AtmaWeapon
12-01-2003, 11:44 AM
OK, here goes a blog post, since I'm too lazy to keep my Xanga up, but it makes a cool story nonetheless.
My university has a strong co-op program. Other universities let students co-op, but the student is responsible for arranging interviews and the like. Not so at Mississippi State University. Here, we have career Interview Days, where lots of employers come to interview students. You simply give your resume and a list of employers you would like to speak with to the co-op department, and they give you your interview schedule back.
The companies I interviewed with were American Cast Iron and Pipe Company, Southern Company (power company), Triton Systems (an ATM company), Denso Manufacturing, Mississippi Department of ITS, BellSouth, and the NSA.
After interviews, my heart was set on either the NSA, BellSouth, or MSITS, with emphasis on the NSA. BellSouth offered me a position at the end of the interview, but I knew the NSA had a large delay before they would respond. BellSouth was the first to go down. He wanted to know in less than 2 weeks. MSITS called and scheduled an onsite visit with me and indicated I would be offered the position after the visit, so I sent BellSouth a rejection notice and went to Jackson, MS to visit MSITS. All was good, until at the end of the interview she informed me there would be no programming in the job at all. Their deadline for my response was about 2 weeks sooner than I wanted it to be, but I had time before I made my decision. Denso called that weekend and offered me the position, so I rejected MSITS. This is where decision-making got tough.
My heart was still on the NSA, but they were notoriously late with a response (this was about a week and a half after the interviews). If I didn't accept Denso's offer, I would have to pray for the NSA. The NSA had a name, but the pay was less than Denso's. The NSA offered a salary that would increase from $12 to $13 an hour over my 3 work semesters, Denso offered $12-$15, plus a $450/month stipend for an apartment. Both were far enough away from home to be inconvenient. Of course, my mom and my advisor recommended waiting for the NSA, and going to Interview Days in the spring semester, but I didn't want that. I've been preparing to co-op next semester since I started school, and it would have been disappointing to not go. I also am getting really sick and tired of non-stop assignments. I also have a nice little credit card bill that, while not beyond what I can pay, is sizable enough to make a co-op term useful for paying it off.
The co-op department frowns on students changing their minds after accepting a position (and by frowns I mean they expel you from the co-op program), so I had to choose one or the other.
The deadline for Denso came, and I made an appointment with one of the Computer Science department heads. She told me to take whatever, because on the resume co-oping with anyone looks really good. I had a nagging bad feeling about the NSA. My roomate had called them, and they claimed they hadn't even started looking at resumes yet (this was 3 weeks after the interview!). I basically had to make a choice between taking a gamble on someone with a good name, or taking a gamble on someone who offered a good opportunity. I can think of at least two times in my life where I had a choice like this. Both times, I took the path of lower opportunity, and both times I have not regretted it. I called and told Denso my decision.
Over Thanksgiving, I visited the plant in Maryville, TN where I will work. It's great; I'm going to be doing things I don't even know how to do, but because I'm a co-op, I will be taught. My apartment is held, the application will be sent soon. I am about to go and look into a student loan to help pay the costs. I had forgotten about the NSA until today. My roommate said he called them and they said it would be the end of the month before they responded to MSU student interviews.
But they lied to him. I'll never understand why employers keep people's hopes up for so long when they know they won't hire them. Why can't they just say no and let you deal with the rejection? No, they have to string you along for 8 weeks and keep that glimmer of hope going until it fades out completely. When I opened my PO Box today, there was a large manilla envelope with a Department of Defense return address on it. It is the long forms (and they aren't lying, its 15+ pages of forms) required to request a co-op position with the NSA!
Needless to say, I am hiding it from my roommate. He accepted an internship with Disney, and he's slowly getting pissed off that the NSA is taking so long. I figure eventually, they will tell him it's over, but by then he'll be happy with his choice and he'll give the NSA the finger. Showing him the forms now would upset and hurt him, and while he's not my favorite person, he's not exactly someone I'm seeking to hurt either. Personally, I decided to give the NSA the finger about 4 weeks ago. I have no regrets, because I have found no negatives with Denso so far. I wonder how many brilliant minds decide to take other offers because they delay so long?
Don't look for me from about December 27th to January 15th or so. I have to move up there, and right now only the Lord knows how long it will take to get my cable internet working. I feel good with my decision, though I'm flattered that NSA made the offer. Too bad for them, eh?
My university has a strong co-op program. Other universities let students co-op, but the student is responsible for arranging interviews and the like. Not so at Mississippi State University. Here, we have career Interview Days, where lots of employers come to interview students. You simply give your resume and a list of employers you would like to speak with to the co-op department, and they give you your interview schedule back.
The companies I interviewed with were American Cast Iron and Pipe Company, Southern Company (power company), Triton Systems (an ATM company), Denso Manufacturing, Mississippi Department of ITS, BellSouth, and the NSA.
After interviews, my heart was set on either the NSA, BellSouth, or MSITS, with emphasis on the NSA. BellSouth offered me a position at the end of the interview, but I knew the NSA had a large delay before they would respond. BellSouth was the first to go down. He wanted to know in less than 2 weeks. MSITS called and scheduled an onsite visit with me and indicated I would be offered the position after the visit, so I sent BellSouth a rejection notice and went to Jackson, MS to visit MSITS. All was good, until at the end of the interview she informed me there would be no programming in the job at all. Their deadline for my response was about 2 weeks sooner than I wanted it to be, but I had time before I made my decision. Denso called that weekend and offered me the position, so I rejected MSITS. This is where decision-making got tough.
My heart was still on the NSA, but they were notoriously late with a response (this was about a week and a half after the interviews). If I didn't accept Denso's offer, I would have to pray for the NSA. The NSA had a name, but the pay was less than Denso's. The NSA offered a salary that would increase from $12 to $13 an hour over my 3 work semesters, Denso offered $12-$15, plus a $450/month stipend for an apartment. Both were far enough away from home to be inconvenient. Of course, my mom and my advisor recommended waiting for the NSA, and going to Interview Days in the spring semester, but I didn't want that. I've been preparing to co-op next semester since I started school, and it would have been disappointing to not go. I also am getting really sick and tired of non-stop assignments. I also have a nice little credit card bill that, while not beyond what I can pay, is sizable enough to make a co-op term useful for paying it off.
The co-op department frowns on students changing their minds after accepting a position (and by frowns I mean they expel you from the co-op program), so I had to choose one or the other.
The deadline for Denso came, and I made an appointment with one of the Computer Science department heads. She told me to take whatever, because on the resume co-oping with anyone looks really good. I had a nagging bad feeling about the NSA. My roomate had called them, and they claimed they hadn't even started looking at resumes yet (this was 3 weeks after the interview!). I basically had to make a choice between taking a gamble on someone with a good name, or taking a gamble on someone who offered a good opportunity. I can think of at least two times in my life where I had a choice like this. Both times, I took the path of lower opportunity, and both times I have not regretted it. I called and told Denso my decision.
Over Thanksgiving, I visited the plant in Maryville, TN where I will work. It's great; I'm going to be doing things I don't even know how to do, but because I'm a co-op, I will be taught. My apartment is held, the application will be sent soon. I am about to go and look into a student loan to help pay the costs. I had forgotten about the NSA until today. My roommate said he called them and they said it would be the end of the month before they responded to MSU student interviews.
But they lied to him. I'll never understand why employers keep people's hopes up for so long when they know they won't hire them. Why can't they just say no and let you deal with the rejection? No, they have to string you along for 8 weeks and keep that glimmer of hope going until it fades out completely. When I opened my PO Box today, there was a large manilla envelope with a Department of Defense return address on it. It is the long forms (and they aren't lying, its 15+ pages of forms) required to request a co-op position with the NSA!
Needless to say, I am hiding it from my roommate. He accepted an internship with Disney, and he's slowly getting pissed off that the NSA is taking so long. I figure eventually, they will tell him it's over, but by then he'll be happy with his choice and he'll give the NSA the finger. Showing him the forms now would upset and hurt him, and while he's not my favorite person, he's not exactly someone I'm seeking to hurt either. Personally, I decided to give the NSA the finger about 4 weeks ago. I have no regrets, because I have found no negatives with Denso so far. I wonder how many brilliant minds decide to take other offers because they delay so long?
Don't look for me from about December 27th to January 15th or so. I have to move up there, and right now only the Lord knows how long it will take to get my cable internet working. I feel good with my decision, though I'm flattered that NSA made the offer. Too bad for them, eh?