Many students cite the Cooperative Education Program (CO-OP) as the reason they decided to attend Pacific’s School of Engineering and Computer Science. CO-OP gives students the opportunity to gain real-world experience in their field for six to nine months, while also earning units toward their degree.
We reached out to SOECS students who recently completed their CO-OPs to learn more about the benefits of the program and what they got out of the experience. Here’s what they said.
Gain job hunting and interview skills
Davis Young ’22
Major: Computer engineering
CO-OP: Micron Technology
“To prepare for CO-OP, you take a class that teaches you the professional development aspects, like resume building, LinkedIn page building, how to apply for a job and interview etiquette. The school helps facilitate the internship application process, and if one of the companies accepts you, you can get hands-on industry experiece during a whole semester and summer.”
Earn a paycheck and gain work experience
Monica Castillo ’21
Major: Electrical engineering
CO-OP: Abbott Laboratories
“Once you get your internship, you work with your company for six to nine months as a paid intern. At the same time, you’re taking classes that guide you through what you learn. It’s very important to do this program because you get work experience and you build your soft skills, like communicating, presenting or writing.”
Learn how to collaborate with a team
Jordan Scharkey ’22
Major: Computer science
CO-OP: NVIDIA
“My biggest takeaway from the experience is probably working as part of a large team. In a lot of programming settings, it’s really easy to get really dialed into what you are doing, just yourself. Whereas, from this experience, I became really mindful of what other members of my team were doing and how I could reach out to them for help—and when they would reach out to me for help, how I could assist them with what I knew.”
Connect classroom knowledge to industry practice
Jenny Vo ’23
Major: Bioengineering
CO-OP: Abbott Laboratories
“At Abbott, I worked in the heart failure unit. They taught me how medical devices are made, like what the FDA is and what they are looking for when approving products. It was totally different from a day in my life as a college student. They took me seriously as an engineer and gave me a lot of tasks. I was basically solving problems day-to-day, which I really liked, so it gave me the sense that what I’m doing is right for my interests.”
Build a professional network
Takori Rooks ’23
Major: Computer science
CO-OP: Boeing
“To work at Boeing allows me to learn and work with engineers who are passionate about the same things as I am. My advice to students just starting a CO-OP is to network, network, network. Make as many meaningful relationships as you can. If you don’t know something, ask. In my experience, people are inclined to help because they know that you are an intern.”