30+ year old CS student debating whether co-op is worth another year
I’m a student at a Canadian university (UBC) with one year left in my computer science degree. I’m in my early 30s, already have 2 degrees, and 6 years of full-time work experience in a high-responsibility role. My previous degrees are a bachelor’s and master’s in a desirable healthcare position.
For my portfolio, I’ve built 7 projects so far: 3 personal, 2 academic, and 2 hackathon projects.
At this point, I’m really struggling to convince myself to do co-op. I’m registered in it, but I can’t seem to find the motivation to spend another year in school just for internships.
Right now, I’m leaning toward graduating ASAP, working part-time in my old field to pay the bills, and spending the rest of my time applying for jobs, grinding LeetCode, and improving my portfolio. A big part of it is that I feel like I’m kind of in limbo, waiting to get back to having a life.
Am I making a dumb move by skipping co-op, or is this a reasonable path given my background?