Careerzing catches up with Andrew Horner after finishing his first year at Georgia Tech.  He writes about his summer co-op and his plans for the coming academic year.

 

What did you do this summer?

 

I worked as a co-op employee at AT&T in Atlanta, Georgia for my summer semester. As a co-op, I was able to do some real-world work for the company in developing and maintaining telephone, internet communication, and television systems for residential as well as commercial buildings. I used a computer-aided drafting (CAD) system to produce construction plans and records for new cable lines, poles and underground conduits. I did a lot of surveying and field work to research possible cable routes and get accurate measurements for construction. I really enjoyed this assignment. I felt that it was an informative and interesting introduction to some engineering basics, and it provided a very neat look at the inner workings of a service that I previously took for granted.

 

Can you explain in more detail what a co-op program is and why you decided to participate in one?

 

A co-op program is a way to get real work experience before you graduate. A student will work at the company in a full-time environment for a semester, fully compensated, and ideally with real employees to gain experience in his or her field. After that first semester, the student will go back to school for a semester, then back to work, etc. for an alternating work/study schedule at the same company.

 

There are several benefits to being a co-op that I took into consideration before joining the program. Earning money is an obvious reason, especially to an out-of-state student like me. I intend to use my salary to help my parents pay tuition and housing. I also wanted to get some experience in my field to see if it is something I would like to do as a career choice. In addition, it is very rewarding to see concepts learned in the classroom being applied in a job situation.

 

Participating in a co-op program is also a great way to take a break from studies and get in the field for a little bit. I anticipate hitting the books with a fresher mind in the fall after working in the summer.

 

Finally, a successful, multiple-semester co-op student almost always gets a very lucrative job offer from their company upon graduation, usually earning more money and having greater advancement potential than a graduate that did not participate in the program. Even if you decide not to stay with your co-op company, the experience is great to have on your resume.

 

What process did you go through to get into your co-op assignment?

 

Georgia Tech has a special website that lists companies offering jobs in each field and major. I logged into the site and browsed through several civil engineering job opportunities, trying to find the ones that were near Atlanta so that I could stay on campus housing.

 

Once I chose the jobs that appealed to me, I sent each company an electronic copy of my resume and signed up for an on-campus interview time. At the interview, I met representatives from each company who asked me some questions about my resume and qualifications for the job.

 

I was lucky enough to get a call back from AT&T to set up a summer co-op assignment. Once I accepted the offer, I had to meet with my major's co-op advisor to make it official and set everything up with the school. The co-op department at Tech takes special care to make sure students are learning and doing some meaningful work in their co-op assignments through regular progress reports that my manager at AT&T would fill out.

 

How did your experience in your coop assignment impact your decisions regarding your academic major? Your career possibilities?

 

I had to make my decision to major in civil engineering before I entered my co-op job, but my excellent experience at AT&T did a lot to solidify my choice. It also gave me an idea of what life as an engineer would be like. One of the major benefits of a co-op assignment is that most companies are eager to offer jobs to their co-ops as soon as they get out of school. While it is entirely possible that I may choose a different line of work than the one I have with AT&T, hard work in a co-op job can give some peace of mind that most students find hard to attain these days.

 

Now that you’ve finished one full year at Georgia Tech, what do you think of college life?

 

College is a real shift in life in many aspects. While it does demand more responsibility and work from you, it also gives you the freedom to decide what you want to do with your life and gives you a great place to grow, learn and prepare for what lies ahead. Whereas previous school had students focusing on broad subjects such as math, science and english, college, especially in the later years, offers classes that truly relate to real jobs and careers in the real world. I found this out in my co-op work, which demanded knowledge of statics, circuits, statistics, and other concepts that I had taken classes on in my freshman year. It was very exciting to me to know that what I was doing in college would someday reward me in my career, something that I found lacking in high school. I've been enjoying college life immensely, and I look forward to continuing my studies.

 

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Andrew Horner

Georgia Institute of Technology

awhorner@gatech.edu