry you want to work in. While in the classroom, you’ll be exposed to all kinds of different aspects of your career, and this may help you identify a path. But there’s no better way to figure out where you want to go than through working.

A co-op term gives you an opportunity to see what day-to-day life is like in your industry. It can help you identify which areas you really like, and which ones you’d like to avoid. It’s a great way to figure out where to focus your job hunt energy.

Get Some Financial Advantages

Having co-op on your resume can give you a big advantage during a job hunt. In addition to standing out to employers because of your practical, hands-on experience, you may also have a head start on the salary scale.

According to the Higher Education Quality Council of Ontario, graduates who completed a co-op term made $2,000 more a year two years after graduation than those who did not. And there’s more: because co-op positions are always paid, you could graduate college with less debt than those who didn’t do co-op.

Improve Your Soft Skills

When you work at a co-op position, you start to develop soft, or transferable, skills that you may not have had a chance to develop previously. Skills like time management, prioritization, written communication, and more may be things that you develop a lot faster at a co-op position than you otherwise would.

Transferable skills are important because no matter where you work, even if you change industries entirely, they go with you. They are skills that can be used in just about any environment. They are also highly in demand: communication, one of the biggest transferable skills, is the top skill employers are looking for in all industries.

Co-op gives you an opportunity to master these skills much faster, and makes you a well-rounded candidate for jobs in your field.

Co-op can be a game changer for your career. Beyond the straightforward benefits we list here, there are all kinds of peripheral bonuses, like growing your network and building a professional reputation. Co-op can set you on your career path, and bring you all kinds of success.

Want to learn more? Visit our website, shoot us an email, or call us at 613-727-4723 Ext.7623. You can also follow us on Twitter @AlgonquinCoop.


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