Information for Students
On this page:
- Practical Work Experience
- Professional Work Experience
- Requirements
- Timeline
- Reporting
- More Information
Work experience is a key part of the Bachelor of Engineering degree.
It is a requirement of the degree to complete 800 hours (100 days) of approved work experience in an engineering environment.
The work is normally completed in two periods of about 400 hours preferably with two different employers, but can be completed in three periods (two periods of at least 40 days and one of 20 days). Periods of less than five days are not acceptable.
Students are encouraged to make the most of these opportunities by observing as many different work roles as possible.
The goals of work experience are:
1. To increase an understanding of the engineering terms and concepts introduced during the degree course.
2. To provide actual experience of different work roles that you are likely to encounter once working as a professional engineer.
Practical Work Experience
The first work experience is called practical work experience and is normally carried out in trimester 3 between years 2 and 3 of study.
The work is classified as general work experience and will enable you to become familiar with engineering processes and skills, particularly those appropriate to your specialisation.
Professional Work Experience
The second work experience is normally undertaken between years 3 and 4. This professional work experience is at a junior engineer level with responsibilities and technical expertise that makes use of your engineering training to date and is a task appropriate to your degree. At least 350 hours at this level is required.
If work experience carried out prior to your second year of engineering is at a professional level, it can be accepted only with the prior written consent of the Work Experience Coordinator. If the professional work experience is is accepted, then a report must be submitted on that period.
Requirements
You are strongly encouraged to complete all work experience before you begin your Honours year. You will not be able to graduate until your work experience is completed.
As a framework to help you manage your work experience, we have set up three professional courses that you need to pass, although the courses have zero cost and contribute zero points towards your degree.
The courses are:
- ENGR 291 - Work Experience Preparation
- ENGR 391 - Practical Work Experience
- ENGR 491 - Professional Work Experience
All these courses appear on your academic transcript.
ENGR 291 - Work Experience Preparation
In ENGR 291 you will be set some tasks in preparation for looking for work, such as preparing a CV (Curriculum Vitae) for prospective work experience employers. We will provide a framework and help.
ENGR391 - Practical Work Experience
In year 3, if you are a BE student and enrolled in ENGR 301 and 302, you will also take ENGR 391. In this course, you will record your first practical work experience and build on the skills you have learnt in ENGR 291 in preparation for your professional practice work experience.
ENGR491 - Professional Work Experience
Completing ENGR 491 in your final year will ensure that all your work experience and accompanying documentation has been completed.
Students who have not finished all their work experience can record details of work to be done after their academic studies are completed.
Once ENGR 491 is completed, and all other requirements have been met, the student can proceed to graduation.
Timeline
The timeline for work experience in years 2 to 4 of the BE degree is:
|
Year 2 |
Year 2 |
Year 3 |
Year 3 |
Year 4 |
Year 4 |
|
Trimester 1+2 |
Trimester 3 |
Trimester 1+2 |
Trimester 3 |
Trimester 1+2 |
Trimester 3 |
|
ENGR 291 |
Practical Work Experience |
ENGR 391 |
Professional Work Experience |
ENGR 491 |
Work Experience if required |
Reporting
Students must write a report for each work experience they undertake as well as managing the documentation needed to record their work experience. Templates and other guidance are provided.
The report encourages students to reflect on the work experience by describing, interpreting and evaluating the time, to develop a deeper understanding of their skills, how they dealt with situations and what they learnt.
The report for the professional practice periods should be more detailed than the report for the practical periods.
More Information
More information about work experience is available from:
- Vic Careers and CareerHub
- Summer of Tech internship programme - a joint initiative between employers and tertiary institutions in the Wellington region.