Learn about engineering internships and how they can benefit your organisation from Susan Jaques, Trainer, Facilitator and Coach at Sage Consulting Solutions Pty Ltd.

Where do you work, and what is your role?

I've worked for myself as a self-employed industry advisor, for over 6 years.  My company’s name is Sage Consulting Solutions Pty Ltd.  Previous to this, I’d worked for several engineering design companies, and a construction company, in the 15 years before going out on my own.

My role now is to find and help people who need advice, training or mentoring in the areas of risk management, quality management, or skills development.  I particularly focus on design, construction and operation of linear assets like transmission lines, and am particularly interested in engineering professionalism, ethics and developing strong, confident leadership in technical matters.

Give me 3 words to describe how you feel when you think about internships...

Opportunity, Growth, Development

What are the ways that the engineering industry benefits from student internships?

The student learns about working in the real engineering world, and the hiring company experiences the youthful enthusiasm of a growing and developing student.

What are the ways that you connect with students in relation to internships?

Students on internships get a great opportunity to meet people in real working conditions, and better yet, work with them to solve real working problems.

Is there career advice you'd like to give to young engineers?

Young engineers benefit from focusing on 4 key career aspects: connection, mastery, impact and autonomy. Connection is found by working with other people, mastery is achieved by getting demonstrably good at something, impact is being able to identify when and how you’ve made a difference, and autonomy is building enough confidence to initiate work or solve problems without supervision. 

Do you have any experiences as an intern yourself?

I went through the “co-op” Civil Engineering program at the University of Alberta, in Canada.  The program integrates 4- and 8-month internships as part of the degree.  I loved all of my internships: one with Shell Canada learning about hydrogen-induced cracking in steel, one with a geotechnical testing lab, doing all of the soil tests for new subdivisions, and the best one was the summer I went north to Whitehorse, Yukon, to work with the Yukon Electrical Company on their dam safety programs. 

How do you feel when you think about the experience?

Awesome.