Preparing #FutureEngineers
It’s the nation’s fifth-oldest program, and it’s continuing to prove that UA prepares the best engineering and polymer science students. The co-op and placement program provides paid, flexible, industry experience to undergraduate students in the College to offer them a feel for working in the industry and have the opportunity to narrow down the type of job they want. About 1,000 students are placed into engineering co-ops each year.
The centerpiece component is the biannual Career Fair for Engineering, Engineering Technology and Computing, the first of which was held on Feb. 7 this year. More than 230 companies attended this year’s fair where about 600 company representatives—170 of them UA engineering alumni—interacted with 700 engineering students seeking careers to recruit them for their respective companies.
Tyrone Johnson, Class of 2024, majoring in Computer Science
“My experience at the career fair was great,” said Tyrone Johnson, a fifth-year student majoring in Computer Science. “Seeing all the companies in attendance was eye-opening to what the ‘real world’ somewhat looked like regarding my future career. The companies were very friendly, nice, respectful and very informative on what opportunities they had to offer.”
Benefitting students and companies
Both students and companies benefit from UA's co-op and placement program. Students receive an incredible, paid, real-world engineering experience, and companies fill in-demand positions with skilled, student engineers who work hard and are eager to learn.
“Our company has had extremely positive experiences hiring UA students for co-op and professional positions,” said Brandon Hein ’16, who graduated with a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering and now works at Collins Aerospace. “A large portion of our engineering team and engineering management team are graduates from UA and worked at our company as co-ops.”
Carl Aeschliman, Rich Carpino, and Brandon Hein, representatives from Collins Aerospace, share networking, resume, and interviewing skills with UA students to help prepare them for the Spring Career Fair. This “Behind the Scenes: Secrets to Success” event was hosted by the Co-op and Placement Program.
Students in the College graduate with a year’s worth of experience and many with significantly reduced (or zero) college debt if they participate in a maximum of three co-op rotations. Full-time co-op students make, on average, $19 per hour and $42,000 total over three rotations. Also in many cases, students will have already earned seniority, retirement benefits, vacation and other perks.
Carl Aeschliman ’83, who earned a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and attended the career fair as a representative of Collins Aerospace, has several traits he looks for in potential employees, from self-motivated to curious.
“I look for students who love their field of engineering, who exhibit this love by some of their hobbies and activities,” he said. “We’ve hired many co-op students over the years, with much success. A large number of our current engineering staff started as co-ops, and we’ve had some co-ops stay with the company their whole career right up to their retirement.”
Making the difference
The career fair isn’t just a place for students to pitch themselves to potential employers and explore available in-demand job opportunities. It also reinforces important soft skills that can make them stand out among other job candidates.
Meganne Chapman, Class of 2024, majoring in Civil Engineering
“I expanded my network of connections in my field of engineering at the fair,” said fourth-year student Meganne Chapman, who’s studying Civil Engineering. “Attending the career fair also helped me communicate better with professionals during interviews. The fair helped ease some of the pressure and nervousness that comes with an interview. Because I attended the fair, I received a few interviews, which is one of the many benefits of attending.”
Engineering students get hired — 97% of the College’s graduates are working or continuing their education within six months of graduation. Ultimately, the unique hands-on experiences students can receive through the co-op and placement program enable them to rise higher in their careers following graduation.
The Co-op and Placement Office Helps…
- Guide students to make informed decisions about the types of positions to pursue.
- Provide workshops for career development.
- Provide suggestions to improve student’s resume and refer resume to co-op employers.
- Coordinate interviews with employers.
- Helps students complete the job acceptance process.
What They’re Saying!
STUDENTS
“It's always a nice experience talking to employers and people I've worked with in the past. The benefits are building a network and opening new opportunities to work with others.”
“I liked how it gave me an opportunity for my first impression with these companies to be a face-to-face interaction, rather than simply sending a job application.”
“A benefit of participating in the UA career fair is learning about the different projects each company does.”
“This career fair was well organized and there were several new companies to meet. The benefits of participating in the career fair are to meet face to face with company representatives and to find out about opportunities for co-ops.”
“The variety of companies is great, and I get to learn about different fields related to my degree that I might not have considered.”
“The greatest benefit I gained from the career fair is being able to gain experience talking with employers and recruiters to get an idea of what the real world is like when looking for a job.”
EMPLOYERS
“The students are well-prepared at Akron and present themselves professionally and respectfully. I could tell the majority had a practiced pitch and asked great questions. Many of our co-ops come from UA.”
“It was great to have the exposure and let students know about our small start-up company. We got about 28 resumes, so this is a great start to figuring out our talent pipeline for the rest of this year and next.”
“The students at UA are always professional, knowledgeable and ready for their next experience. This is my favorite school to get engineering students from.”
“The career fair is huge, and it is a great way to get our company out there.”
“I met some very good candidates, primarily aerospace systems engineering majors.”
“I am an alumni, so it was helpful to relate with the prospective interns/hires.”
“This is by far the best organized fair that we attend.”
Story by Alex Knisely.
Media contact: Cristine Boyd, 330-972-6476 or cboyd@uakron.edu.
