This Could Be the Start of Something Exciting...

[NOS2006]

Well, as most of you know, I'm part of Kettering University and, in order to stay a student, one must complete about 6 months of co-op with a company each year in addition to the same amount of schooling at the university. Well, today was a co-op fair and I was starting to lose hope on finding a job since this was my third co-op fair and I've been to about three interviews.

Well, as I was leaving my dorm to head down to "the fair," I turned around realizing I had forgotten my belt. As I went to reach for my belt, I felt my phone vibrate and didn't recognize the number. I answered it anyway and it was my co-op manager telling me that a company that I had interviewed for would like me to return their call. So I called them back and they had offered me a co-op job with them. I'm really excited.

The company is called Draexlmaier Automotive. What do they do? They design, design materials for, and put together luxury interiors for companies such as Rolls Royce, Mercedes, BMW, Bentley, Cadillac, and others. As a matter of fact, here is a piece of their work that's found on the streets (though not many) today:

:AH-HA_wink:

Edited November 2, 2006 by NOS2006

[Flybrian]

I look forward to the 2009 Camaro with 'SERIES III' embroidered Recaro seats.

Good luck with that!

[Cory Wolfe]

Sorry... My Grand Am's interior totally has that beat. You should work for me. I pay you with the crap that's in my den. You'll love it.

But good luck, sNOSage.

[NOS2006]

Series III, eh? We'll see about that lol.

Oooh, paid in den crap? Freaking sweet!

[ocnblu]

Go Nos! Good luck, sir.

[Northstar]

I didn't know you were required to have a co-op each year at Kettering, that's interesting. I haven't gotten a call from anyone but I'm not surprised because I think it's rather hard for a freshman to get a co-op when there are so many people with more engineering courses under their belt going for the same job. Does the fact that the companies know you have to get a co-op make it any easier to get one? How big is your class? I doubt that if that was the requirement at UI that every freshman would get a internship or co-op, as there are 200 ME students alone.

Good luck with it!

[NOS2006]

Well, I wouldn't say it's easier for me to get one because they know I need one. It's the point that Kettering is a highly-respected school and there are always tons of companies hiring co-ops from our school for that fact alone. Many of the companies that employ Kettering students end up employing more after seeing what type of core education and strenuous schedule we're put under. However, this company I'm now with is joining the Kettering co-op program for the first time with me being their "guinea pig" student, so to speak.

Now, that's not to say you don't go to a good school, nor that you're a bad student; it's just that I've been told this by most of the employers I've talked to. Many of the companies I've talked to have managers at their place who graduated from Kettering, too, so that's a huge plus for them to hire a Kettering co-op.

And one more thing is that I've also seen many a time more experienced students get turned down for a co-op in favor of an inexperienced incoming freshman. Why though? Because many of the companies I've talked to have told me that they would like to bring a student in to learn everything over four years and really develop that student into a fine-tuned engineer who pretty much knows every step in the manufacturing, building, and selling of their products. Almost every company I've talked to said they want to ship the co-op student to a manufacturing-type setting where the student will get a hands-on feel for everything the company engineers and actually puts into production. Then, after actually seeing what you've seen on the lines, the student will hypothetically understand how to better, more efficiently design parts. This, in turn, helps eliminate things that are difficult to build because the student eventually learns what processes and designs do and do not make for easy manufacturing. That's why they want somebody with little experience though, is because they can raise and shape the student into the mold their looking for to make that student a much more dynamic force in the workplace than any other college graduate that hadn't had a four-year co-op.

And, lastly, to answer your question: yes, Kettering has four terms in the school year, two of which are school and two of which are co-op. Depending if you're A-section or B-section, you take school first then co-op or vice versa. So, in other words, I don't know half of the freshman at Kettering simply because they're in their co-op term right now while I'm here at school. It's a sweet program, though much more vigorous than I had ever expected, but I'll make it.

[daves87rs]

Sweet! Go luck, NOS.

[Northstar]

That's interesting, because that's the exact opposite of what almost every company told me here. Honda won't even hire anyone that's not at least a sophomore.

How many ME freshmen are there at Kettering?

[NOS2006]

Well, that's Honda for you :AH-HA_wink: We've got companies that come to our co-ops and won't hire unless you're a freshman or sophomore.

I have no idea, but I know we've got a small class this year (maybe it's just this section?). But, overall, we've got between two and three hundred student freshmen here.

[Camino LS6]

Good deal,NOS! Glad to hear about this.

[NOS2006]

Thanks, everybody!

Here are a few other things I just found out they've worked on...

Mercedes SL interior:

BMW 7-Series Door Panels:

Maybach limousine:

[Northstar]

I'm pretty sure they did the STS-V interior too (the upgraded areas) and maybe the upgraded areas for the XLR-V too.

Anyways, do you know what you'll be working on yet or do they not tell you until you get there (meaning are you designing parts for the interior or doing something for manufacturing, etc).

[NOS2006]

I'm not quite sure yet. We've still got to work out all the details; I'm waiting for my co-op manager to get back with me on what he knows. I'm pretty sure I'll spend one month out of my first two terms in Duncan, SC working in a manufacturing setting and the other two months per term I'll be here working in the office, but don't quote me. I'll be sure to update.