How To Become An Engineering Trainee: What It Is and Career Path

What is an engineering trainee and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Joseph Reichenberger PE [CA AZ HI NM NV], BCEE, F.ASCE,

Robert Taylor

Engineering trainees work under the guidance of a Manager or Supervisor. They assist staff with new projects, offer suggestions on existing methods, conduct research, and write reports. They gain experience by working on CAD software, writing up projects, and following in the footsteps of an engineer. An Engineering Trainee should be able to have commitment, dependability, and commitment.

Candidates for the position need to be highly observant, willing to assist, and eager to engage with Engineers on all types of projects. They need to understand project requirements and complete all duties assigned by their supervisor. Shadowing senior staff members, asking questions, and assisting whenever possible is a big part of the engineering trainee position.

An Engineering Trainee should be able to have commitment, dependability, and commitment. Candidates for the position need to be highly observant, willing to assist, and eager to engage with Engineers on all types of projects. They need to understand project requirements and complete all duties assigned by their supervisor.

What general advice would you give to an engineering trainee?

Joseph Reichenberger PE [CA AZ HI NM NV], BCEE, F.ASCE

Professor of Civil Engineering and Environmental Science, Website

I can only speak to a civil engineering graduate. Investigate all employment opportunities that are looking for entry-level civil engineers, even if it is not your "preferred subdiscipline." Work through the university career center; subscribe to blogs and organization newsletters (Linked-in etc. too) that contain industry news and job notices. Before you apply, research the company on the web. What new projects have they picked up? Or "I noticed you do a lot of xxx type projects. I'd really like to work on this type, and have focused my education toward those types of projects." Make sure this is in your cover letter and focus the resume toward that. This means that each resume and cover letter you send out has to be customized.

If you get to an interview, do more research so you can speak intelligently about the company or organization you are interviewing with. Be attentive; look the interviewer in the eyes and be confident. If you get the job and it's close to what you were looking for, accept it and try it out. The important thing for an entry-level engineer is to get experience. I believe it is important to not try to find the "perfect job" because that may leave you in the cold.

I had a mechanical engineering graduate come to me as part of an honor society faculty interview a number of years ago. After chatting a while, I asked the student what he wanted to do when he graduated. He told me he wanted to design roller coasters. I told him I think that's great, but there are probably only about 3 or 4 jobs like that in the U.S. Don't be that particular. Then I went on to tell him that when I got out of school I worked for the County of Los Angeles designing drains and channels and there was a colleague with about the same experience I had and he told me he was leaving and taking a job near Lake Tahoe. I told him sounds like a great location; what are you going to do? He told me he was going to a firm that designs ski lifts, something he was fascinated with. The advice here is to never lose sight of your goal, but there may be a few "stops" along the way.

ScoreEngineering TraineeUS Average

Salary

4.7

Avg. Salary $60,235

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.7

Growth rate 3%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.18%

Asian 25.14%

Black or African American 4.14%

Hispanic or Latino 9.01%

Unknown 4.57%

White 56.96%

Gender

female 20.01%

male 79.99%

Age - 44

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 44

Stress level

5.7

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.3

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

7.2

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an engineering trainee

Explore engineering trainee education requirements

Most common engineering trainee degrees

Bachelor's

73.0 %

Master's

15.6 %

Diploma

5.0 %

Start to develop specific engineering trainee skills

Skills	Percentages
Fire Protection	11.64%
Technical Support	8.28%
R	5.90%
Boilers	5.37%
Geotechnical	4.93%

Complete relevant engineering trainee training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New engineering trainees learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an engineering trainee based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real engineering trainee resumes.

Research engineering trainee duties and responsibilities

Demonstrate professionalism and the ability to manage projects independently, performing facility layouts within AutoCAD to forecast customer costs.
Maintain the documentation to the projects as per ISO standards.
Generate PLC inputs and outputs lists as per client process statement.
Develop control logic, AutoCAD drawings, PLC programming and HMI screens.

Prepare your engineering trainee resume

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