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Electrical engineer internship vs student engineer

The differences between electrical engineer interns and student engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become an electrical engineer internship, becoming a student engineer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a student engineer has an average salary of $71,947, which is higher than the $63,398 average annual salary of an electrical engineer internship.

The top three skills for an electrical engineer internship include C++, analog and revit. The most important skills for a student engineer are GPA, C++, and CAD.

Electrical engineer internship vs student engineer overview

Electrical Engineer InternshipStudent Engineer
Yearly salary$63,398$71,947
Hourly rate$30.48$34.59
Growth rate3%2%
Number of jobs80,74498,036
Job satisfaction5-
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 74%Bachelor's Degree, 78%
Average age4541
Years of experience26

What does an electrical engineer internship do?

The electrical engineer internship offers tasks to undergraduate engineering students related to electrical systems analysis and branch circuiting, site investigations, lighting calculations, and design drawings by complementing theoretical knowledge with practical duties on the job to gain experience and increase marketability. Through the internship, the undergraduate engineering students may develop professional aptitude, strengthen their character, and may increase their confidence in their work as it prepares them for what to expect in their field.

What does a student engineer do?

A student engineer is an individual who trains to become a full pledge professional engineer by gaining working experience in the field of engineering. By using their knowledge in the principles of science and mathematics, student engineers should help other professionals develop economical solutions and solve technical problems. They are required to engage themselves in the testing, production, or maintenance of newly developed products. Student engineers are also required to work closely with their senior managers or supervisors.

Electrical engineer internship vs student engineer salary

Electrical engineer interns and student engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Electrical Engineer InternshipStudent Engineer
Average salary$63,398$71,947
Salary rangeBetween $44,000 And $90,000Between $54,000 And $95,000
Highest paying CityBellevue, WAYakima, WA
Highest paying stateWashingtonWashington
Best paying companyKLAJPMorgan Chase & Co.
Best paying industryHospitalityTransportation

Differences between electrical engineer internship and student engineer education

There are a few differences between an electrical engineer internship and a student engineer in terms of educational background:

Electrical Engineer InternshipStudent Engineer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 74%Bachelor's Degree, 78%
Most common majorElectrical EngineeringMechanical Engineering
Most common collegeMichigan Technological UniversityMassachusetts Institute of Technology

Electrical engineer internship vs student engineer demographics

Here are the differences between electrical engineer interns' and student engineers' demographics:

Electrical Engineer InternshipStudent Engineer
Average age4541
Gender ratioMale, 86.9% Female, 13.1%Male, 78.8% Female, 21.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.7% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 10.9% Asian, 19.7% White, 59.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 3.2% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 8.5% Asian, 15.9% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage6%5%

Differences between electrical engineer internship and student engineer duties and responsibilities

Electrical engineer internship example responsibilities.

  • Coordinate with senior electrical engineers and achieve hands-on experience on coal fire plant power generation and power transformers, circuit breakers.
  • Design hardware and firmware for HVAC user interface project.
  • Board interface Wiznet TCP/IP chip and Ethernet switch controllers.
  • Debug and repair malfunction circuits boards used to control custom scientific apparatus.
  • Prepare engineering specifications, schematics, and bill of materials (BOM).
  • Provide a study of the cost saving of using solar power versus ac power.
  • Show more

Student engineer example 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.
  • Aid software engineers in programming and debugging internal SQL database.
  • Perform systems programming in C/C++, Java, MATLAB and Linux.
  • Show more

Electrical engineer internship vs student engineer skills

Common electrical engineer internship skills
  • C++, 6%
  • Analog, 5%
  • Revit, 5%
  • CAD, 5%
  • PowerPoint, 5%
  • RF, 4%
Common student engineer skills
  • GPA, 12%
  • C++, 8%
  • CAD, 8%
  • Co-Op, 6%
  • Java, 5%
  • Python, 4%

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