Constructing Your Career: Six Tips for Summer AEC Interns 

When I was in college as a mechanical engineering student, I interned at a power plant for a couple of summers. I remember just being happy to have something to put on my resume and to get some good experience under my belt. If I am being honest, I do look back and wish I had been a bit more intentional about how I approached my internship.  

I want to share six things I wish I had thought about when I was kicking off my own internship experience. As summer gets underway, I hope this can help anyone who is starting an internship in the AEC industry and beyond!  

1. Take initiative 

One of the best ways to make a great impression on a team is to take initiative and take your performance seriously. An internship is like a summer-long interview. While it’s your chance to gain experience and vet out a company, it’s also the company’s chance to consider you as a potential hire after graduation.  

While it may sound basic, make sure you show up on time and spend each week efficiently. If there are situations where you are working towards a deadline, spend the extra time to get things done (within reason and to the best of your ability). If there are office initiatives or events that align with your skillsets or interests, jump in! And volunteer to take on a task if you see a team in need. All these things will show your peers that you are invested and want to help the team succeed. 

2. Don’t be afraid to ask questions 

I remember being an intern and feeling hesitant to speak up, as if people would somehow “discover” how little I knew. What I didn’t grasp until later in my career is that most companies are not expecting their interns to come in knowing all that much. As an intern, you may feel pressure to impress your new team. But it’s important to remember that companies generally understand you are very early in your career and have not had a chance to apply your knowledge to the workplace. So, if there is one thing I can highlight, it is to not be afraid to ask questions as an intern and admit when you don’t know something! 

When you are talking about a project with a peer, ask clarifying questions to make sure you fully understand what you are doing, why you are doing it, and how it fits into the larger picture. As you are working on a task, gather questions as you go and take advantage of the time you get with an engineer on your team to run through those questions. I know in my career, when an intern came to me with their running list of questions or clarifications, I am always impressed as it showed me they were being very intentional with their time and taking their assignments seriously. 

3. Don’t underestimate the power of internal networking 

As an intern, don’t overlook the power of networking right inside your firm! This can be a great way to get exposure to different people within your office, gain comfort and confidence with your coworkers, and learn new technical skill sets. Additionally, this is a great way to “market” yourself to your team. Remember, while an internship is your chance to learn and develop as an emerging engineer, it is also a chance for your company to vet you out for potential hire after graduation.  

Consider scheduling a weekly lunch or coffee with a new peer of yours. Take this time to learn more about their career path, what their experience has been like, and any advice they may have to share. Be engaged and take notes – you never know what valuable insight you might learn! 

4. Be intentional – create goals for your internship 

Your internship is such a valuable chance to gain working experience in the industry and determine whether this is the industry or company you want to make your home once you graduate. Make the most of this time by being intentional about the goals and outcomes you want out of your internship. This can be both technical and non-technical. Maybe as a mechanical engineering intern, you are really looking forward to learning Revit and would love to learn how to lay out ductwork and piping. Or maybe you really want to build your public speaking capabilities and want to do a presentation for your new team by the end of the summer.  

Consider working with your supervisor to put together SMART goals (see more here) and talk through what the mutual vision for your internship is to ensure you are both getting exactly what you want out of this experience.   

5. Get organized!  

Organization can be key to your success as an intern. This will allow you to be effective with your tasks and make the most of the new information you will be learning. When I was an intern, I liked having a notebook where I kept my day-to-day notes and task list and having a binder with all the technical guides and resources people would give me. Whether you decide to use OneNote, SharePoint, or a good old-fashioned notebook, find a system that works for you.  

Treat tasks you receive like you would with a school assignment. When a task is being explained to you, take notes and ensure you clearly understand what you are responsible for. Don’t be afraid to ask for an example of what a finished product should look like so that you understand what you are working towards. Make a clear note of deadlines and when tasks are expected to be completed. This will help you balance multiple tasks and stay on track with your assignments.  

6. Take advantage of your newfound resources 

One of the best parts of being an intern at a company is that you have access to internal training and resources that you wouldn’t have otherwise. So take advantage! If your company has lunch and learns or technical seminars, do your best to attend. Ask if you can sit in on various project meetings just to get exposure to how they run.  

If there are any opportunities to get on site for a project and help with a survey or see a project during construction, ask your supervisor if you can shadow someone. When I was an intern, I remember letting people on the team know I was interested in going into the plant just to see as much as I could. After that, other engineers on the team would swing by my desk and ask if I wanted to join them on walk downs. This gave me a chance to see equipment and systems in real life, but also a chance to build relationships with my peers and get their valuable insight. All these on-the-job experiences are so valuable and unique and give you a real taste of what a job in the AEC industry after graduation may look like.  

Final Thoughts: 

Being intentional about what you focus on early in your career, especially during an internship, can help tremendously as you start to establish yourself as an engineer. Even if after an internship, you realize that the firm or even the industry doesn’t feel like a fit for you, this is still a valuable data point for you as you consider where you want your career to go. If you are ever looking for free professional resources such as interview preparation, resume critiques, or just a sounding board to talk through what working in the AEC industry can look like, reach out to me at th@designforce.me!