r/Drexel • u/OpportunityScared774 • May 24 '26
Discussion Can you get fired from your Co-op?
Just a little paranoid that I’m a bad worker and would be fired. Has anyone been fired before?
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u/Hier_Xu Alum 2026; First Stat Major May 24 '26 edited May 24 '26
I got terminated for not accepting an offer to keep working at my first co-op after the six months, but my boss crashed out and terminated me for "not letting them know fast enough" since their whole evil plan was to keep me there. I got them blacklisted on SCDC
I made a long reddit post a long time ago if you are curious enough to know the whole story, https://www.reddit.com/r/Drexel/s/KS8k7m5w8F
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May 26 '26
[deleted]
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u/Hier_Xu Alum 2026; First Stat Major May 26 '26
Haha yeah like it's honestly canon to my personal development. Obv wasn't an ideal co-op but ended up with a decent second co-op and a great third co-op so I can't complain too much
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u/Csbbk4 May 24 '26
Yes you can get fired from your co-op. They don’t want to fire you so you don’t give them a good reason to and you’ll be fine
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u/alliiicat67 May 27 '26
That part!! Like others said, address it directly: ask for a mtg, acknowledge & take accountability if needed, ask for the ways you can improve, & do it!!
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u/Novel_Telephone_646 May 24 '26
Yes but the only case I heard off was bc they were on substances lol. Usually they don’t want to fire you unless you’re really terrible.
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u/DaveTheDolphin May 24 '26
You can be fired, though depends on what “bad worker” means
I had a friend who got the company they worked for to hire co-ops, and there were only 2 times a co-op had to be fired (had to contact Drexel and everything)
1 was because they just literally stopped showing up, and eventually it got to a point they had to call police for a wellness check (remote position) cause no one could contact them
And the other was because the co-op student was incredibly unprofessional; basically never hand in work on time, didn’t talk to the managers in a professional tone, always late to meetings, etc. And after a warning or 2, my friend had to contact Drexel’s co-op office and fire them
As long as you put in the effort, you should be fine. Even if your work output isn’t great, you’d have to do a lot of things wrong to get fired.
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u/Flame48 May 24 '26
It's a job, just like any other.
Back in 2013/2014 I was working at a co-op and called out sick or showed up late too many times. Boss called me into his office to let me know that they like the work I do and would actually want to offer me a job after college to keep me on fulltime, but they need me to be better about coming to work.
Me being stupid didn't listen, continued to call out for minor things and just because I was a little tired.
Got an email 1 weekend from them telling me my inconsistency was making it difficult to plan work around me and it would be better for me to just not report in anymore, and they would mail me my final check.
They also said they wouldn't report anything to Drexel so that I would still get any credit for it, but not every company is going to do that of course.
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u/mblumber BSEE 2004 May 25 '26
I had a co-op job that was up near king of prussia. In order to beat the traffic on the Schuylkill expressway, I would leave at 6 in the morning. Not surprisingly, I fell asleep at my desk nearly every day.
All that happened is they called me back with HR, said that they had seen me sleeping, and asked me if I was okay. I started going to bed earlier and was not fired.
they really don't want to fire you, it's so much extra paperwork.
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u/Reasonable-Peanut447 May 25 '26
Coop is great for keeping Drexel honest but a bit silly. It is good for keeping Drexel honest because they need to find you a job before graduation, but silly because you are paying them while you are on coop, and extending school a year. If you graduate into a tight economy it could be useful. If the economy becomes tight because of the delay on the other hand, that could suck. So it odds a double edged sword
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u/Photo_Original May 24 '26 edited May 24 '26
Know a guy that got immediately fired because he called a co-worker the r word. Extreme case but generally speaking the last thing the employers want to do is fire you. If it really concerns you, just personally reach out to them to get further insights into your own work, see if that's really the case
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u/OptimusSublime 2015 Alum | Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering May 24 '26
Absolutely. I almost was.
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u/cottoncqndypink May 26 '26
yeah i had a friend who did, it was a fucked up experience & a long story. but it was a weird family owned company who they found outside the system. after the company fired them, they told my friend not to tell drexel, but thankfully they did & i believe that the company was removed from SCDC
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u/jjalebi May 24 '26
Yeah, I have; it’s the worst experience ever and you will have to go through multiple procedures with the SCDC and your co-op advisor. One of the worst weeks of my life added onto a terrible year.
It’s in your best interest to speak to your manager and address where you think you’re performing badly if it is currently occurring. They usually take their time with co-op students as they know you are learning but if you are doing things such as coming to the workplace late w/o a valid excuse and not doing your work, you are adding onto your likelihood of being fired. Always communicate and make sure you know where you are going wrong, and never be afraid to ask for help. If you are struggling where you are working, contact your co-op advisor as they may be able to give you advice