How To Become A Student Engineer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a student engineer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted Expert

Michael Denn

Student Engineers apply mathematics and science principles to create economic solutions on technical issues. Their job is to connect between a commercial application and a scientific discovery that meet consumer and societal aspirations. In establishing industrial robots, student engineers precisely specify the working requirements, test and design robot's components, input components to develop final designs and examine the design's general cost, safety, efficiency, and reliability. This procedure applies to the growth and development of several diverse products, like computers, chemicals, machines, toys, and helicopters.

To be a great student engineer, there are some requirements and skills to acquire. They include problem-solving and critical thinking skills, great computer science prowess, advanced mathematics proficiency, pressure management, structural analysis skills, teamwork, and creative spirit. Meanwhile, Student engineering positions need a bachelor's degree in engineering or a similar field. Certain engineering jobs, like those in management, need a master's degree. An engineering degree earned in a dedicated area might qualify student engineers for a great career in a similar field. Student Engineers in the U.S earn an average salary of about $35,390 annually.

What general advice would you give to a Student Engineer?

Michael Denn

Instructor, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

1. Become the expert in whatever you do. 2. Understand how your work fits into the bigger picture and keep that in mind when you do your work. 3. Keep learning! Your engineering degree is not the end of your education! 4. Take stretch assignments and opportunities whenever you can.

ScoreStudent EngineerUS Average

Salary

5.6

Avg. Salary $71,947

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

7.4

Growth Rate 2%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.11%

Asian 15.92%

Black or African American 3.22%

Hispanic or Latino 8.52%

Unknown 4.55%

White 67.68%

Gender

female 21.17%

male 78.83%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress Level

7.4

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

8.6

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

5.1

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a student engineer

Explore student engineer education requirements

Most common student engineer degrees

Bachelor's

78.4 %

Associate

9.6 %

Master's

7.6 %

Start to develop specific student engineer skills

Skills	Percentages
GPA	12.17%
C++	8.21%
CAD	7.58%
Co-Op	5.69%
Java	4.66%

Complete relevant student engineer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New student engineers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a student engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real student engineer resumes.

Research student engineer duties and responsibilities

Compose GIS maps using ArcView, manage large data sets, and help in train other personnel learn program
Lead a team of undergraduate students to continue the work done on SEI NASA project (see below).
Manage Terraform and refactore from monolithic to application specific components.
Complete computational fluid dynamics (CFD) calculations and execute data analysis using JMP.

Prepare your student engineer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your student engineer resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a student engineer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Student Engineer Resume templates

Build a professional Student Engineer resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Student Engineer resume.

Apply for student engineer jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a student engineer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do student engineers rate their job?