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The differences between engineering interns and engineering technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 8-10 years to become an engineering internship, becoming an engineering technician takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an engineering technician has an average salary of $60,273, which is higher than the $41,918 average annual salary of an engineering internship.
The top three skills for an engineering internship include engineering intern, python and C++. The most important skills for an engineering technician are technical support, data collection, and test equipment.
| Engineering Internship | Engineering Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $41,918 | $60,273 |
| Hourly rate | $20.15 | $28.98 |
| Growth rate | - | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 97,722 | 111,343 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 77% | Bachelor's Degree, 46% |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 10 | 4 |
An engineering intern is responsible for assisting the overall project development under the supervision of a head engineer. Engineering interns' duties vary in every industry but generally include generating reports, analyzing budget goals and cost estimates, reaching out to clients for important updates, and providing project improvement recommendations. Engineering interns must have strong attention to detail, as well as excellent critical-thinking and project management skills. An engineering intern should be able to communicate effectively and use their logical judgments, especially when dealing with adjustments and meeting deadlines.
An Engineering Technician's duties vary according to the industry or company, whether mechanical, industrial, civil, agricultural, or more. However, most of the time, the responsibilities often revolve around resolving technical issues, working with and assisting Engineers in building, assembling, designing, gathering and testing data, and conducting more manual activities. Furthermore, Engineering Technicians can specialize and work in various fields after a certain training period, closely mentored or monitored by an engineer or someone with extensive expertise.
Engineering interns and engineering technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Engineering Internship | Engineering Technician | |
| Average salary | $41,918 | $60,273 |
| Salary range | Between $27,000 And $63,000 | Between $37,000 And $96,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Washington |
| Best paying company | Cisco | Western Digital |
| Best paying industry | Telecommunication | Technology |
There are a few differences between an engineering internship and an engineering technician in terms of educational background:
| Engineering Internship | Engineering Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 77% | Bachelor's Degree, 46% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Purdue University |
Here are the differences between engineering interns' and engineering technicians' demographics:
| Engineering Internship | Engineering Technician | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 80.5% Female, 19.5% | Male, 85.9% Female, 14.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 11.2% White, 59.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 9.5% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 16.7% Asian, 9.2% White, 59.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |