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Real World 101: The Co-op Advantage

For a growing number of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University students, the work they do as interns at companies is as relevant and valuable as their course work. In fact, some argue the internship is more valuable, particularly if it concludes with a job offer by the company, which often happens.

Most Embry-Riddle students who do internships do so through the university's cooperative education program, the world's largest with a primary focus on aviation and aerospace.

Labs for learning

The co-op positions cannot be summer employment or gofer jobs. "I have to approve the job based on its relevance to one or more of the student's minors," says humanities professor Nancy Parker, coordinator of the aerospace studies degree program, which requires three minors for graduation. Each academic discipline assigns a faculty member, like Parker, to advise students participating in the co-op program.

Co-ops are labs for learning, says John Williams, chairman of the human factors and systems department. "The co-op program is a marvelous way for students to apply the knowledge they've learned in our academic courses, make mistakes, and find out what else is needed in their education."

Parker agrees. "They discover what's really needed on the job are things like dedication and discipline."

At the end of their internship, students submit a lengthy written report on the experience to their faculty adviser. This report and the number of hours they worked determines how many credit hours they gain for the co-op. For example, students must work 600 hours to earn six credits, the highest number possible.

Realistic work assignments

• Aeronautical science major Luis de Castro worked at Virgin Express' new base at Shannon Airport in Ireland, where he developed alternate flight routes and scheduled flight crews.
• At Guidant Corp., software engineering major Sheryl Johnson used specialized software to convert data transmitted by the medical device maker's cardiac pacemakers and defibrillators into visual displays and standardized commands that are easier for engineers to interpret for testing.
• Mike Montgomery, who is earning a B.S. in science, technology and globalization, rewrote the deicing manual used by Atlantic Coast Airlines, a United Express carrier. The document will be used by United Express to standardize procedures for deicing planes at its other five carriers.
• Ashley Nunes, an applied experimental psychology major specializing in flight operations and design, helped schedule flights and routes for Continental Airlines.
• At Johnson Space Center in Houston, Tex., aerospace engineering major Kristi Kleinhesselink helped Barrios Technology develop mission control displays for the Russian service module that will be launched for the new international space station by early 2000.
• Leslie Carlisle, who is earning an M.S. in aeronautical science, analyzed flight data recorders and produced data manuals at Aviation Safety Resource Services in Miami.
• Phil Oyerly, a sophomore studying aerospace engineering, performed structural and thermal analyses at Boeing for the company's X-34 flight experiment program.
• Cheryl Urquhart, an aerospace studies major, investigated and reported on more than a dozen aircraft accidents in southern California for the National Transportation Safety Board.
• MBA student Patrice James did financial performance analyses of routes and reservations for TWA and investigated and reported on vendors' capabilities to upgrade the airline's flight department technology.
• Christopher Perkins, an aerospace studies major, managed a tour guide program for the Alaska Railroad in Anchorage.
• Business student Susan Saltzman worked as an analyst in US Airways' route strategy department, where she pulled data for profit-loss forecasts, flight scheduling, and salary negotiations.

Co-ops used as 'recruiting tool'

"We have more co-op positions available than we have students to do them," says Lennie Lee, cooperative education director at the Prescott campus, "and we're constantly being contacted by more companies."

It's no wonder why co-ops are a big hit with employers. For 15 weeks, they can try out prospective employees at little cost, plus they get help with some big projects.

At ACA, Montgomery "literally rewrote our ground deicing program and built a deicing reference library for us," says his supervisor, Randy Hamilton, ACA's Jetstream 32 fleet manager. "At a conference, someone commented on how impressed he was with the level of Mike's knowledge."

One of Guidant's products incorporates work that Johnson did during her first co-op there last year, and the software engineering major was informed that the company also plans to implement what she did for her second co-op this year.

At Virgin Express's Shannon Airport base, de Castro made an "excellent contribution," according to his boss, Martin Hamrogue, the airline's executive vice president. Especially valued were his fluency in Spanish and English and his skill in charting alternate flight paths in the European airspace, where dense traffic, saturated airports, and different languages and ATC systems delay up to 30 percent of flights.

Many students are offered jobs by the end of their internship. A small number accept on the spot, but most resist the pressure, return to classes, and graduate before taking the job.

Of the 11 students interviewed for this article, six were offered permanent jobs by their co-op employers, and three were asked to stay in contact. Kleinhesselink says Barrios promised to make it easy for her to complete her Embry-Riddle degree if she joined the aerospace contractor right away. She declined, but says she might do a second co-op there, even if it delays her graduation by a semester.

Concepts come to life

James' work in TWA's finance, budgeting, and controls departments brought to life concepts that had been covered in her business classes. "My job made me realize how fragile a cost center can be," she says. "You have to be so accurate about things. It's not a job you can just walk in and learn."

After spending a semester in US Airways' route strategy department, Saltzman has tossed her earlier plans to carve out a career in public relations or sales and now wants to look for a position as an analyst. She's also decided to get an MBA or a master's degree in economics. "You think you learn everything in school," she says, "but you don't. I've saved time by doing this co-op first before going full force into industry."

Software engineering major Johnson says she took what she learned in the classroom one step further through her co-ops. "At Embry-Riddle I learned how to work on a team, but at Guidant I learned about interactions between teams."

Montgomery says the knowledge he gained about deicing chemicals and procedures has reinforced his desire to become an environmental consultant and help airlines and airports comply with EPA regulations.

In addition to the written report they must submit when they return to classes, Williams, who serves as a faculty adviser for co-ops in human factors, says students are encouraged to give oral briefings to fellow students. "They contribute to the education of their classmates," he says.

Students get the full treatment

After just a few days at Virgin, de Castro was scheduling flight crews on his own. "I had to deal with them calling in sick," he says. "I had to call and beg them to come in to work. I had to deal with the hotels and receptionists in different countries." At the NTSB, Urquhart interviewed grieving relatives, cajoled reluctant pilots, pieced together crash clues, and wrote accident reports.

When Saltzman, who was the only undergraduate in her department at TWA, wasn't pulling data, she found herself teaching fellow interns, graduate students in finance from Duke, Emory, and Yale, how to retrieve data and run software programs.

"After a week of being pampered I asked for more work," James says. "Soon I was involved in all the operations, no matter how sensitive the issues. It got to the point where it was over my head."

Payment varies

The Embry-Riddle career services office helps match students who are doing co-ops for the same employer and need a roommate. Alumni also call the office to offer student interns a place to stay.

But for a relatively small cost -- students pay a fee equal to only one credit hour for a "course" that can earn up to six credits -- the internship's real payoff comes after graduation.

"Co-op jobs lead to full-time employment with the organization," Niemeyer says. "If you don't co-op, you won't get a job as quickly and for as much money. Aeronautical science students get hired for major airlines' flight crews three to five years quicker when they do a co-op."

At Embry-Riddle, co-op internships are too valuable to pass up.

For information about Embry-Riddle's cooperative education program, call the career services office at 386-226-6054 (Daytona Beach campus) or (928) 777-3820 (Prescott campus).

By Robert Ross

We asked students: "What would you tell a fellow student who is considering doing a co-op?"

"Go for it. It's the opportunity of a lifetime. Grab whatever they offer you. You need a go-getter attitude." -- Susan Saltzman

"It's one of your best opportunities to get experience from the real world, not a textbook. You learn to figure things out on your own."
-- Christopher Perkins

"It's a must-do. I learned more about aviation safety in two months than I learned in two years in school." -- Cheryl Urquhart

"Co-ops give you a good foot in the door. I'm thinking about doing a second one."
-- Kristi Kleinhesselink

"I'd recommend doing a co-op if you haven't worked in industry and you want to start networking." -- Leslie Carlisle

"It opens doors. You get lots of experience that you can put on your resume."
-- Luis de Castro

"It helps you decide if that's what you really want to do for a career." -- Ashley Nunes

"We're in a phase today where industry won't hire someone who hasn't done a co-op or internship." -- Phil Oyerly

Co-op statistics for one-year period from Sept. 1, 1998, through Aug. 31, 1999:

• Number of Embry-Riddle students who did co-ops: 906

• Number of companies offering co-op positions: 356

• Corporations with the most co-op jobs: American Airlines, Atlantic Coast Airlines, Continental Airlines, Delta Airlines, Honeywell, ITS, Raytheon, US Airways

• Continental Airlines placed students from the greatest number of academic disciplines.

• One out of three students on the Daytona Beach and Prescott campuses do a co-op before graduating.

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