Relevant Coursweork

My favorite thing about being on co-op is probably the satisfaction of knowing that I'm doing something relevant. The things I do here, regardless of whether they directly pertain to my future career goals or not, are undoubtedly beneficial to me as a person and an employee. I cannot say the same about sitting in pre-calculus four days a week, bored and confused, with an equally bored (and boring) professor--especially when I know beyond the shadow of a doubt that in the future I want to completely eradicate all traces of math from my life. Therefore, in theory, pre-calculus is an utter waste of my time. The same goes for quite a bit of required college coursework. Yes, you have to take it. . . even if it has nothing to do with what you want from your future, or even your present.

I realized just how true this was after taking "Co-op 101" in which we spent about six weeks focusing on resumé development. I was furious when I realized just how many classes I'd taken that did not qualify as "relevant coursework" and/or "relevant experience." My only thought: So, I sat through ten weeks of that for what?

Fortunately for me, that isn't the case here. Every task I'm assigned serves a purpose, even if that purpose is just for me to learn how to complete something more efficiently.

I've always been heavily career-oriented; constantly trying to map out the fastest route from point A to point B. Being on co-op reassures me that I actually am moving past point A, and I don't necessarily have to spend the next 5 years trying to reach point B.