at SD Mines
CO-OPS & INTERNSHIPS
BENEFITS • Gain valuable work experience. • Increase chances for job and higher salary offers. • Earn money to help pay for college. • Confirm or redefine your career focus. • Strengthen communication and teamwork skills. • Obtain academic credit. “On top of helping pay for college, internships and co-ops have helped me explore the many career options available for my degree and has definitely helped me stand out more in a competitive job market. Not to mention internships have provided me real world job experience where I’ve worked alongside professionals in an informal extended interview where I have been able to showcase my capabilities to potential employers.”
Mark Mazzucco
Co-op: ExxonMobil Summer/Fall 2015 BS, Metallurgical Engineering, 2016
CO-OP/INTERN AVERAGE WAGE $18 $16 $14
2014-2015
$17.57
$12 $10 $8 $6 $4 $2 0 * Some employers also provide free housing or housing allowances, bonuses, and relocation expenses that are not reflected in the salary average.
“Nothing beats taking what you learned in the classroom and applying it out in the real world. My internship allowed me to do just that. I was not sure if metallurgical engineering was the right field for me. After my internship, I know it is exactly the field I need to be in.”
Anna Haydock
Intern: Freeport McMoRan, Summer 2015 BS, Metallurgical Engineering, 2017
Mines intern/co-op students worked at more than 225 employers in 36 states and District of Columbia this past year.
OTHER FACTS •
Starting salaries are usually higher for graduates with co-op or internship experience.
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Employers first consider their co-op/ intern students when hiring new graduates for full-time positions.
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Many co-op/intern students receive job offers several months before graduation.
WHAT ARE CO-OPS & INTERNSHIPS? Internships and co-ops provide great opportunities for students to apply classroom learning to “real world” work experiences. Students are hired by industry and government agencies to work on projects related to their fields of study. With approval from their academic department, students may earn academic credit for their internship or co-op experience. All Mines students are strongly encouraged to obtain relevant work or research experience before graduating. Internships are usually for the summer or parttime during the school year. Co-ops are often 6-8 months in length (semester + summer) but vary with employers. However, the terms are often used interchangeably by employers.
STEPS TO TAKE 1. Develop a good résumé and cover letter. 2. Apply to prospective employers at career fairs or through SD Mines’ “Gold Mine” system. 3. After accepting an internship or co-op, notify the Career & Professional Development Center of your job offer. 4. To obtain academic credit, contact your department co-op coordinator and register for the correct co-op course (CP) and number of credits. * Students registered for CP credit maintain full-time student status while working on co-op.
A SAMPLE OF 2014-15 MINES CO-OP/INTERN EMPLOYERS 3M 609 Consulting* 7400 Circuits* Adams Thermal Systems* ADM AE2S AGCO Albertson Engineering* Alcoa Alpha Natural Resources AMEC American Eng. Testing* Antimicrobial Materials.* Apache Corporation Arch Coal Argonne National Lab Ashfall Fossil Beds Park Baker Concrete Banner Associates* Banner Engineering* Barrick Gold Basin Electric BD BHP Billiton Black Hills Corp* Black Hills Info. Security* Blattner Energy BNSF Railway Bobcat Braun Intertec Brink Constructors* Burns & McDonnell Cargill Case New Holland Caterpillar* CHR Solutions* Cirrus Aircraft City of Aberdeen* City of Rapid City* Civil Science Clark Engineering * Cliffs Natural Resources Cloud Peak Energy Cobalt Technologies* Coeur Mining* Computers Unlimited Dakota Gasification Dakota Pump* Daktronics* Dow Chemical DOWL HKM Dslution* Dyno Nobel EchoStar Emerson Process Mgt. ExxonMobil Ferber Engineering* Fermilab Flatiron Construction Ford Motor Company
Freeman’s Electric* Freeport McMoRan Fugro Geospatial* Garmin Gerdau Greentree* HDR Inc. Hendrickson Trailer* HF Webster* Highlands Engineering HMMI-Huron* Hormel Foods Hornady Houston Engineering Huffman Engineering Hutchinson Technology Indian Health Service* Infrastructure Design* Innovative Materials* Innovative Systems* John Deere John Morrell* Kiewit Kimberly Clark Kinross Gold KLJ* L-3 Communications Lafarge Lehigh Hanson LG Everist* Littelfuse* Logan Aluminum Luminant Energy Marathon Oil Masaba Mining Equip* MDU* Medtronic Michelin Microsoft Molded Fiberglass SD* Monsanto Mosaic MSHA NASA National Oilwell Varco National Radio Observatory National Security Technology National Weather Service* Newmont Mining Nexus Smart Pay* NISC North American Coal North Atlantic Industries* Nucor Nutra-Flo* OCI O’Connor Company* Oftedal Construction
Omnitech* OneOK Parker Hannifin Parson’s Peabody Energy Pete Lien & Sons* Pixel Pines* POET* Polaris Industries QEP Resources Raven Industries* Raytheon RESPEC* RFA Engineering Rockwell Collins Rosenboom RPM* RS Stover Sanford Underground Research Facility* Schwans Food Company SD DENR* SD DOT* SD GF&P * SDN Communications* SDSM&T* SECO Construction* Siemens Solvay Chemicals South Dakota Dashboard* SPN and Associates* Sram/Quarq* Stantec Steel Dynamics Stinger Ghaffarian Tech* Stratasys Superior Industries Taney Engineering Terracon* Toyota Trail King* Twin City Fans* Ulteig US Army Corps of Engineers* US Forest Service* Universal Industries US Steel USGS* UTC Aerospace Valley Queen Cheese* Vishay Dale* Volkswagen America Walt Disney Worthington Industries* Wurth Electronics* *South Dakota employers
EFFECT OF CO-OP/INTERN EXPERIENCE ON AVERAGE SALARY OFFERS 2013-14 Graduates (BS degrees) $65,000 $63,000 $61,000
$63,740 $62,031
$59,000 $57,000 $55,000 $53,000 $51,000 0
NO EXPERIENCE
CO-OP/INTERN EXPERIENCE
MORE INFORMATION Darrell Sawyer, EdD, Director Jason Pfeiffer, MS, Assistant Director Cindy Christensen, Program Assistant II Career & Professional Development Center 501 E. St. Joseph Street Rapid City, SD 57701 605.394.2667 careercenter@sdsmt.edu http://careers.sdsmt.edu
South Dakota School of Mines and Technology does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, military status, sex, religion, age, sexual orientation, political preference, or disability in employment or the provision of service. The Mines Career & Professional Development Center adheres to NACE’s Principles of Professional Conduct for Career Services and Employment Professionals.