A Student's Guide to Engineering Internships

Co-op and internships—I get asked about my experience with these all the time. After all, taking part in them gives students the chance to gain practical work experience in their chosen fields.  

For us future engineers, that experience means learning to apply the problem solving skills we spend countless hours developing in the classroom to real world situations. 

Now you may ask, “Where does one even start looking?” Well, sit back and relax, as I will be sharing with you some key tips and tricks to securing co-op and internships in engineering. 

One of the easiest ways to go about gaining engineering experience is to just apply through your department’s co-operative internship program. 

All undergraduate programs within the Faculty of Engineering and Architectural Science offer paid, full-time co-operative internship opportunities. Through the Co-op Portal, you will be able to apply for opportunities posted by industry partners such as Bombardier Aerospace, Hydro One and IBM Canada. 

However, keep in mind that you are only eligible for the co-operative internship program once you have completed all your third-year courses (Chemical Engineering eligibility differs). 

While you may not be able to get co-op through your department as a first-year student, it does not mean that you have to give up searching entirely. You just have to go about looking for them differently. 

I actually got an internship in my second year through the Ryerson Institute for Aerospace Design and Innovation (RIADI). Much like your department’s co-operative internship program, RIADI connects engineering students to companies, only this time all of the opportunities available are focused on aerospace. RIADI itself does not restrict eligibility by year or program, rather the criteria varies by each position listed. 

It’s also not uncommon for students to first gain experience through RIADI in their earlier years of university, and then go on to secure the more competitive positions available through their program’s co-operative internship program. 

Aside from RIADI, you may also find companies hiring engineering students from all years on job search websites such as Indeed (external link, opens in new window) , LinkedIn (external link, opens in new window)  and Magnet (external link, opens in new window) .

Problem solving skills are necessary for all engineers regardless of their discipline. Employers recognize this and they want to see if you can solve problems under all sorts of conditions. Everyone in your program more or less learns the same material, so leverage your unique experiences outside of the classroom. Show off your projects, extracurricular activities and volunteer work. 

Aside from your resumé and cover letter, you can display your accomplishments on LinkedIn. LinkedIn also gives you the freedom to link your projects and add pictures to your experiences.  I highly recommend using LinkedIn as I’ve been contacted by recruiters (even when I was in first year). 

If you need help with your resumé, cover letter or LinkedIn profile, you can book an appointment with the Career & Co-op Centre free of charge.

Understand that there is a reason why many co-op and internship opportunities are available only to third-year students. The first two years of an engineering undergraduate program are primarily focused on building upon foundational math and science skills from high school. It isn’t until your third year that you start examining topics with a more engineering-specific lens. 

Companies often look for upper-year students to fill internships because they are able to entrust them more with technical and design aspects. In my last internship, I was sitting in on meetings with clients and helping to code an application. Whereas my younger colleagues were typically handling more administrative responsibilities like creating graphs and revising documents. 

And just like any workplace, it should come as no surprise that even for internships, seniority and added responsibilities comes with higher pay.

I hope this guide will help to land you your next co-op or internship! 

- Jeremy