I did my first co-op term at Culex Environmental as a lab technician doing mosquito identification, my second and third co-op terms were at the Linington Lab at SFU in the Chemistry department. I really enjoyed all of my work terms, and my experience in the Linington lab in particular convinced me to pursue an environment related career in science. I am currently working at Environment and Climate Change Canada in a Genomics laboratory as a Senior Laboratory Technologist. My primary job duties are genomic species identification of flora and fauna samples and bioinformatics method development to improve workflows.

Science co-op helped my journey because it helped me explore multiple fields and discover what work environments suit me best. During my undergrad, I was torn between pursuing a professional program, graduate school, or working in a laboratory. My experiences during my co-op terms helped me realize that I enjoy work that requires me to constantly keep learning but also involves maintaining daily routines. My current position at Environment Canada allows me to have both, performing routine methods with unique samples every week.

My biggest advice for students considering co-op is to just try it! Work experiences allow you to both stand out from the rest of your grad class while also helping you discover what kind of work suits you best at an earlier point in your degree. Co-op was without a doubt one of the most important learning experiences of my undergraduate career.