In fall 2022, Class of ‘21 alumna Riya Jain got a dream opportunity. She was offered a cooperative employment rotation at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston. There she worked with astronauts in a Neutral Buoyancy Lab, a pool used to simulate microgravity, training them on procedures.
Jain, a senior at UC Berkeley majoring in mechanical engineering, has been taking gap semesters, semester-long breaks from regular college classes, to work full time for NASA since her sophomore year.
Also gaining valuable experience from a co-op program is Class of ‘23 alum Ishir Lakhani, who has worked with AI models that generate and evaluate the quality of 3D electrical routing designs for the construction industry. Lakhani, who is studying data science at the University of Waterloo in Canada, does not need to take gap semesters because Waterloo is one of few schools that integrate work terms, 4-month cooperative employment cycles, into their usual curriculum.
In recent years, co-ops have skyrocketed in popularity. These extended internships are full time, on par with that of full-time employees and typically last 4-6 months long compared to a typical 10-12 week summer internships that many students participate in.
Co-ops are aimed at giving students a more immersive experience than traditional summer internships. Additionally, these experiences help build a strong, diversified portfolio, giving students a significant edge when applying for jobs or other internships.
Waterloo’s co-op integrated curriculum eases the hiring process for students
Lakhani is a sophomore majoring in data science. At Waterloo, students receive exclusive access to a job board software called Waterlooworks, which is regularly updated with job postings from top tech companies, including many from the Silicon Valley.
Students apply to companies on the job board by submitting their resumes, and if companies express interest, students are offered interviews. Getting a follow-up interview is generally a stressful and difficult process, but students who apply on Waterlooworks typically have higher chances of passing compared to those from other schools who apply through other platforms such as LinkedIn.
Following the interview cycle, this personalized process directs both students and companies to rank the other on a 1-10 scale, with 1 indicating the best match and 10 indicating worst. The school then uses these rankings to pair students with one of the companies they applied to. Students are not bound to these companies and have the option to work elsewhere in the next 4-month co-op cycle.
Lakhani is taking a 5-year bachelor’s degree program offered by the school, where students alternate between four months of schooling and four months of interning until they complete six internships. While a 5-year degree may not be an appealing option for everyone, students taking this track at Waterloo only pay tuition for their eight study terms while receiving professional-grade paychecks throughout their internships, with Waterloo engineering majors earning as much as $51 per hour, money that helps offset their tuition costs.
When students graduate with a degree on top of co-ops from schools like Waterloo, they hold a significant advantage in having up to two years of work experience to complement their degrees.
Jodi Szimanski, associate director of Communications, Engagement and Digital Experience for Waterloo’s co-op education program, shared with The Falcon the results of the Ontario University Graduate Survey, which showed that Waterloo co-op graduates were significantly more competitive than other Ontario graduates in both employment and pay.
“I know people who have paid off a good chunk of their tuition through co-op money,” Lakhani said. “Since most of our internships aren’t during the summer, there’s a lot less competition — students from other universities aren’t applying and we still get to work on impactful projects.”
Lakhani is working at Anoki AI, a Mountain View-based startup. He is part of a team focusing on applying machine learning (ML) concepts to advertising in the multimedia industry. The internship caught his eye while he was surfing through the job board because of the opportunities to work with real-world applications.
“The work is exactly what I’d be doing on the job at any company — it’s a full-fledged internship where I’m working on crucial products,” Lakhani said. “I don’t need to take any gap semesters and am still involved in extracurricular activities at my school — I’m currently an executive at Waterloo’s Data Science Club, where I lecture on ML topics.”
During the previous work term, Lakhani interned at Augmenta, a Toronto-based software startup. There he helped integrate machine learning into fields such as architecture and construction. Using artificial intelligence, the company was able to provide insights for clients on how to design buildings efficiently while reducing their environmental footprint.
“That’s the benefit of co-op — you can explore a wide variety of careers,” Lakhani said. “Co-ops have allowed me to explore different niches of ML which I’m interested in, giving me a more diversified skillset.”
Lakhani added that immersing himself in co-op programs has changed his mindset about his career plans. Lakhani intends to work in the tech industry, leaning toward joining a startup because he likes the fast-paced environment.
“Seeing how much fun applying ML to the private sector has made me realize I wanted to go down the industry path instead of the research path,” Lakhani said. “Everyone should do a co-op — it’s the smartest way to get real experience, build your resume and stand out in a crowded job market.”
Alumna Riya Jain explores different NASA divisions in federal co-op program
In her sophomore year at UC Berkeley, Jain joined a co-op program run by the federal government called Pathways, which she discovered through the NASA website. Since then, Jain has completed four co-ops at NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston, working in various divisions like facilities engineering, test engineering and currently, spaceflight operations.
“I chose to work at NASA because I have always been interested in contributing to human exploration and development in space. I was specifically interested in flight operations and NASA’s Mission Control Center, so it was a natural fit,” Jain said.
Pathways allows students to apply directly to any federal employer. Since the federal program is not organized as part of Berkeley’s curriculum, students must alternate between working co-ops and attending school, forcing Jain to take gap semesters. Jain’s graduation will not be postponed as she made up for her missed semesters during summer semesters and other breaks.
However, because Jain is required to work in person for her internship, traveling between California and Texas has posed numerous challenges in addition to taking time off from school.
“Balancing being in student activities and co-ops, especially since mine is out of state from where I go to college, is pretty difficult, but the organizations I’m involved with are very understanding of what I am doing,” Jain said. “I make a conscious effort to contribute in whatever ways I can, regardless of whether I’m in school or not.”
Her work experience is on par with that of her coworkers at NASA, and she is paid on the same pay scale as regular employees.
Jain regards joining a co-op as being heavily influential on her future plans by opening new doors and opportunities. She plans on pursuing a master’s degree in mechanical engineering with concentrations in aerospace engineering and materials science at Berkeley next year. In the future, she hopes to work full time at NASA as a flight controller.
“Being a part of a co-op program has been hugely influential in my career plans, as getting this work experience while I am still in school has helped me figure out what I would be interested in working on after graduation,” Jain said. “It has also helped me figure out what areas of engineering I am most interested in studying while I am still in school, which has helped me focus my education on what I find interesting and useful to my career.”
