Internships open up professional networking opportunities.
To set yourself ahead of the pack after graduation, consider an engineering internship to gain professional experience, practice workplace skills and make money while you learn. Working in internship positions allows you to investigate potential career directions and offers a number of other professional benefits. Finding ways to fund your education is important, and, in terms of both job responsibilities and pay, professional internships beat waiting tables or flipping burgers.
General Salary Information
Engineering interns made an average of $14.24 per hour, according to a 2008 report compiled by ERC, a Ohio-based human resources organization. Data in 2009 from the Massachusetts-based Worcester Polytechnic Institute suggest that salaries vary considerably based on the type of engineering job. While civil engineers earned $14.50 per hour, robotics students made $19.75, and electrical and computer engineers made $20. Salaries also varied for students from Virginia Tech starting their first work terms in 2010. While civil and environmental engineering students made $13.73 per hour, mechanical engineers made $17; chemical engineering students, $20.12; and computer and electrical engineers, $20.50. In general, civil and environmental engineers make the least, while those in electrical and computer-related disciplines earn the most. Statistics from Michigan Engineering agree. While those in civil engineering made $2,709 per month, students in a combined computer science and engineering program made $5,959.
Experience Matters
Just like full-time jobs in the real world, information from the University of Waterloo in Ontario, Canada, proves that experience matters when predicting pay for an internship or co-op position. While first-year students completing an initial work term made $15.94 per hour in 2010, earning potential gradually increased through successive co-op placements. Those completing a third work term earned $18.50 an hour, while students in their final placements made $22.30 on average.
Interesting Work
One of the benefits of pursuing internships is work that encourages application of lessons learned in class. According to the ERC study, many interns get real responsibilities that offer a taste of what full-time working life is like. Some employers reported that interns were responsible for designing parts, including a door for an X-ray machine. Others said they assign engineering students tasks and mentors based on their level of education. Of all interns, 64 percent received special projects, while 60 percent got to interact with subject matter experts in their fields.
Other Benefits
Pay from internship and co-op positions can help fund an undergraduate education, meaning less debt for graduating engineering students. The University of Waterloo reports that students in co-op programs who alternate between periods of work and periods of study are half as likely to need financial assistance and carry a lower average debt load upon graduation. Internships also give you valuable work experience that makes it easier to find a full-time job. The University of Waterloo says its co-op students are more successful finding employment after graduation than non-co-op students.
