Natale Schmidt (senior-mechanical engineering) is a member of Envoys, a student group that promotes co-op and internship experience for the College of Engineering.

She had two co-ops, one with Berwick Offray, a manufacturer and distributor of decorative ribbons and bows, and the other with Johnson & Johnson - Merck.

"I learned about my field as well as about myself, and what I wanted to do as a mechanical engineer," Schmidt said.

After her co-op, Johnson & Johnson - Merck offered her a position and she accepted.

"The co-op really paid off. [Work experience] helps 100 percent," Schmidt said.

"It gives you something that you can talk to employers about," Schmidt added.

As graduation nears, Penn State students like Schmidt reflect on how work experience has helped them in their job search.

According to the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) 2004 Experimental Education Survey, employers on average give offers for full-time employment to about 58 percent of students who have had internships with their companies, and they gave offers to more than 60 percent of the students that participated in co-ops with their organization.

"The students have a chance to try out the company," Mimi Collins, NACE spokeswoman, said.

"The student can make a more informed decision about whether the job is for them," Collins added.

In the Job Outlook 2005 Survey, NACE found that employers rated internship and co-ops as two of the most effective ways of recruiting and hiring recent college graduates.

"[Employers] are more likely to go first to their own co-op and internship [students]," Collins said. "When they look beyond their own interns and co-op [students], the next thing they're looking for is job-related experience."

Jennifer Hicks, engineering cooperative education and internship associate director, said engineering students who have career-related experience get three to four more job interviews, two to three more job offers and 7 to 10 percent higher starting salaries.

"Any experience that's career related will help [students] in the long run," Hicks said.

The co-op office covers all of the engineering majors, and the average pay per hour for all of those majors is $15.19 per hour. If a student does three rotations for his or her co-op, that would add up to about $30,000 a year.

"That can significantly help with education costs," Hicks said. "[Students] can learn these technical skills and bring them back to the classroom."

Bob Martin, senior lecturer and director of College of Communications internships, said more hands-on opportunities can only benefit students.

"[Multiple internships] load you up with the right tools to do the job anywhere," Martin said.

Collins said the two biggest tangible benefits of relevant work experience are getting a job and a higher starting salary.

Penn State Career Services has an information card in its Career Services' guide in which students can list past internships and co-ops. The information is then entered into a database that students can access when looking for work experience opportunities.

Jack Rayman, director of Career Services, said one of the main reasons employers offer internships and co-ops is to have an opportunity to test drive an employee at a low risk.

"A work sample is the best predictor of job performance," Rayman said.

Shaun Knight, coordinator of professional placement services for the School of Information Sciences and Technology (IST), said all IST students must take a one-credit internship as a registered class through Penn State.

"The more internships you have, the more job offers you will have," Knight said. "There's a definite relationship there."