What does an Engineering Internship do?

Updated January 8, 2025
7 min read
What does an Engineering Internship do

An engineering intern is responsible for assisting the overall project development under the supervision of a head engineer. Engineering interns' duties vary in every industry but generally include generating reports, analyzing budget goals and cost estimates, reaching out to clients for important updates, and providing project improvement recommendations. Engineering interns must have strong attention to detail, as well as excellent critical-thinking and project management skills. An engineering intern should be able to communicate effectively and use their logical judgments, especially when dealing with adjustments and meeting deadlines.

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Engineering internship responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real engineering internship resumes:

  • Manage various developing product samples, trial weaves and handlooms within PLM systems.
  • Assist manufacturing in debugging, RMA, and manufacturing process issues to achieve volume testing goals.
  • Maintain BOM (bill of materials) and manage the team in maintaining coordination between the customer requirements.
  • Assist in managing the finances of the company using python programming language to calculate the day to day profit.
  • Develop Perl and TCL scripts to automate existing chip verification infrastructure.
  • Programme VBA tool to organize and manage operator-supply production data into a comprehensive data set.
  • Work in AutoCAD and Revit to design plumbing and geothermal HVAC systems inside universities and different size facilities.
  • Use MATLAB and ANSYS to create a tool for obtaining modal analysis data from measure geometry.
  • Modele mechanical equipment and piping using Revit and AutoCad.
  • Update engineering drawings by recreating AutoCAD drawings into SolidWorks solid models and drawings.
  • Communicate and collaborate effectively with manufacturers to produce desire mechanical components throughout prototyping and initial releases.
  • Develop PL/SQL store procedures, triggers.
  • Analyze the data and plot using MATLAB.
  • Assign new valves, drawing and sketch numbers.
  • Implement voice command interface and hands free control for android application.

Engineering internship skills and personality traits

We calculated that 15% of Engineering Interns are proficient in Engineering Intern, Python, and C++. They’re also known for soft skills such as Reading skills, Writing skills, and Problem-solving skills.

We break down the percentage of Engineering Interns that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Engineering Intern, 15%

    Associate Engineering Intern Under Seas Division Responsible for developing and maintaining instruction sets for circuit board manufacturing.

  • Python, 10%

    Extended functionally and usability of an existing internal reporting solution with a number of new Python analysis and visualization functions.

  • C++, 7%

    Programmed software-based self-test generator for OpenRISC1200 microprocessor using SVA and C++.

  • Java, 5%

    Developed Automation Scripts for Regression using Selenium Web Driver and Java.

  • PowerPoint, 5%

    Performed experiments required for analyzing ultra-fine grain aluminum and coarse grain aluminum and presented results to a state-wide conference using PowerPoint

  • Solidworks, 3%

    Drafted designs with SolidWorks and manufactured parts for engineering projects and aviation equipment.

Most engineering interns use their skills in "engineering intern," "python," and "c++" to do their jobs. You can find more detail on essential engineering internship responsibilities here:

Writing skills. Many engineering internship duties rely on writing skills. "civil engineering technologists and technicians must be able to prepare reports that are well organized and clearly convey information.," so an engineering internship will need this skill often in their role. This resume example is just one of many ways engineering internship responsibilities rely on writing skills: "deployed and configured writing perl and bash scripts for automation tasks. "

Problem-solving skills. This is an important skill for engineering interns to perform their duties. For an example of how engineering internship responsibilities depend on this skill, consider that "as assistants to civil engineers, these technologists and technicians must be able to help engineers identify problems and design projects to solve them." This excerpt from a resume also shows how vital it is to everyday roles and responsibilities of an engineering internship: "maintained records to ensure engineering drawings and documents are current and that engineering-related production problems and resolution were documented. ".

Observational skills. For certain engineering internship responsibilities to be completed, the job requires competence in "observational skills." The day-to-day duties of an engineering internship rely on this skill, as "civil engineering technologists and technicians sometimes visit jobsites to assess a project and report back to the engineer." For example, this snippet was taken directly from a resume about how this skill applies to what engineering interns do: "performed package performance testing and developed testing specification through data analysis, observational research and kinematic investigation. "

Math skills. A commonly-found skill in engineering internship job descriptions, "math skills" is essential to what engineering interns do. Engineering internship responsibilities rely on this skill because "civil engineering technologists and technicians use math for analysis, design, and troubleshooting." You can also see how engineering internship duties rely on math skills in this resume example: "created vba based data storage for pipeline corrosion statistics. "

All engineering internship skills

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Compare different engineering interns

Engineering internship vs. Co-operations engineer

A Co-Operations Engineer ensures that operations-related activities are performed in compliance with company standards and regulations. They optimize the overall efficiency of business.

If we compare the average engineering internship annual salary with that of a co-operations engineer, we find that co-operations engineers typically earn a $700 higher salary than engineering interns make annually.While their salaries may differ, the common ground between engineering interns and co-operations engineers are a few of the skills required in each roleacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities. In both careers, employee duties involve skills like python, c++, and java.

There are some key differences in the responsibilities of each position. For example, engineering internship responsibilities require skills like "engineering intern," "c #," "work ethic," and "linux." Meanwhile a typical co-operations engineer has skills in areas such as "cad," "lean manufacturing," "continuous improvement," and "visualization." This difference in skills reveals the differences in what each career does.

Co-operations engineers earn the highest salaries when working in the energy industry, with an average yearly salary of $51,087. On the other hand, engineering interns are paid more in the telecommunication industry with an average salary of $45,479.The education levels that co-operations engineers earn slightly differ from engineering interns. In particular, co-operations engineers are 3.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree than an engineering internship. Additionally, they're 0.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Engineering internship vs. Student engineer

A student engineer is an individual who trains to become a full pledge professional engineer by gaining working experience in the field of engineering. By using their knowledge in the principles of science and mathematics, student engineers should help other professionals develop economical solutions and solve technical problems. They are required to engage themselves in the testing, production, or maintenance of newly developed products. Student engineers are also required to work closely with their senior managers or supervisors.

A career as a student engineer brings a higher average salary when compared to the average annual salary of an engineering internship. In fact, student engineers salary is $30,029 higher than the salary of engineering interns per year.Only some things about these jobs are the same. Take their skills, for example. Engineering interns and student engineers both require similar skills like "python," "c++," and "c #" to carry out their responsibilities.

Each career also uses different skills, according to real engineering internship resumes. While engineering internship responsibilities can utilize skills like "engineering intern," "work ethic," "strong problem-solving," and "strong analytical," student engineers use skills like "gpa," "cad," "co-op," and "engineering student."

Student engineers may earn a higher salary than engineering interns, but student engineers earn the most pay in the transportation industry with an average salary of $86,592. On the other hand, engineering interns receive higher pay in the telecommunication industry, where they earn an average salary of $45,479.Average education levels between the two professions vary. Student engineers tend to reach similar levels of education than engineering interns. In fact, they're 3.2% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 0.4% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Engineering internship vs. Junior engineer

A Junior Engineer helps design, build, or maintain engines, machines, or public works. They work under the supervision of an engineer.

On average scale, junior engineers bring in higher salaries than engineering interns. In fact, they earn a $28,735 higher salary per year.engineering interns and junior engineers both have job responsibilities that require similar skill sets. These similarities include skills such as "c++," "c #," and "java," but they differ when it comes to other required skills.

The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, engineering interns are more likely to have skills like "engineering intern," "python," "powerpoint," and "work ethic." But a junior engineer is more likely to have skills like "troubleshoot," "technical support," "provisioning," and "matlab."

Junior engineers make a very good living in the technology industry with an average annual salary of $72,489. On the other hand, engineering interns are paid the highest salary in the telecommunication industry, with average annual pay of $45,479.Most junior engineers achieve a similar degree level compared to engineering interns. For example, they're 1.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.2% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Engineering internship vs. Engineering technician

An Engineering Technician's duties vary according to the industry or company, whether mechanical, industrial, civil, agricultural, or more. However, most of the time, the responsibilities often revolve around resolving technical issues, working with and assisting Engineers in building, assembling, designing, gathering and testing data, and conducting more manual activities. Furthermore, Engineering Technicians can specialize and work in various fields after a certain training period, closely mentored or monitored by an engineer or someone with extensive expertise.

Engineering technicians average a higher salary than the annual salary of engineering interns. The difference is about $18,355 per year.While their salaries may vary, engineering interns and engineering technicians both use similar skills to perform their duties. Resumes from both professions include skills like "java," "powerpoint," and "solidworks. "Each job also requires different skills to carry out their responsibilities. An engineering internship uses "engineering intern," "python," "c++," and "c #." Engineering technicians are more likely to have duties that require skills in "technical support," "asphalt," "construction materials," and "cad. "engineering technicians enjoy the best pay in the technology industry, with an average salary of $76,126. For comparison, engineering interns earn the highest salary in the telecommunication industry.The average resume of engineering technicians showed that they earn lower levels of education compared to engineering interns. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 6.1% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 0.5%.

Types of engineering internship

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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