Are you nervous about starting your engineering internship? Or maybe the uncertainty of what to expect is holding you back from even applying.
I want to let you in on a little secret. The bar for interns is pretty low. Most managers have had their fair share of terrible ones. Therefore, if you follow directions, are motivated, and enthusiastic, you will be okay. This should help calm your nerves.
But hopefully, you aren’t shooting for just okay. You want to rock your internship. That is why you are here!
So you might be wondering, how do I know this?
Well, I have hired and managed many engineering interns and co-ops. I also held three internships throughout my time at college, so I have been on both sides.
During my final internship junior year, I was working with another intern. He spent most of his time surfing the web or on his phone. His data sheets were always a mess, and he did the bare minimum. He even fell asleep during a team meeting!
The company had a tradition of taking the interns out to lunch on their last day. However, this particular intern did such a poor job that our boss did not take him out for lunch. Instead, he bought him a peanut butter and jelly sandwich from the cafeteria and gave it to him to eat at his desk.
I wish he were just an anomaly, but sadly most interns are mediocre at best. Therefore, in this post, I will give you tips to be a successful engineering intern so that you do not end up with a sad sandwich on your last day! Using these tips, I was able to turn my junior year internship into staying on part-time throughout my senior year. Then, they hired me full-time when I obtained my undergraduate degree.
What is an engineering intern?
Before we dive into how to excel at your internship, we should define what it is first.
Typically engineering internships are positions in which college students work at a company over the summer, from May to August. During this period, the students gain experience in their particular field by completing various engineering tasks. Usually, these are paid, full-time employment opportunities.
Higher education understands the importance of engineering internships. Some colleges have engineering programs that accept summer internships towards academic credit. Other schools have internship programs where they work with employers to ensure their students get hired. Most universities hold career fairs to give students a good chance of landing a job.
If you are overwhelmed by the hiring process and not sure where to start, be sure to check out our Engineering Resume and Interview Toolkit. It is a step-by-step guide that includes everything you need to land your dream internship (even if you have no experience)!
What is the role of an intern?
Your role is to learn what engineering is like and to contribute to the company’s goals. You should approach internships as if you were a regular employee working for the company. Even though they are temporary, you should think of them as your chance to impress a future employer. Even if you do not want to work at the company when you graduate, you will want to use them as a reference.
The responsibilities of an intern vary depending on the engineering discipline. However, here are some examples of tasks for a mechanical engineering intern:
- Designing and fabricating tooling
- Testing
- Creating parts and drawings with computer-aided design (CAD)
- Developing test methods
- Writing technical reports
How To Be Successful As An Engineering Intern
A successful internship is one that both the engineering student and the company benefit. Let’s discuss what you can do to ensure everyone wins.
What do companies expect from interns?
Interns are treated like entry-level engineers. Employers try to give you tasks and see how you do. Remember, they are looking to see if you could be a long-term hire. Therefore, follow these tips to ensure you stand out during:
- Have a positive attitude and be motivation
- Demonstrate your problem-solving skills by getting comfortable with not having all the answers but figuring out how to get them
- Participate in meetings
- Be open to learning
- Ask a lot of questions
- Put in extra effort (i.e. come to meetings prepared, be a go-getter, don’t just wait around for work)
- Follow directions
- Apply the engineering knowledge and technical skills learned in school
- Be open to receiving feedback
If you have a great attitude and are willing to learn, your co-workers will want to help you. Thus, you will gain the technical skills required for the job, even if you do not possess all of them at the start.
How To Get The Most Out Of Your Engineering Internship
As a student, you should have two goals for your internship:
- Gain hands-on work experience to develop your skills
- Determine what you want to do when you graduate
Here are some things that you should keep in mind to take full advantage of your internship experience and achieve these goals.
1. Advocate For Yourself
Most interns are very busy. There is no shortage of work. However, it is imperative to seek out things that you are interested in and want to learn. For example, ask to help with assignments involving a product you like or get trained on using a piece of equipment.
Your boss is not a mind reader. They do not know what your interests are. So it helps to talk to your manager about your career goals and aspirations. Most are willing to help and want you to succeed.
2. Network and Informational Interviews
I know, I can hear you groaning at this one. As an introvert myself, I am not a fan of networking. However, it is a necessary evil. The more you do it, the less awkward it is.
Internships are a great place to start. It is what helped me get hired full-time after my internship. You see, there were no positions open under my boss. I was hired by another engineer that I had worked with on a special assignment. He was impressed with my work and remembered when it was time to hire. Therefore, take advantage of getting to know people outside of your manager and their team. You never know who will be hiring!
Furthermore, if another function, such as quality or regulatory, seems intriguing, see if you can set up an informational interview with them. Meet for coffee or lunch, and see what the job entails. Gaining more knowledge will help you figure out what you want to do when you graduate.
3. Assess The Company
Think of your engineering internship as your opportunity to “test drive” a company. Consider the features you like or do not like. Here are some questions to ask yourself:
- Are you working in a large company or a small company? Which do you prefer?
- Are you interested in this industry?
- Do you like the function you are in or is there another in which you are more interested? (Note: When I say function I am referring to manufacturing, research and development, or quality to name a few.)
- What perks does the company offer- 401K, bonus, stock options, on-site cafeteria, on-site gym?
- How is the location? Is it close to your home or do you have a long commute?
Even if you do not like your internship, you can still learn from it. My first internship was at a power delivery company. It was a large company, but the branch I worked at was small. There were only two engineers on site. Most of my job was driving around, visiting job sites, and assessing substations.
I did not enjoy this internship. However, it taught me that I wanted to work for a big company with many engineers. I also learned that I wanted to work on actual products that had users instead of large industrial equipment that people were not directly interacting with. Before this opportunity, I had not thought about these things. Therefore, I am grateful that I had this experience early on in my career.
4. Learn As Much As You Can
This one is pretty obvious and admittedly vague. But hear me out. It is easy to have tunnel vision and focus solely on completing your assignments. The engineers giving you your work are very busy. Therefore, most of the time they do not tell you how your task fits in the overall project. Therefore it is your job to ask. Here are some key questions to ask:
- What part of the new product development process are you working on?
- How is the testing you are completing being used?
- What analysis is being done?
- How are they using the data to drive decisions?
- What equipment are you using and what results does it give you?
- What software does the company use and what is it used for?
Having this understanding will help you know the work involved in getting a project completed. It will also aid you in writing your resume and during interviews. Future employers will be impressed if you can describe the impact you made on the overall project.
5. Track Your Accomplishments
Keep a running list of what you accomplish and learn throughout your internship. You may think you will remember at the end, but you probably will forget things. It will make updating your resume easier later as well.
Not sure where to start? Grab our free accomplishments tracker here!
Be sure to include any equipment and software you learned. Try to quantify the tasks you complete and add how they impacted the company. For example, if you completed compression testing, don’t just add a bullet to your resume that says “conducted compression testing.” Instead, add some context. Elevated it by saying, “Conducted compression testing, which resulted in selecting a design that increased the joint strength by 10%.”
It will take your resume to the next level!
Need more help with your resume? Check out our Engineering Resume & Interview Toolkit. Everything you need to land your dream job!
Final Thoughts
Internships are the best way to gain hands-on experience in engineering. It is never too early to start looking either so, begin during your freshman year. If you have any questions or concerns, reach out to me at meagan@engineeringexpectations.com or leave a comment below!
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