Cooperative Education

Proof is in the π

"I think that any engineering student that isn't in the co-op program is missing the boat. The experience that I'm getting will be invaluable to me in the future. Nothing can get you ready for the real world like actually working in the real world. Experience in your field-any experience-will give an engineering student the advantage over another student without it. That is why the co-op program is so great. It allows students with very little experience the opportunity to work side by side with veteran engineers and get valuable experience before graduation. All engineering students should seriously consider it."

Fall Industry Expo October 2, 2008 9am - 1pm UWM Student Union Registration for employers Information for students Contact Career Services to activate your PantherJobs account to participate

"Co-op students provide an advantage to their employer because they have already experienced the work environment. They know what is expected of them and have a much shorter learning curve."

"The benefit of being a part of […]'s Co-op program cannot be described my mere words alone. It has boosted my confidence, my grades, my social skills and my outlook on life. Each semester, every piece of being an engineer becomes a little clearer, each problem has a few more solutions and the opportunities within the field stretch out even further. I only hope by contributions can cover even a fraction of what I have been given"

"Somewhere along the line, students need to be taught more about the professional world that they are going to have to become a part of. It is beneficial to develop and identify specific competencies and this is best done through working experience. This is where a co-op job can speak volumes."

"The greatest thing about this co-op experience, although, was the fact that I also got to deal with the whole company in general. My boss made me feel like I was actually part of the company allowing me to attend all business meetings dealing with the company's progress, among other things…I dealt with purchasing, receiving, and shipping groups to accomplish this and there is just no way for me to learn all this in school. In general I get to see how the whole business works and runs first hand."

"Kohler Company initiated it's co-op program back in 1980, with the objective of providing qualified engineering students the opportunity to perform meaningful and practical work in their chosen field while they are completing the requirements for their baccalaureate degree. Moreover, this program has enhanced the image of Kohler Co. on various campuses, improved our recruitment efforts, and provided us with a valuable source of trained and qualified candidates for future full-time employment."

"I look back at the schoolwork I've done and the co-op terms I've completed. More and more, I'm seeing that the work experience here has given me something that I could never have received at the university-it's given me a chance to apply my problem solving skills, regardless of what sort of problem it is, because the principle is the same. And it's truly one of the best feelings knowing that my work has made a significant improvement in our system reliability."

"I feel as though my experience at [….] is priceless and can only be gained through actual product design and customer feedback. There is no way that any of these things could be learned in a classroom. I look forward to my next semester at UW-Milwaukee where I will be taking classes that I feel will be greatly beneficial to power tool design."