For Jenny Koo, the most stressful part of her co-op work term is the commute from West Vancouver to the spacious Richmond headquarters of systems engineers MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates (MDA).
Koo is an electrical engineering student working on software for a remote manipulator system that will be Canada's contribution to a planned international space station.
Once she pulls into MDA's parking lot, things are a lot more relaxed -- especially now that she can find her way to her office.
"I've been here since early January and I still can't find my way around the rest of this building," she admits.
Koo's previous co-op experience includes two placements with a management information systems company and one with a maker of remote-controlled submarines.
"I love starting new work terms. It's a break from the routine of school -- you go to a different environment with new people to meet and new things to learn. It's exciting."
In the space and defence section of MDA, where Koo will work for eight months, dress is casual and empty pop cans adorn computer workstations.
"I try to look for work terms where the environment is casual and not uptight and bureaucratic. At MDA the work is serious, and we all take it seriously, but we have fun at the same time."
Seated in front of her computer, Koo seems at ease with her specialized task.
"Right now, I'm working on validation and integration for the whole system. After I've written specifications for procedures, the integration team will proceed to test the system."
Such challenging and interesting work was beyond imagination when she started studying at UBC.
"I had no idea of career goals. I only knew I wanted to work in technology. My co-op placements have helped me confirm that I want to do computer engineering, and when I graduate I'll have a range of choices."
Choice has also been one of the payoffs of the co-op program for fellow electrical engineering student Sunny Gulati, who graduates this May. He's already accepted a permanent job offer from BC TEL after turning down tempting offers from IBM and Northern Telecom.
Gulati says co-op experience helped him grow, and he remembers his second co-op work term with a large Calgary oil company as a turning point.
"I had never been away from my parents and my home before -- not even for a weekend. Suddenly I was dealing with a new city, new people, and a real Canadian winter."
"In Calgary I developed more than just technical skills. My self esteem increased, and so did my public speaking and sales skills. When I came back after four months, I was a different Sunny. The money is great, the experience is great, but for me, personal development is a crucial benefit of co-op."
Gulati looked for new challenges in each placement. He worked for big companies, small companies, public institutions and corporations, and he always took away great contacts and increased knowledge about himself.
After each work term, Gulati went back to school with renewed vigor, and even though he worried less about marks, they improved along with his time management skills.
"I could see where I was going, I could see the future, and that made school more interesting."
Seeing the future increases the chances for career success, according to a review of co-op funding completed in 1992 for the Co-operative Education Fund, which funds co-op programs throughout B.C. The review shows co-op graduates find employment sooner than their peers, have greater job satisfaction and get promoted more often.
"Finding a permanent job after graduation was so easy with all my experience and references," says Gulati. "I'm a go-getter to begin with, but I don't know how I would have gotten where I am without co-op."