Co-operative education: finding the positive

The last few weeks of the college year are fast approaching with the end of term exams looming menacingly on the horizon, but sure "isn’t there a grand stretch in the evenings?"

For most students the thought of exams causes stress, but others will have the added anxiety of co-operative education to contend with.

This brings with it the sinister prospect of leaving college for a term to take a bite out of the real world!

Every college seems to portray it differently, some refer to it as "co-operative education", others advertise it as an "internship", "teaching practice", "placement" etc ..etc….

As a fourth year student twelve months on from my placement I can say that with the benefit of hindsight it was by far the most valuable part of my third level education.

However, colleges like to promote it as an integral part of our academic education; this could not be further from the truth!

Robert Owen defines "Co-operative education as a structured method of combining classroom-based education with practical work experience, commonly known as co-op, it provides academic credit for structured job experience."

The reality is that it is seldom linked to any form of classroom based education. You are more or less hung out to dry by your college.

Companies and social services contact the college about needing students to fill roles for mundane administrative work, a lot of which (depending on the course) is unpaid, the college will send a list of students available for the term as well as the summer months and interviews will be set up from there.

If the interview is successful you have a job for the next 6 to 8 months and it looks well on the CV.

During the semester before embarking on placement you are given a talk about succeeding in an interview….and that’s it! There’s nothing provided for the adjustment from college to work life, nothing about employer/employee relations, nothing about finding accommodation and absolutely nothing about preparing yourself for the potential role you are undertaking.

In my university it is mandatory to take the first job that is offered to you, I was fortunate enough to be offered two paid placements, but because of this bizarre rule I was forced to take the first offer despite my second and preferred offer being in a better location and with a more reputable company. Is that supposed to practical?

My particular placement was scheduled to run from May to June, my interview was to take place with a company in Dublin during study week (the week before the exams) so that involved travelling to and from Dublin in the one day.

Shortly after the interview I was offered a job with the firm where I was informed that I would be starting on the 26th of May…my exams didn’t finish until the 19th.

So, between studying for exams and trying to find affordable accommodation in Dublin (not easily done!), I was under a severe amount of pressure with no assistance from the university.

But yet, it was one of the best things to happen to me, it forced me to be independent, to stand on my own two feet, to face the reality of adulthood. I was trained in a role that had absolutely no relevance to my course of study; the tasks were mundane, repetitive and completely uninspiring, I deeply despised it. However it did show me the type of career I didn’t want to pursue and that is valuable in itself!

My advice to any student starting their placement this month is to embrace your freedom and independence, you will soon realise if it is the type of career you may or may not want to pursue, either way it will be beneficial in the long-run, and believe me you will embrace college life again once it is all over!