Topic: Opinions on a break from college for a co-op

[oldfett]

Hey all I need some input here. I spend quite a bit of time on this forum and know that there are people of all ages and from all walks of life so I figured where else to get diverse opinions.

I have had a rough couple of years. Between mediating my parents divorce, going to school, having a tree fall on my car (plpd), my father deciding he didn't want to pay for a loan I co-signed on (biggest mistake of my life) I'm getting a little burnt out. I wouldn't say I'm broke but I'm getting pretty close! Do I think my life is horrible? Absolutely not, I think I am lucky to have everything I do have and try to take the bad with the good.

I am in my 4th year of school and have a year left. I started off getting my bachelors in software engineering and decided to switch it to Computer Systems and Network Administration. It didn't set me back by much, only about half a year. You have to put the pedal to the metal to get a degree in 4 years now anyway. Anyway I am just getting burnt out with school. I like the field but I am having trouble seeing the end of the tunnel now. The professors are old school in an ever growing field so we are learning techniques that were dead and gone a few years ago.

So now on to the meat of the story. I decided to put in for a co-op and hit it off in the interview. They offered me a year contract making $23 or so an hour at 40 hours a week. They would help me in housing so I would have minimal outside fee's. I would be on a co-op so I would still technically be seen as a college student so I could get away with minimal taxes (sorry guys) and stay on my mom's insurance (she's a nurse).

Pro's:
- I would still technically be a college student so all my loans that don't start to accumulate interest until I am out of school would still lay dormant.
- I could pay off my car
- I could pay off all my higher interest loans
- I could start taking chunks out of my better loans
- I would be taking a year off of school and go back with some extra cash and less worries about money
- I would be getting some more real world experience in my field (great for a resume)
- I could possible get some more certifications while out there
- I would be graduating a year later, hopefully after the economy turns around

Con's:
- I would be graduating a year later
- I will be putting the rest of my life on hold for a year (linked to the one above)
- I am afraid that I will enjoy it to much and not want to return

So given my situation what would you do? Looking at it now I am 100% sure I would return. I have 3.5 years into it so why not go back for just one more year to get that piece of paper. I'm just afraid my views would change later on, I don't think so but you never know. My field averages around 55-60k a year straight out of college and I would be at 45k with this co-op, not to bad for no degree I think.

[Inigo Montoya]

I would go for it. School is fine but it can't beat experience. Do it and then finish school. It will make you that much more desirable to future employers.

[medic09]

Let me get this straight...

You are IN the fourth year.  So, you'll have ONE SEMESTER left to finish the degree and put it behind you after this one, eh?  This semester ends in another 6 or 7 weeks.

Okay, I've been around the block a few times.  Got a few degrees.  But first I dropped out of HS, later dropped out of college, eventually had a fulfilling career in education, and moved on to some other things.

If you were in second or third year, I might say 'sure, take a year off'.  But man, you are SO CLOSE.  And there is NEVER a guarantee about going back.  A lot of things can and do happen in a year.  I have seen it happen to many, many people for many, many reasons.  I took a year off with only a year to go, too.  I finally finished that first time 'round 10 years later.  I've seen it with others, as well.  There is no predicting and no promises.

Since you are so close, I say finish it off.  You will never, ever regret having a degree on your resume.  If you absolutely cannot stand the idea, how about registering for just one course next semester?  Keep you in the system, and moving towards completion.

Good luck!

[BlindJoe]

I would take the job, 8 pros to 3 cons, seems obvious to me

[oldfett]

Let me get this straight...

You are IN the fourth year.  So, you'll have ONE SEMESTER left to finish the degree and put it behind you after this one, eh?  This semester ends in another 6 or 7 weeks.

Okay, I've been around the block a few times.  Got a few degrees.  But first I dropped out of HS, later dropped out of college, eventually had a fulfilling career in education, and moved on to some other things.

If you were in second or third year, I might say 'sure, take a year off'.  But man, you are SO CLOSE.  And there is NEVER a guarantee about going back.  A lot of things can and do happen in a year.  I have seen it happen to many, many people for many, many reasons.  I took a year off with only a year to go, too.  I finally finished that first time 'round 10 years later.  I've seen it with others, as well.  There is no predicting and no promises.

Since you are so close, I say finish it off.  You will never, ever regret having a degree on your resume.  If you absolutely cannot stand the idea, how about registering for just one course next semester?  Keep you in the system, and moving towards completion.

Good luck!

I'm in the 5 year plan. I was originally in the 4.5 but I switched majors. My school actually suggests moving it out to 5 years to not overload. I'm currently in my 4th year (so 3.5 if you just count this semester). If I finish this year (this semester which is 5-6 more weeks plus next semester) I have one more year to go (two more semesters). So I have 3 more semesters to go. I don't think I made that very clear above, sorry.

[Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er]

I agree very much with what Medic said.

However (see my age, you haven't posted a thing about yourself-why?), it's a big world out there and there is plenty of time. Why not go lateral?! I think an education should also require worldly experience. I had a lot more of that by the age of 27 than all but 3 of my 91 younger class mates. As long as you stay focused and committed!! Promise yourself you will do it and stick to it. Do not waver!! I can not emphasize this too much!! Lots of exclamation points!! BUT, what if something happens and you don't?! You'll kick yourself in the ass for the rest of your life!! I finally had the opportunity to go to Pharmacy school at the age of 27. My 3rd time in school. 1st time I was a party dog and unpaid whore - nothing but FUN!! 2nd time I did better but I couldn't get my necessary interviews, got pissed off (hot head) and quit. 3rd time was the charm - not easy but I have my degree and license and it has taken care of me and my family. 

We can't make your decision, only you can. Are you strong enough to make a plan and stick to it?? My daughter is 12, I'll need to remember this a few years down the road. This coming summer if you're not busy with school or co-op, my advice to you is to jump on your bike and ride all summer long and find out who the hell you are and what you want to do when you grow up. It's a big beautiful country. Enjoy it while you can because you're going to be a working stiff and tied down for a long time. When the kids are gone and you're in your 50's you can start all over again!!   

[oldfett]

We can't make your decision, only you can. Are you strong enough to make a plan and stick to it?? My daughter is 12, I'll need to remember this a few years down the road. This coming summer if you're not busy with school or co-op, my advice to you is to jump on your bike and ride all summer long and find out who the hell you are and what you want to do when you grow up. It's a big beautiful country. Enjoy it while you can because you're going to be a working stiff and tied down for a long time. When the kids are gone and you're in your 50's you can start all over again!!   

See I've never been able to do that. I work my @$$ off all summer to pay for rent and my tuition so that I can go to school and not work. I've been doing this since I was 16. This last summer I had to work 3 jobs as I could not nail down my usual full time job. Lots of driving around but I did have the bike that kept me sane. I just can't afford to take off and ride for more than a week.

I want this degree don't get me wrong. I want it not just because I'm 7/10 there but because I enjoy what it will entail and I'm just to stubborn to give up. However I am just burnt out. I'm running very low on funds and while my GPA is pretty good people are only wanting the best now with the economy if they are hiring. Like I said the only things holding me back are NOT finishing school right away and worrying about not wanting to go back. I want that degree though so while I don't think this would happen now I worry about me changing the opinion later.

[Jerry Rxman Griffin aka MuthaF'er]

If you can take a week off and ride, do it! Good for the head. I gave up a marriage during my first year of Pharmacy school because I HAD to finish my education for me. Good lady too. That hurt! At the end of that first year I jumped on my 750 and rode from KY to CO and back. Had to do it. Best thing I could've done at the time. 

Stubborn is a good attribute (most of the time). Independence is good. Working multiple jobs to make things happen speaks for itself. Burnt out is not so good. Close is good. Do NOT wait until you get out of school until you find your job!! You should do your best to secure a position before you leave school. The co-op could be good and it could buy you some time. School doesn't have to be finished in 4 years. Main thing is you enjoy it and do well. I had to intern and extern for 3 summers during my final 3 years. Gave me a chance to look around and be seen. Do some serious soul searching and listen to both your heart AND your brain. The answer will come.

[Glenn Stauffer]

So now on to the meat of the story. I decided to put in for a co-op and hit it off in the interview. They offered me a year contract making $23 or so an hour at 40 hours a week. They would help me in housing so I would have minimal outside fee's. I would be on a co-op so I would still technically be seen as a college student so I could get away with minimal taxes (sorry guys) and stay on my mom's insurance (she's a nurse).

Never pass up the opportunity to gain real-world experience in this field.  Not having a degree can hurt you as you progress in your career since larger concerns often require it for management track employees and some use it as a basis for starting pay, but even without the degree, if you have valuable real-world skills and keep learning and taking on challenging opportunities, the impact on your income will be negligible.  If you never return to College, what have you lost?  Depends on your ultimate career goal.  And, really, unless your extra-curricular activities leave you no time, if you decide to stay working, complete your degree with night classes - you might find that your employer is willing to pay for a substantial portion of the tuition for work-related courses.

I manage an infrastructure group and have hired sys admins and I barely pay attention to degrees because Colleges don't teach the skills my staff needs to do the work.  I don't hire anyone without experience to be a sys admin because I don't have a training position and I'm not letting someone who hasn't screwed up stuff for real touch my systems. :-)

[oldfett]

Never pass up the opportunity to gain real-world experience in this field.  Not having a degree can hurt you as you progress in your career since larger concerns often require it for management track employees and some use it as a basis for starting pay, but even without the degree, if you have valuable real-world skills and keep learning and taking on challenging opportunities, the impact on your income will be negligible.  If you never return to College, what have you lost?  Depends on your ultimate career goal.  And, really, unless your extra-curricular activities leave you no time, if you decide to stay working, complete your degree with night classes - you might find that your employer is willing to pay for a substantial portion of the tuition for work-related courses.

This is true. From me job hunting last summer I found that although the degree is nice to have this career really revolves around having job experience and plenty of certifications. Is this what you have found? I have worked the last 4 summers at an ISP working as a help desk technician and occasional network admin of sorts. So I have fulfilled the needed internship 4 times over. My adviser says I have enough experience to just finish although I say that you can never have enough experience.

[medic09]

Okay, now that I know there's more than a semester or so to finish, my vote is with Jerry and Glenn.  And Jerry is right; break out and do something completely different just for a week or so.  More if you can.  It'll be good for your head, and you need to know you can.

We've got one kid who is a scientist in a prestigious lab, two in grad school, and a drop-out.  I adamantly defend the drop out.  She was wasting her time and money and killing herself/getting miserable.  So she's following the rocky path her dad did.  I have no regrets for all my experiences (well, most of them... ), and she won't either.

In almost every responsible profession we say the real learning starts after school.  Outside of school.  On the job, and also just living.

I say the mix of Jerry and Glenn's insights is possibly just what you need.  (Like Jerry said, we can't decide for you; but old farts have opinions, eh?)  The experience will be very good; but so will the experience of getting out and seeing just a bit of the world around you.  Do it.  

[BobbyR]

I had to rethink my original position after re reading your posts and Glenns. My first degree was not a issue, I had no chioce. On my second I decided to take a break and work, I finshed that degree 12 years later.

My concern was and I have seen it so many times is that you become distracted by the job and the money will not go back. I have observed this many times. 

[MacM2010]

I'd say the job is your best bet, especially if you'll still be considered a student.  Just don't give up on school - I've been working and going to school full time at night for my master's for a few years now, and it's tough, but doable. In a lot of ways, going to school is putting your life on hold too. Plus,  23/hr with a contract is a pretty good deal.

Perhaps I'm revealing my own ignorance here, but what do you mean by a co-op?  The co-op in my town is a hippie grocery store, but something tells me they don't pay that well.  

[Duke McDukiedook]

Take the co-op and keep 6 or 9 hours to keep focused on school.
When iItook my year sabbatical from engineering school I kept on 9 hours (local community college to get classes out of the way I didn't want to take at my engineering school) and pretty much a 40 hour work week.

You can do it, the end is near.
 

[oldfett]

Thats one thing I can't do probably is go to school and do the co-op. The co-op is out in the middle of no where and I am far enough into my classes as it is that a) I doubt a local school would have what I need b) If they did it probably wouldn't transfer c) they are not offered online. 

[oldfett]

The definition of co-op around here is leaving to take a full time job for more than a summer in your field. So in my case I will be moving 8 hours away from school to Minnesota and working full time at a paper mill as one of there Network Administrators.

One other thing to add is why it is a year. I am far enough in that I am class locked and many higher level classes are only offered every other semester. So I have to come back on another semester. For instance If I leave in the spring (not taking the spring semester) I can't come back in the fall as I will only be able to take 3 credits or so as everything else is either locked out or not offered until the next semester. From a financial standpoint this seems like a piss poor option to take, hence the year long co-op.

[Glenn Stauffer]

This is true. From me job hunting last summer I found that although the degree is nice to have this career really revolves around having job experience and plenty of certifications. Is this what you have found?

Certification helps get your resume past the HR droids.  It won't fool the IT folks if you don't have experience to back it up.  For instance, there was a deluge of certified Windows sys admins a few years back; lots who went through one week boot-camp style training to pass the certification tests; many of them without real on the job experience to back up the certifications.  Those resumes went in the round file.

Certification does show that you have a focus on learning which is always a good thing.

[Laminar]

Definitely do it. A co-op was the best thing I did during college. Arguably, it's the only time during my college career that I actually learned anything and when it came time to get a real job, interviews would have been impossible without the experiences I had from my co-op. Not to mention that $23/hr with provided housing is some NICE money, especially if you're putting in overtime. I always gave my salaried co-workers crap if we stayed late, letting them know I was getting time-and-a-half for this and they weren't.

Seriously do it.

[demon78]

Go for the experience, yes the paper is great but if you don't go back and finish right away you can always pick up the sheepskin later if it's needed in the future. At 70 it seems to me that your life ebbs and flows and to get anal about graduating at a specific time is wrong, you may find that even after the degree that it's something you never use in the future. Unless of course you've got a better handle on the future than I ever had.
Bill the demon.

[sangyo soichiro]

I have advice, but not about whether you should do the co-op/finish school...

You mentioned a lot of debt...
My advice is to get out of debt, and stay out of debt.  You wouldn't believe the difference this makes in your life.  Only people that are debt-free can truly understand.  The sky is bluer, the grass is greener, and even the bike is faster!

And never co-sign for a loan.  Even if it's for your father.  Of course, you know this now, but maybe someone reading this can learn.

Best of luck to you.

[ColinMc]

As someone who is FINALLY going back to school after dropping out of two colleges...I can't say this enough, either take the job or at least figure out a way to pay off your debts. I was struggling to get through school and pay of insurmountable debt. It seemed like no matter how hard I worked I was always behind on something, whether it was classes, or my debts...once I sorted my life out and am reasonably debt free (other than a modest car payment and typical monthly bills), it was a HUGE weight off of my shoulders and I was finally able to get to business with school, plus I have gotten a ton of real world experience in a couple jobs over the few years I did that. Nothing that paid as well as your co-op will lol.

Just like everyone else said, the fact that you have real world experience at someplace will pay of HUGE when you get your degree, most of my friends that did that ended up working for that same company with VERY well paying jobs. Assuming you do well at the co-op hehe.

[Blasbo]

If I had to do it over again I would definitely co-op. You're sick of school now, but after a few months of work, you will be tired of that and be ready to go back to school.
As stated above, everybody looks for experience and when you impress them as a co-op they will offer you a full time job when you are done with school.