What is an Internship?
Internship simply means ‘training’. If the student has interest in the specific subject or field, then this is a perfect testing ground. The process works both ways. The companies want new projects needing fresh brains while the students are looking to learn & explore about their field.
Internship for Engineering Students
Summer training/internships are very important as far as an engineer’s career is involved. Summer trainings are common for one particular reason: big summer holidays. Students learn a lot and gain industry exposure through trainee positions at various institutes, workshops, factories etc. Engineer’s take their opportunity to learn, develop and apply known skills. Apart from these, there are a bunch of other benefits as well.
B. Tech, BCA or B.Sc are all engineering programs that have their own course variations. Let’s sum up the three very briefly.
Bachelor of Technology (B. Tech)
4-year degree programme
Multiple backgrounds like computer engineering, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering etc.
Students gain theoretical as well practical knowledge
Bachelor of Computer Applications (BCA)
3-year undergraduate programme
Focuses on the study of operating systems, database management systems, web technology, software engineering, HTML, C++ etc.
Bachelor of Science (B. Sc)
3-year undergraduate programme
Designed to give basic inputs for an overall understanding of IT interfaces.
Used for processes like information management, R&D, re-engineering etc.
Polishes concepts like internet security, venture capital malaysia web software, e-commerce etc.
When Is It Taken?
Generally, B. Tech students take up internships after fourth semester which is not necessary. But post-sixth semester, it becomes compulsory. For the students of BCA & B.Sc, the doors of internship should definitely be knocked at the end of fourth semester if not second semester. After this, there won’t be an opportunity to learn and study as B.Sc and BCA are both 3-year courses.
Benefits for Students
Chances to gain jobs increases
Real exposure of the field
Lots of practical experience gained
Excellent place to interact with professionals
Discovering & applying new techniques
Develops professional skills
Develops a work ethic standard
Boosts self-confidence
Employers prefer past-interns as employees
Time
The training time depends on several factors like: project value, people required, project type and overall budget. Time-specific projects like 30, 45 or 60-day internships are also available. Sometimes, detailed projects take about 6 months to complete. Courses are available in summer and winter months.
How to find?
With record number of students taking up admissions in engineering, the chances of them taking trainee positions also increases. With high competition, it is advisable for students to start setting goals quite early. Speak with your teachers, lab assistants, staff members and lastly your class/batch mates. There are millions of internship jobs on the internet as well.
Are they payable?
Internships are usually not payable as the focus is not in moneymaking but learning. Once, you complete your studies and look for jobs, then your 2 or 6-month hard work becomes valuable. Here, the employer knows that you have knowledge in the field, want to learn more and have a keen interest in the job. Your job chances increase with internships.