It was the first day of spring term.
I sat at one of the window-view tables at QNC, my laptop opened to my course page on Learn. I found my gaze shifting to the flurry of activity outside. A student waved enthusiastically at another student, seemingly ecstatic to see them again. They exchanged a few words, smiles, and a fist bump. Suddenly, I heard my own name called out by a friend I’d made last fall term, and we chatted for a bit as we tried to catch up on the past four months.
It seemed I was not alone in missing people I had not seen over my latest co-op term.
Co-op is often described as a chance to explore exciting career possibilities and make connections. It seems like an ideal program with plenty to offer students. Yet, when it comes to the real student experiences in the co-op program, there’s a lot of blood, sweat, and tears behind the shiny job titles. From the stress of the job search and the pressure of interviews to the gamble that is the ranking system — co-op is not as seamless as it might appear. Through it all, perhaps recalling our humanity amid the hamster wheel of the job search might be a welcome reminder that our value and potential goes beyond job titles, performance evaluations, and solid interviewing skills. Lina Zhou, a fourth-year student in computational mathematics, echoed this sentiment, stating, “I try to practice work-life balance, keeping in mind that life isn’t solely about work. I joined sports clubs like cycling and swimming after work hours to allow myself to disconnect and enjoy moments with friends.”
What makes UW’s co-op program so special?
UW is recognized worldwide for its world-class cooperative education program. With the chance to explore a variety of career options, earn income, and gain invaluable experience, co-op boasts many benefits. With UW being North America’s largest co-op program, it’s safe to say there is credibility and opportunities for students pursuing co-op designations. Maria Nastase, a first year student in systems design engineering, is confident in the advantages of the co-op program: “It takes experience to gain more experience, so no matter how hard the co-op search can seem, it is likely much harder to find a full-time job without prior experience.”
Beyond ideas, beyond the job search
When bright minds and promising career options align, it can be easy to overlook everything else the university experience, and life itself, has to offer.
UW students work tirelessly to balance assignment deadlines amid job applications to secure next term’s co-op position. With such intensive demands on our time, it becomes increasingly easy to slip into the habit of focusing solely on advancing our academics and career opportunities.
Challenge yourself to go beyond the textbook and beyond the work search — learning and success means choosing to develop the skills that support your well-being and the relationships that matter to you. For those who choose to enter the workforce immediately after graduation, remember that after your nine-to-five is over, you’ll want meaningful relationships that make free time worthwhile.
Balancing the demands
To any student currently pursuing a co-op program or anyone considering Waterloo’s co-op programs, never lose sight of the need for balance. Strive for your goals and ambitions, persist when the job search gets tough, but never lose sight of the fact that co-op jobs are simply that — temporary experiences. They can lead to finding the career of your dreams or likewise, discovering a career nightmare you’ll never hope to relive.
Growing career skills or breeding isolation?
Many students have echoed the feeling that the rigid structure of UW’s co-op program contributes to a culture of isolation and lack of close relationships on campus. Having to work a full-time job for a term often means needing to move away or spend additional time commuting. This can make having a normal university experience and social life seem near impossible.
With alternating academic and co-op terms and the different sequencing across programs, it’s hard to know whether a friend you make on an academic term will also be on campus during your next academic term.
Yet, if we look closer, we might notice a deeper lesson UW’s co-op program can teach us that has nothing to do with careers, and everything to do with meaningful relationships. Co-op teaches us that maintaining relationships is tough, no joke. It takes mutual effort and determination to keep any relationship, friendship or romantic, alive during the four months away. Additionally, knowing we’ll be gone on a work term in four months teaches us to take a risk if there’s someone we met over a study term we hope to stay in touch with. When there’s a time limit, it becomes a little more pressing to stay connected to the people we care about. Marcus Tunkl, a third year nanotechnology engineering student, believes that “the stronger the foundation of trust prior to [a] distance change between partners, the better shot you have at keeping the partnership.” Tunkl’s message to students worried if their love can last during co-op terms abroad? “Distance will not break honest love.” It’s worth considering; if one truly loves another, does time and distance weaken that affection? If love is dependent on presence, then does that not create conditions to love? — Shouldn’t the truest loves rest on an unconditional sort of affection?
So, perhaps what we learn is to fight for the people that matter to us. To make time for what’s worth it to us. To any given job, we’re just another resume to sift through. It’s easy to feel insignificant when a job posting has hundreds of applications. Why would anyone pick us? It’s easy to fall into a negative thought spiral in such circumstances. Remembering your individual strengths and meeting yourself where you are, are often the most effective ways of uncovering your potential.
Being kind to yourself
Co-op, like life, is what we choose to make of it. You can choose to berate yourself when your application is rejected or you can choose to continually improve your resume, cover letter, and interviewing skills, all the while learning to recognize the things you can control and the things you cannot. Show up and always do your best — whatever the results, you’ll have the peace of mind of knowing you gave it 100 percent.
For UW graduates, the benefits of co-op go beyond a few additional jobs on a resume. Through our work experiences, we learn more about who we are and what we value: about the people who matter, about what we value, and about the potential that exists within each of us.
