What does an engineering trainee do?
An engineering trainee is responsible for shadowing engineers in their duties and performing administrative tasks as needed. Engineering trainees assist the engineers in inspecting construction sites and conducting field research. They also identify cost-efficient materials and resources that meet quality standards and client specifications. An engineering trainee must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in writing reports, attending meetings, and ensuring that all reports are submitted for management's reviews, such as contracts from suppliers and vendors.
Engineering trainee responsibilities
Here are examples of responsibilities from real engineering trainee resumes:
- 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.
- Test polymer and metals parts used in the automobiles to ensure compliance with ISO standards.
- Conduct cost estimates for mechanical and plumbing work using standard estimating manuals.
- Assist mechanical engineers and industrial designers in prototyping design projects for blood glucose meters.
- Transfer all mechanical, electrical and plumbing characteristics depict on buildings' blueprints into AutoCAD.
- Perform CFD calculations and analysis to ensure that the equipment will operate under thermal conditions within specifications.
- Perform experiments require for analyzing ultra-fine grain aluminum and coarse grain aluminum and present results to a state-wide conference using PowerPoint
- Perform math functions and operate computers to obtain, record and reduce data.
- Plot survey data for final drawing with TDS software; strong knowledgeable experience in survey computation and math.
- Conduct training sessions for operators to implement good manufacturing practices (GMP).
- Perform internal audit to ensure quality standard meeting FDA, GMP, and ISO13485 requirement.
- Complete a DMAIC report for management that suggest the most economical standard process for implementation of automation across all campuses.
Engineering trainee skills and personality traits
We calculated that 12% of Engineering Trainees are proficient in Fire Protection, Technical Support, and R. They’re also known for soft skills such as Concentration, Initiative, and Interpersonal skills.
We break down the percentage of Engineering Trainees that have these skills listed on their resume here:
- Fire Protection, 12%
Design, and renovate power distribution, lighting, and fire protection systems for Federal buildings.
- Technical Support, 8%
Performed quality control, provided technical support for process improvement, assisted process engineer
- R, 6%
Modified existing air dispersion models written in R to quantify local cancer risk associated with locomotive emissions in San Francisco County
- Boilers, 5%
Analyzed design requirement; finalized piping and layout for standardizing a range of industrial solar water heaters and boilers.
- Geotechnical, 5%
Established investigation requirements and analyzed field reports and data for the development of geotechnical reports.
- Python, 5%
Developed Test cases and Test procedures (In python) to test various sub features of embedded flight displays software application.
"fire protection," "technical support," and "r" are among the most common skills that engineering trainees use at work. You can find even more engineering trainee responsibilities below, including:
Concentration. One of the key soft skills for an engineering trainee to have is concentration. You can see how this relates to what engineering trainees do because "electrical and electronics engineers design and develop complex electrical systems and electronic components and products." Additionally, an engineering trainee resume shows how engineering trainees use concentration: "performed stress analysis for the retention clip of a 26 pin connector to reduce stress concentration in the component. "
Initiative. Another soft skill that's essential for fulfilling engineering trainee duties is initiative. The role rewards competence in this skill because "electrical and electronics engineers must apply their knowledge to new tasks in every project they undertake." According to an engineering trainee resume, here's how engineering trainees can utilize initiative in their job responsibilities: "assisted in project management for marketing operations, blogger outreach, community development and partnership initiatives. "
Interpersonal skills. engineering trainees are also known for interpersonal skills, which are critical to their duties. You can see how this skill relates to engineering trainee responsibilities, because "electrical and electronics engineers must work with others during the manufacturing process to ensure that their plans are implemented correctly." An engineering trainee resume example shows how interpersonal skills is used in the workplace: "provided support to 6 head engineers by demonstrating a strong work ethic and excellent interpersonal skills. "
Speaking skills. A big part of what engineering trainees do relies on "speaking skills." You can see how essential it is to engineering trainee responsibilities because "electrical and electronics engineers work closely with other engineers and technicians." Here's an example of how this skill is used from a resume that represents typical engineering trainee tasks: "completed data collection in the field including traffic counts and surveying organized data into reports and presented to city engineers"
Writing skills. Another common skill required for engineering trainee responsibilities is "writing skills." This skill comes up in the duties of engineering trainees all the time, as "electrical and electronics engineers develop technical publications related to equipment they develop, including maintenance manuals, operation manuals, parts lists, product proposals, and design methods documents." An excerpt from a real engineering trainee resume shows how this skill is central to what an engineering trainee does: "involved in writing algorithms to access database and to deploy them on to the web. "
Math skills. Another skill commonly found on engineering trainee job descriptions is "math skills." It can come up quite often in engineering trainee duties, since "electrical and electronics engineers must use the principles of calculus and other advanced math in order to analyze, design, and troubleshoot equipment." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day engineering trainee responsibilities: "use matlab and ansys to create a tool for obtaining modal analysis data from measured geometry. "
The three companies that hire the most engineering trainees are:
- Bunge7 engineering trainees jobs
- National Railroad Passenger Corporation7 engineering trainees jobs
- Crown Holdings4 engineering trainees jobs
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Compare different engineering trainees
Engineering trainee vs. Electrical engineer internship
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.
While similarities exist, there are also some differences between engineering trainees and electrical engineer internship. For instance, engineering trainee responsibilities require skills such as "excellent interpersonal," "fire protection," "technical support," and "boilers." Whereas a electrical engineer internship is skilled in "analog," "revit," "cad," and "troubleshoot." This is part of what separates the two careers.
Electrical engineer interns earn the highest salaries when working in the hospitality industry, with an average yearly salary of $66,132. On the other hand, engineering trainees are paid more in the energy industry with an average salary of $63,253.On average, electrical engineer interns reach lower levels of education than engineering trainees. Electrical engineer interns are 5.6% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and 0.3% less likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.Engineering trainee vs. Radio frequency engineer
A radio frequency engineer, also known as RF engineer, specializes in designing and developing communication systems using radio waves. One of their primary responsibilities revolves around creating networks and systems and testing equipment. They make sure that equipment is up to high standards by traveling to different areas as needed, troubleshooting issues to identify the root of problems and performing corrective measures required. Furthermore, a radio frequency engineer must continuously optimize equipment quality and ensure efficiency while adhering to the laws and regulations.
In addition to the difference in salary, there are some other key differences worth noting. For example, engineering trainee responsibilities are more likely to require skills like "fire protection," "boilers," "geotechnical," and "python." Meanwhile, a radio frequency engineer has duties that require skills in areas such as "test equipment," "antenna," "system performance," and "system design." These differences highlight just how different the day-to-day in each role looks.
On average, radio frequency engineers earn a higher salary than engineering trainees. Some industries support higher salaries in each profession. Interestingly enough, radio frequency engineers earn the most pay in the technology industry with an average salary of $94,522. Whereas engineering trainees have higher pay in the energy industry, with an average salary of $63,253.In general, radio frequency engineers achieve similar levels of education than engineering trainees. They're 4.2% more likely to obtain a Master's Degree while being 0.3% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Engineering trainee vs. Co-operations engineer
A Co-Operations Engineer ensures that operations-related activities are performed in compliance with company standards and regulations. They optimize the overall efficiency of business.
The required skills of the two careers differ considerably. For example, engineering trainees are more likely to have skills like "excellent interpersonal," "fire protection," "boilers," and "geotechnical." But a co-operations engineer is more likely to have skills like "cad," "lean manufacturing," "continuous improvement," and "data analysis."
Co-operations engineers earn the highest salary when working in the energy industry, where they receive an average salary of $51,087. Comparatively, engineering trainees have the highest earning potential in the energy industry, with an average salary of $63,253.co-operations engineers typically earn lower educational levels compared to engineering trainees. Specifically, they're 7.9% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 0.3% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.Engineering trainee vs. Process engineer internship
A process engineering intern performs various tasks for an organization. These include collaborating with the technical team on cost savings, process efficiency improvements, and technology advancement, attending meetings with leadership teams, and participating in customer trials. Additionally, they may assist with the leadership or management teams in creating standard operating procedures. They are responsible for coordinating with engineers and work on projects assigned by the leadership. Ideal candidates for this role must have a degree in mechanical or industrial engineering, excellent communication skills, and knowledge and experience in process observation.
Types of engineering trainee
Updated January 8, 2025
