• Question: Are internships important for an engineering student ?

    Asked by manutd to Becky, Carrie, Kelly, Robin, Usaid on 16 Mar 2012.
    • Photo: Robin Stafford Allen

      Robin Stafford Allen answered on 16 Mar 2012:

      No, but apprenticeships should be envcouraged as this is the way young people get experience to make them qualified and get over the hurdle of “not being able to get a job because they have not got the experience….., and cannot get the expericence without having a job” Regards Robin…

    • Photo: Caroline Roberts Haritonov

      Caroline Roberts Haritonov answered on 19 Mar 2012:

      I think internships are a very good way for student engineers to get an idea of what engineering in industry is like. It is also a great opportunitiy for prospective employers to check out potential future employees. I have seen a lot of occasions, where a student engineer has had a summer internship, or sponsorship and has been offered a permanent job at the end of their degree. The experience that they have gained in the summer holidays, has also meant that the student engineer is more quickly able to get involved in useful work as soon as they graduate from university. Even if they doen’t get a job with the same company, their CV is much stronger as a result of their experience. As an employer, I look for young engineers who have even a little work experience, if possible.

    • Photo: Becky Selwyn

      Becky Selwyn answered on 19 Mar 2012:

      I agree with both these comments. I did work experience while I was at school and it helped me to see what engineering involved. I also got a job in an engineering company on my gap year through an organisation called ‘Year in Industry’ and they sponsored me through my first years at uni and gave me work during the summer holidays as well. The experience is really important, and even if you decide not to do engineering, showing that you can find and organise a placement looks good on your CV too.

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