How Engineering Internships Can Help Start Your Pathway Into The Field

There are so many paths for us to take professionally, but knowing where the road begins or which direction to take will look like a different journey for everyone. If you’re just about to finish your engineering degree, you’re likely looking for directions that can take make your entry into the workforce seamless. For many prospective engineers, putting your skills and knowledge into practice is crucial, but how can you get experience if you’ve never set foot in an engineering workspace outside of university?

Consider joining an engineering internship to get your trajectory on the right track. Internships are programs that are designed to build upon what you’ve learned in the classroom by putting them into action. In many ways, Engineering internships are like real jobs, especially in Australia – you get all of the experience to show for it on a CV when you’ve finished and you get additional mentorship by industry professionals!

Here’s the most important reasons about how engineering internships can help start your pathway into the field.

‍1. You can specialise in an area of your choice

‍Within the field of engineering, there are so many roles for you to choose from that allow you to showcase the best of your skills and knowledge. Engineers are the people responsible for developing and manufacturing so many aspects of our lives. For chemical engineers, this might include working to formulate household cleaning products, or electrical engineers bringing light to the town’s power grid. Environmental engineers often work in consultation with businesses to create sustainable solutions for issues in development, and civil engineers design and oversee breakthroughs in infrastructure. There are many more areas of engineering internships that require specialised approaches to the role, so a prospective engineer has the potential of the world, all able to be explored through an internship in engineering!

‍2. You can network with your peers and supervisors

‍We all would have loved a class in Networking 101 back in school, but fortunately, one of the ways you can learn do it effectively is within a supportive work environment, like an engineering internship placement in Australia. Networking is making the most of the professional contacts you have and building a community of peers you can connect with in the future, as well as experienced mentors you can consult for advice and recommendations. If you are working on a project during your engineering internships, then your collaborators are potential candidates for references – they might know someone who is looking for someone like you to work within their team of capable and skilled engineers! Being around other engineers at various stages of their career can really give you the perspective you need about how your career might progress.

‍3. You can get a realistic view of what to expect in future for your career!

‍Internships in Engineering are all about learning, and naturally, during this time, you might come across some tasks in your day that might challenge you – and that’s perfectly ok! Under the support of a mentor, engineering interns are expected to be at a particular level, and progress gradually to build independence. Getting a realistic view of what to expect in future is all part of gaining awareness of your strengths and weaknesses. If you’ve never been in a collaborative environment before, you might not be used to working with other engineers, or if you’re a team player having to work solo then learning to effectively brainstorm and delegate tasks could be a challenge. During an engineering internship, getting a glimpse at expectations regarding workplace culture is important too. What this means for prospective engineers is that you can determine the level of tasks you’ll be working on in within a real-life work setting.

Looking for the next step in your career doesn’t have to be confusing or difficult, but in most cases it often is if your professional experience hasn’t been too eventful yet.

The good news is that engineering internships can help you get your foot in the door and start your pathway into the field. There are numerous reasons why internships are advantageous, but by allowing you to get experience that further develops your specialisation. In internships, networking is crucial to maintain your connections into your working life. Most prudently, however, is that internships effectively set your career up for success. Essentially, internship programs are a head start in the game that many people who were in your position once would have wished they had that option!

Want to learn more about how to start a career in the in-demand and indispensable engineering sector? The best thing you could do for your future self as a professional in the field is to start with the high level of encouragement and support you deserve. Premium Graduate Placements has a range of internships available near you, so what are you waiting for? Check out the vacancies on our site.