Engineering internship education requirements

Q: Is an engineering degree worth it?

Yes, an engineering degree is worth it. Engineering reports high job satisfaction levels, great career growth opportunities, and often great work-life balance. An engineering degree is often required for more specialized, better-paid positions in engineering. It also helps you to learn key skills necessary for beginning a career in engineering.

Q: Masters in Engineering vs. Masters in Science

A master's in engineering focuses on engineering principles and business management, while a master's in science normally applies to one particular field of science, like physics, chemistry, or biology.

Q: Why study engineering?

There are many reasons to study engineering; some of the most common reasons include: The opportunity to solve complex issues Engineers of all kinds are typically tasked with solving complex problems and issues, whether it's designing an underwater tunnel for car traffic, creating new medical technology, or developing innovative software. These are just a few examples, but many find the challenges of the field appealing and satisfying. There are many different career paths Engineering is an extremely broad field that includes many different types of engineering. Here are several examples: Civil engineering Biomedical engineering Software engineering Mechanical engineering Aerospace engineering No matter what your prime interests are, it is likely that you can find a field of engineering that suits them. Good job outlook and compensation The demand for engineers remains high in many different industries, such as technology, energy, manufacturing, and healthcare. Most engineers also make very good annual salaries and receive comprehensive employee benefits.

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

There are several educational requirements to become an engineering internship. Engineering interns usually study mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, or civil engineering. 77% of engineering interns hold a bachelor's degree, and 11% hold an master's degree. We analyzed 51,607 real engineering internship resumes to see exactly what engineering internship education sections show.

The most common colleges for engineering interns are the Purdue University and the Purdue University.

There are also many online engineering internship courses to help get the education required to be an engineering internship.

There are certain engineering internship certifications that you should consider. These engineering internship certifications include Engineer In Training Certification (EIT) and Six Sigma Green Belt.

What education do you need to become an engineering internship?

What degree do you need to be an engineering internship?

The most common degree for engineering interns is bachelor's degree, with 77% of engineering interns earning that degree. The second and third most common degree levels are master's degree degree at 11% and master's degree degree at 8%.

Bachelor's, 77%

Master's, 11%

Associate, 8%

High School Diploma, 3%

Other Degrees, 1%

What should I major in to become an engineering internship?

You should major in mechanical engineering to become an engineering internship. 29% of engineering interns major in mechanical engineering. Other common majors for an engineering internship include electrical engineering and civil engineering.

Mechanical Engineering, 29%

Electrical Engineering, 14%

Civil Engineering, 12%

Engineering, 6%

Other Majors, 39%

Most common colleges for engineering interns

Engineering interns often get their degrees at Purdue University, Pennsylvania State University, and Texas A&M; University. Here are the most common colleges for engineering interns in the US based on their resumes.

Engineering internship common college	Percentages
Purdue University	8.00%
Pennsylvania State University	7.92%
Texas A&M University	6.92%
University of California - Davis	5.77%
University of California, Santa Barbara	5.50%

Show more common engineering internship colleges

Best majors for engineering interns

Rank	Major	Percentages
1	Mechanical Engineering	29.2%
2	Electrical Engineering	13.9%
3	Civil Engineering	11.7%
4	Engineering	6.1%
5	Chemical Engineering	5.7%

Show more common engineering internship majors

$6,798

Enrollment

31,503

20 best online courses for engineering interns

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1. Python, Bash and SQL Essentials for Data Engineering

If you are interested in developing the skills needed to be a data engineer, the Python, Bash and SQL Essentials for Data Engineering Specialization is a great place to start. We live in a world that is driven by big data - from what we search online to the route we take to our favorite restaurant, and everything in between. Businesses and organizations use this data to make decisions that impact the ways in which we navigate our lives. How do engineers collect this data? How can this data be...

2. Python Project for Data Engineering

Showcase your Python skills in this Data Engineering Project! This short course is designed to apply your basic Python skills through the implementation of various techniques for gathering and manipulating data. You will take on the role of a Data Engineer by extracting data from multiple sources, and converting the data into specific formats and making it ready for loading into a database for analysis. You will also demonstrate your knowledge of web scraping and utilizing APIs to extract data...

3. Data Engineering Essentials using SQL, Python, and PySpark

4.4

(3,028)

Learn key Data Engineering Skills such as SQL, Python, Apache Spark (Spark SQL and Pyspark) with Exercises and Projects...

4. Core Spatial Data Analysis: Introductory GIS with R and QGIS

4.4

(1,989)

Become Proficient In Spatial Data Analysis Using R & QGIS By Working On A Real Project - Get A Job In Spatial Data!...

5. Introduction to Data Engineering

Start your journey in one of the fastest growing professions today with this beginner-friendly Data Engineering course! You will be introduced to the core concepts, processes, and tools you need to know in order to get a foundational knowledge of data engineering. as well as the roles that Data Engineers, Data Scientists, and Data Analysts play in the ecosystem. You will begin this course by understanding what is data engineering as well as the roles that Data Engineers, Data Scientists, and...

6. IBM Data Engineering

Prepare for a career in the high-growth field of data engineering. In this program, you’ll learn in-demand skills like Python, SQL, and Databases to get job-ready in less than 5 months.\n\nData engineering is building systems to gather data, process and organize raw data into usable information, and manage data. The work data engineers do provides the foundational information that data scientists and business intelligence (BI) analysts use to make recommendations and decisions.\n\nThis program...

7. 2 Real World Azure Data Engineer Project End to End

4.4

(737)

Engineering Project Building from scratch including designing, architecting, implementing solution and overall testing...

8. Complete Google Earth Engine for Remote Sensing & GIS

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Harness the Power of Google Earth Engine for GIS Spatial Data Analysis & Remote Sensing...

9. Data Engineering Foundations

Data engineering is one of the fastest-growing tech occupations, where the demand for skilled data engineers far outweighs the supply. The goal of data engineering is to make quality data available for fact-finding and data-driven decision making. This Specialization from IBM will help anyone interested in pursuing a career in data engineering by teaching fundamental skills to get started in this field. No prior data engineering experience is required to succeed in this Specialization.\n\nThe...

10. Google Cloud Professional Data Engineer Practice Tests

4.3

(553)

Pass the Google Cloud Professional Data Engineer Exam...

11. An Introduction to Machine Learning for Data Engineers

4.4

(3,291)

A Prerequisite for Tensorflow on Google's Cloud Platform for Data Engineers...

12. Practice Exams: Databricks Certified Data Engineer Associate

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Practice Tests with Detailed Explanations for Databricks Data Engineer Associate certification exam (Versions 2 and 3)...

13. Databricks Certified Data Engineer Associate - Preparation

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Preparation course for Databricks Data Engineer Associate certification exam (Versions 2 and 3) with hands-on training...

14. Data Engineering using AWS Data Analytics

4.6

(1,720)

Build Data Engineering Pipelines on AWS using Data Analytics Services - Glue, EMR, Athena, Kinesis, Lambda, Redshift...

15. Data Engineering using Databricks on AWS and Azure

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Build Data Engineering Pipelines using Databricks core features such as Spark, Delta Lake, cloud Files, etc...

16. NI LabVIEW: Become a LabVIEW Test Engineer

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Learn Lab VIEW from industrial experienced consultant, starting from basic programming to advanced Lab VIEW projects...

17. Databricks Certified Data Engineer Associate Practice Exams

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Practice Exams Databricks Certified Data Engineer Associate both for V2 and V3 exams, 5 Exams with detailed explanations...

18. Statistics for Data Analysis Using R

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(2,082)

Learn Programming in R & R Studio • Descriptive, Inferential Statistics • Plots for Data Visualization • Data Science...

19. Applied Statistical Modeling for Data Analysis in R

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Your Complete Guide to Statistical Data Analysis and Visualization For Practical Applications in R...

20. Azure Synapse Analytics For Data Engineers -Hands On Project

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Hands on Project for Data Engineers using all the services available in Azure Synapse Analytics [DP-203, DP-500]...

Top 10 most affordable universities for engineering interns

The most affordable schools for engineering interns are University of Florida, california state university - long beach, and florida international university.

If the best universities for engineering interns are out of your price range, check out these affordable schools. After factoring in in-state tuition and fees, the average cost of attendance, admissions rate, average net price, and mean earnings after six years, we found that these are the most affordable schools for engineering interns.

1. University of Florida

Gainesville, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,381

Cost of attendance

21,034

2. California State University - Long Beach

Long Beach, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,798

Cost of attendance

18,306

3. Florida International University

Miami, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$6,556

Cost of attendance

19,434

4. SUNY Farmingdale

Farmingdale, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$8,306

Cost of attendance

16,091

5. California State University - Northridge

Northridge, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$6,893

Cost of attendance

18,870

6. City College of New York of the City University of New York, The

New York, NY • Private

In-state tuition

$7,140

Cost of attendance

14,430

7. California State Polytechnic University, Pomona

Pomona, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,353

Cost of attendance

21,302

8. Florida State University

Tallahassee, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$5,656

Cost of attendance

21,623

9. California State University - Sacramento

Sacramento, CA • Private

In-state tuition

$7,310

Cost of attendance

19,807

10. Florida Atlantic University

Boca Raton, FL • Private

In-state tuition

$4,831

Cost of attendance

19,559

Top 10 hardest universities to get into for engineering interns

The hardest universities for engineering interns to get into are Carnegie Mellon University, Johns Hopkins University, and Columbia University in the City of New York.

Some great schools for engineering interns are hard to get into, but they also set your career up for greater success. The list below shows the most challenging universities to get into for engineering interns based on an institution's admissions rates, average SAT scores accepted, median ACT scores accepted, and mean earnings of students six years after admission.

1. Carnegie Mellon University

Pittsburgh, PA • Private

Admissions rate

17%

SAT average

1,507

2. Johns Hopkins University

Baltimore, MD • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,513

3. Columbia University in the City of New York

New York, NY • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,512

4. Northwestern University

Evanston, IL • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,508

5. Cornell University

Ithaca, NY • Private

Admissions rate

11%

SAT average

1,471

6. Georgia Institute of Technology

Atlanta, GA • Private

Admissions rate

22%

SAT average

1,465

7. California Institute of Technology

Pasadena, CA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,566

8. Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge, MA • Private

Admissions rate

SAT average

1,545

9. Tufts University

Medford, MA • Private

Admissions rate

15%

SAT average

1,461

10. Stanford University

Stanford, CA • Private

Admissions rate

Normal, AL • Private

Admissions rate

90%

SAT average

957

6. California State University - Sacramento

Sacramento, CA • Private

Admissions rate

64%

SAT average

1,030

7. California State University - Chico

Chico, CA • Private

Admissions rate

65%

SAT average

1,092

8. Cleveland State University

Cleveland, OH • Private

Admissions rate

88%

SAT average

1,111

9. Prairie View A & M University

Prairie View, TX • Private

Admissions rate

74%

SAT average

980

10. Pennsylvania State University - Altoona

Altoona, PA • Private

Admissions rate

91%

SAT average

1,094

Average engineering internship salary by education level

Engineering interns with a Master's degree earn more than those without, at $47,444 annually. With a Associate degree, engineering interns earn a median annual income of $44,912 compared to $44,085 for engineering interns with an Bachelor's degree.

Engineering internship education level	Engineering internship salary
Master's Degree	$47,444
High School Diploma or Less	$41,609
Bachelor's Degree	$44,085
Some College/ Associate Degree	$44,912

Engineering internship education FAQs

Is an engineering degree worth it?

Masters in Engineering vs. Masters in Science

Why study engineering?

What is the best college for Engineering Interns?

Have more questions? See all answers to common architecture and engineering questions.

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Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

Updated January 8, 2025

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