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Advice Needed: Co-op or Courses?

icerider
edited January 2010 in General
So this has been really bothering me lately, so I was wondering what your thoughts are on and what I should do.

I'm currently registered for CRIM 131, SA 250, SA 255, and HIST 102 for the Spring semester. I'm aiming for a major in Sociology and a minor in Criminology, and I'm still missing four lower division requirements (STAT 203 being the other one). Today, I get an email saying that VANOC is having their 2nd round of hiring of co-op students for positions in their organization. The jobs I'm looking at would start in early January and end in late March, and would be supervisory jobs.

Job Description is:

Supervisors will be in charge of an operational area and manage a group of team leaders, who are each responsible for a number of frontline staff.* Manage a designated area of a venue to ensure that appropriate levels of services are being provided to all.

So, the question is whether I should apply for the VANOC job and take a chance (a pretty high one I think) that I'll be behind a semester with my courseload since summer course selections aren't great, or if I should play it safe and stay with my Spring courses.

Any thoughts?

Comments

  • DesolateDesolate
    edited December 2009
    I say play it safe. That sounds like a job that'll be getting a lot of applicants and if you aren't successful you're really going to regret it.
    And you'll miss out on a semester of Barry. LOL

    But definitely wait for more advice than just mine before deciding. :P
  • GeoGeek
    edited December 2009
    do as much co-op as you can. classes will always be there.

    if you're majoring in sociology, you're gonna need aaaaall the work experience you can get.
  • fnn2097
    edited January 2010
    I accepted the job that VANOC offered me. I think its a once in a life time opportunity to work for the olympics. Its gonna be a wonderful experience and will have lotsa fun. I know you'll be a semester behind, but who cares~ When you graduate from SFU, most of the employers will look at your work experience rather than your GPA. Lots of my friends who graduated from SFU a couple years ago said that they regret not doing co-op.

    BTW, i was offered the Bus Dispatcher position.
  • icerider
    edited January 2010
    Well, I was sent an email basically saying that I didn't get the job last friday....and today, I get an email with them offering me the position of bus yard crew supervisor. It's not the job that I wanted, but it is a supervisory role. I'll have to talk to co-op tomorrow as I'm still thinking wtf.
  • fnn2097
    edited January 2010
    bus yard crew supervisor?? lol probably we'll get to work together~
    things are so messed up right now, i still don't know where and when i'm gonna start my new job. I haven't gotten an email from them for more than a week now..
  • icerider
    edited January 2010
    Yeah, they're a little disorganized. I got an email from Templine today, and they say the first training date is most likely Jan. 15 or Jan. 18...rather disappointing since they're a week late on the original start date.
  • fnn2097
    edited January 2010
    haha i went to the orientation and first training on the 12th and 13th. After that they just told me to wait for the e-mail.
  • icerider
    edited January 2010
    lucky bastard, trying to kill a week and half of nothing isn't as fun as it looks. At least there's the NFL playoffs this weekend. What were your two sessions like?
  • DesolateDesolate
    edited January 2010
    Hold up. Why didn't you just do class and this position? We get the Olympic break anyways, so it would have easily been doable, unless there's something else I don't know about.

    Does this position go on past the end date of the Olympics or something?
  • Makall
    edited January 2010
    I don't know man, does anyone do Co-op for 2 weeks and stop?
  • fnn2097
    edited January 2010
    Icerider: The two sessions were pretty boring. Typical stuff you know. Safety and responsibilities. We also get to meet our co-workers. Thats about it. It was like going to a 2 and a half hour lecture.

    Desolate: I can't because its co-op. This job requires you to work before the olympics start. We'll have to do additional training a few weeks before the events take place. Moreover, we are responsible for the paralympics which is immediately following the olympics. Our employer told us that we might have to work long, extended shifts depending on the situation.

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