Have you thought about completing an internship at an early stage of your degree?  There are so many benefits, including:

  • Applying the learning from your placement while you’re still studying
  • Have the possibility of completing more than one internship, allowing you to gain additional experience,
  • Building better skills before you begin your career.
  • Staying a step ahead of other students who attempt to source a placement at the end of their degree.

And importantly, early placements also benefit industry, as they can be conducted at suitable times.

For more information, check out the videos and tips from interns who completed early internships.

Student internship success stories 

Hear about the lessons, challenges and highlights from students who have undertaken an early internship as they share their experiences in the videos below. 

Advice about early internships 
Benefits and opportunities of early internships 
Benefits of early internships on studying engineering
Overcoming and embracing early internship challenges
Skills and knowledge gained from early internships 

Tips and advice from students

Students have shared their top tips and advice that they have learnt during their internship whilst studying for their degree. 

Why did you choose to complete an internship early in your degree?

To gain a better understanding of the theoretical aspects I studied and get exposure of how things are done in industry. – Akshat Sharma.

I chose to undertake an internship early to obtain as much experience as I can to develop necessary skillsets to be professional ready to step into industry as a graduate engineer. – Hardy Hu

I believe an internship is the best way for students, like myself, to gain relevant experiences and skills for our future Engineering career. – Chung Win Foong

I wanted to gain experience as early as possible to learn how a business operates, develop confidence in the engineering industry and business acumen, develop technical skills, and gain real world experience while working on exciting projects. – Lauren Nixon

I chose to complete internships early in my degree to gain a better understanding and appreciation of the day to day role of an engineer. - Marceline Overduin

In order to get my foot in the door. I realised that it was a challenge for me to obtain a job due to my visa status. I wanted to have work experiences in my field before graduating as that would set me apart hence, I applied for internships early on in my degree. – Mary-Ann Kingu

I chose to take on an internship after first year because I had never worked in an engineering industry before, and thought the experience would give me insight into what a career in engineering would look like. – Meg Phillips.

How did you obtain your first internship in the early stages of your studies?

I met a representative from the company at one of the events at ECU. Our Conversation about robotics went well, and eventually turned into an informal interview. – Akshat Sharma.

During my university study, I committed much of my time on volunteering for Engineers Australia. In return, I have acquired a large network in the industry that I could reach out to seek for an internship position. – Hardy Hu

I upgraded my CV to be professional and related to the internship by briefly summing up all the related knowledge and skills I have learnt and any university projects in which I have been involved. I created a difference in my CV by adding volunteering experiences. – Tuong Ho.

I arranged to do unpaid work experience during university holidays for 4 weeks and that turned into a paid position. – Lauren Nixon

By my penultimate year in uni, I was struggling to obtain internships because of being an international student. I reached out to my Program director and he recommended several companies to me, some of which I had never heard of before. I then started applying for internships in those companies. – Mary-Ann Kingu

I was offered an internship through a scholarship I was awarded in first year. – Meg Phillips.

Attending networking events orgainsed by University clubs and Engineers Australia, working on my Resume and LinkedIn profile by attending  UWA Career Events. – Sia Dubey.

How did you obtain your first internship in the early stages of your studies?

I met a representative from the company at one of the events at ECU. Our Conversation about robotics went well, and eventually turned into an informal interview. – Akshat Sharma.

During my university study, I committed much of my time on volunteering for Engineers Australia. In return, I have acquired a large network in the industry that I could reach out to seek for an internship position. – Hardy Hu

I upgraded my CV to be professional and related to the internship by briefly summing up all the related knowledge and skills I have learnt and any university projects in which I have been involved. I created a difference in my CV by adding volunteering experiences. – Tuong Ho.

I arranged to do unpaid work experience during university holidays for 4 weeks and that turned into a paid position. – Lauren Nixon

By my penultimate year in uni, I was struggling to obtain internships because of being an international student. I reached out to my Program director and he recommended several companies to me, some of which I had never heard of before. I then started applying for internships in those companies. – Mary-Ann Kingu

I was offered an internship through a scholarship I was awarded in first year. – Meg Phillips.

Attending networking events orgainsed by University clubs and Engineers Australia, working on my Resume and LinkedIn profile by attending  UWA Career Events. – Sia Dubey.

What opportunities and advantages has completing an internship early in your degree given you?

The hands-on work experience that I am getting is invaluable. Also, having done some hands-on work early in my degree would definitely make me more employable as the companies want graduates who have practical skills. – Akshat Sharma.

Importantly, undertaking an internship early helped me understand various career directions that I can embark on so that I can find my true interest and starting pursuing that direction by selecting relevant elective courses at the University during my final year study to prepare myself for that particular journey.  – Hardy Hu

It’s given me further employment opportunities; My second internship was a direct result of experience and professional connections from my first internship. Other opportunities include referrals, collaborating with multidisciplinary teams, the ability to see (and be in awe of!) large scale assets and electrical equipment, and scenarios to talk about during interviews for graduate programs. – Lauren Nixon

The knowledge gained in each discipline, and the networks established, were just two of the benefits that I think have shaped me to the engineer I am today. - Marceline Overduin

Not many students have engineering experience so early in their careers – this put me at an advantage when seeking further internships and scholarships. – Meg Phillips.

The opportunity to try different industry sectors, and develop great connections and mentors from whom I could learn different perspectives of being an engineer. – Tuong Ho

What was the main thing that you learnt during your internship/s that you've since been able to apply to your professional life/studies?

I discovered it is vital to be enthusiastic and be open to all the challenges. Also, I was able to learn the value of communication, being able to communicate and asking questions is really important at the workplace as well. – Akshat Sharma.

Undertaking the inertnship has made me realise just how big the gap of knowledge that is required to be filled in order to become a qualified engineer and the fact that our knowledge can truly help shaping a better world, further motivated me to continue the rest of my study. – Hardy Hu

Soft skills, learning how to learn, technical skills relevant for my degree (e.g. ROS, CAD, programming, data analysis). – Chung Win Foong

The opportunity to use university knowledge in a professional environment, learn about opportunities available at the company and build a professional network. – Lauren Nixon

Being a well-rounded and effective engineer requires not only technical knowledge, but also the ability to communicate well with a broad audience. - Marceline Overduin

Networking with experienced engineers, administrators, production workers and even other students can result in one gaining valuable information not only related to one’s field but also to life in general. – Mary-Ann Kingu

One of the most important things I’ve learnt is that your interpersonal skills are equally, if not more valuable, than technical skills. Especially as an intern, no one expects your technical skills to be perfect, and everyone recognises that these will be developed overtime during your career. – Meg Phillips.

Time management, Professional writing skills, Communication and Teamwork are the most essential skills I developed through my internship. Also, understanding technical engineering terms, drawings and documents helped me put things learnt at university into real life contexts and applications. – Sia Dubey.

The practical experiences from the internship, which provided me with a deeper understanding of what I am studying because I could see how this knowledge could be applied in real life.  – Tuong Ho