How To Become A Systems Engineering Internship: What It Is and Career Path

What is a systems engineering internship and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted experts

Dr. Ariful Azad Ph.D.,

Robert Taylor

A Systems Engineering Internship offers students a lot to learn. The internship itself consists largely of being mentored by professionals in the field and seeing them work and handle different tasks, procedures, and problems that may arise. It is often a great opportunity to meet and connect with people that the Intern may work with later on in their career.

Systems Engineering can be a very diverse industry, and thus the responsibilities and the requirements may vary from one employer to the next. A potential candidate for a Systems Engineering Internship has to be, at the time of application, enrolled in an undergraduate program in Computer Science or Computer Engineering or a similar field of study.

They also need to have good communication and cooperation skills, analytical skills, past experience, and a good understanding of programming platforms and languages, such as Python, Java, or Ruby, and a passion for learning about the technical and practical knowledge of the industry.

What general advice would you give to a systems engineering internship?

Dr. Ariful Azad Ph.D.

Director of Graduate Studies for the Dept. of Intelligent Systems Engineering, Assistant Professor of Intelligent Systems Engineering, Indiana University Bloomington

Look for a job that you would enjoy doing, even if it takes some time to find such a position. Internships are great to explore various options.

ScoreSystems Engineering InternshipUS Average

Salary

3.0

Avg. Salary $39,003

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.7

Growth rate 21%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.17%

Asian 29.80%

Black or African American 4.59%

Hispanic or Latino 8.36%

Unknown 4.85%

White 52.24%

Gender

female 21.74%

male 78.26%

Age - 38

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 - 38

Stress level

4.7

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.8

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.2

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a systems engineering internship

Explore systems engineering internship education requirements

Most common systems engineering internship degrees

Bachelor's

73.7 %

Master's

15.8 %

Associate

6.9 %

Start to develop specific systems engineering internship skills

Skills	Percentages
Python	12.09%
C++	10.67%
C #	10.67%
Java	6.53%
Linux	4.67%

Complete relevant systems engineering internship training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New systems engineering 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 systems engineering internship based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real systems engineering internship resumes.

Research systems engineering internship duties and responsibilities

Research optimal Linux kernels for software usage, manage hard drive with g-part, install and configure the mail server.
Manage multiple database platforms for potential performance issues, while conducting research and resolution with attention to detail and thorough documentation.
Migrate an application to Java which are using a legacy infrastructure, enabling complete operational and maintenance capabilities.
Serve as SME for CNTL-M, ESP/CA-7.

Prepare your systems engineering internship resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your systems engineering 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 systems engineering 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 systems engineering internship resume templates

Build a professional systems engineering 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 systems engineering internship resume.