How To Become A Mechanical Design Internship: What It Is and Career Path

What is a mechanical design internship and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted experts

Dr. Vukica Jovanovic,

Jessa Wilcoxen

A mechanical design internship could also be called a drafting intern. You will help create the design for mechanical devices like machines or electronics. As an intern, you will be involved through the entire process, from sketching ideas to the manufacturing and testing of mechanical devices. You will need to possess technical skills, mechanical skills, and math skills.

Many mechanical design internships require the ability to do engineering drawings, mechanical design, CAD, Java, Autodesk, Matlab, and Finite Element Analysis (FEA). You may find a great position in the manufacturing or technology industry.

Start your career by reaching for a bachelor's degree and working up to a master's degree in a computer or related field. You can also start your career by having a certificate or an associate degree in mechanical design technology. You will need strong computer and math skills. With this type of training behind you, you can expect to make a salary of $17.50 an hour or $27,000 to $54,000 a year.

What general advice would you give to a mechanical design internship?

Dr. Vukica Jovanovic

Old Dominion University

In the forthcoming 3-5 years, the field of engineering technology will likely continue to value industry-based credentialing and certifications due to its dynamic nature.

ScoreMechanical Design InternshipUS Average

Salary

2.7

Avg. Salary $34,070

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.4

Growth rate 2%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.11%

Asian 16.65%

Black or African American 3.06%

Hispanic or Latino 7.79%

Unknown 4.51%

White 67.88%

Gender

female 13.87%

male 86.13%

Age - 39

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 - 39

Stress level

7.4

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.6

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.1

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a mechanical design internship

Explore mechanical design internship education requirements

Most common mechanical design internship degrees

Bachelor's

66.9 %

Associate

15.7 %

Master's

10.9 %

Start to develop specific mechanical design internship skills

Skills	Percentages
CAD	14.26%
Solidworks	12.66%
Preventative Maintenance	8.09%
Mechanical Design	7.84%
HVAC	5.34%

Complete relevant mechanical design internship training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New mechanical design interns 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 a mechanical design internship based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real mechanical design internship resumes.

Research mechanical design internship duties and responsibilities

Use of PLM software tools such as WindChill to manage data, revisions, iterations and approvals.
Design and rapid prototyping (FDM) of components for a new mobile robot in development using CREO and SOLIDWORKS.
Improve blade s lifespan by performing FEA analysis.
Involve in XiaoMi-5 cell phone frame dropping FEA research to reduce dropping damage.

Prepare your mechanical design internship resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your mechanical design internship resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a mechanical design internship resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable mechanical design internship resume templates

Build a professional mechanical design internship resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your mechanical design internship resume.