Co-op helps students at UC compete in a tight job market

Jalen Tucker has completed three co-op opportunities in cybersecurity with companies in Greater Cincinnati.

The fourth-year student in the School of Information Technology knows the labor market is a bit uncertain, but he believes his real world work experience may someday make all the difference. Even so, he’s making sure he will be a standout in the job market when he graduates next spring.

Tucker, a Marian Spencer Scholar, spoke with WCPO for a story about how UC’s co-op program is helping students prepare for that first real job out of college as the nation faces an uncertain job market. His latest co-op/internship opportunity was at GE Aerospace.

"I know at my last internship I got to work a little with AI, which is a new field that is growing," Tucker told WCPO. "I'm trying to find other opportunities to just increase my overall skills and competency when it comes to IT."

Annie Straka, associate dean in UC’s College of Cooperative Education and Professional Studies also spoke to WCPO. She says no other institution approaches cooperative education quite like UC.

"Even in a difficult climate, which we are certainly in a challenging one right now, our students are set apart from others because of how closely we tie what we do at UC with the workforce," Straka told WCPO.

According to the December 2025 jobs report, the nation’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.4%, but there was slow hiring with only 50,000 jobs added to the market.

UC students Caleb Kapsal and Skyelin Schwartz told WCPO they’ve had no problems getting part-time jobs they need to support themselves in college, but that they worry that landing full-time jobs in their desired fields might be more difficult in the future.

Co-op opportunities may boost their chances by offering real world work experience and the ability to network with professionals in a given field.

UC students earned over $94 million on co-ops and internships in the 2024-25 academic year, according to student-reported data. More than 8,300 students participated in a co-op from disciplines across the university. More than 1,700 employers participate in co-op.

UC is ranked No. 4 in cooperative education by the U.S. News & World Report. Co-op offers paid experiences which significantly offset the cost of tuition. On average, a co-op student at UC made a salary of $11,220 per semester.

View the full story on co-op and job readiness with WCPO online.

Featured top image of a job fair in Tangemann University Center at UC. Photo courtesy of Emily Sullivan/University of Cincinnati.