Is anyone here an engineering major? graduated?

Question

How important is it to get an internship or some kind of job during school in your field.

I'm a mechanical engineering major (junior) and was wondering about this

Answer 1

EXTREMELY important. If you don't have any experience, a company is not going to know how you perform in industry. For all they know, you will try it, hate it, and quit.

Plus if you do not have experience and you are competing against someone with experience (especially if times are not ripe for everyone to be getting jobs) - they will most likely take someone with experience first.

With no experience, they will want to know WHY. Those with experience will be seen as "better" because either you couldn't get an internship or chose not to get one (with shows a lack of drive).

Answer 2

I think that having practical experience is an asset both for yourself and your potential future employer.

Many fields of Engineering require a magnitude of skills that you don't necessarily acquire during your education, oftentimes these are soft skills. So it would be advantageous to develop these skills before you start your career.

Furthermore, by trying internships you get exposed to a variety of jobs. That way you can refine what you like and what doesn't suit you.

It's also good to have jobs listed on your resume. Potential employers really examine your past employment history, so if you did good work, you'll be more likely to get hired.

An internship allow you to try out a variety of things thing. I had 5 work terms before I finished my engineering degree, it paid the bills and gave me experience. win - win.