Most engineering students believe they must complete their degrees to land their first job. Fortunately, that could not be further from the truth!
Many positions are open to hiring engineering students (even if they have yet to graduate). This is because employers know that engineering students have technical skills that could boost their business at a low cost.
In this article, we have gathered jobs that offer real-world experience that is not taught in engineering schools. We have also included jobs that are not directly related to engineering but are nonetheless an excellent fit for engineering students.
1. Teaching Assistant
- Salary: $12 per hour.
- Workload: 93% of positions are full-time.
- Low Demand: 209 teaching assistant jobs are available on
Teaching assistants for engineering classes grade problem sheets, explain the concepts discussed in lectures, and supervise assignments that students work on in labs.
Engineering students are usually hired to supervise undergraduate courses such as calculus, linear algebra, algorithms, mechanical principles, general chemistry, differential equations, etc.
- Math courses: Calculus, Linear Algebra, Differential Equations, etc.
- Courses related to your engineering field: General Chemistry, Introductory to Physics, Mechanical Engineering, etc.
- Computer science courses: Algorithms, 3D Modeling, Graph Theory, etc.
The easiest way to find teaching assistant jobs is to ask the Faculty of Engineering for a list of open positions that you can apply to.
Requirements
- Required: In-depth knowledge of the subject.
- Preferred: A bachelor’s degree in a related field.
- Preferred: Previous experience as a tutor.
2. Freelance Web Developer
- Salary: $20 per hour.
- Workload: 93% of positions are full-time.
- Low Demand: 291 web developer jobs are available on
Freelance web developers build websites for organizations and small businesses.
Freelance web development involves:
- Reaching out to potential clients: local businesses, lawyers, photographers, music bands, influencers, etc.
- Understanding the client’s needs: talk with your client about the project and estimate the web development cost.
- Sketching a basic concept website: build multiple draft versions, and make revisions as requested by the client.
- Publish the website: find a host server, buy a domain name, and upload the website.
As an engineering student, you already have some of the technical skills required to become a freelance web developer. You can find free courses to complete your knowledge on the Internet.
Requirements
- A portfolio of websites that highlights web development skills.
- Proof that you can develop websites with WordPress or other CMSs.
- Understanding of HTML, CSS, JavaScript, PHP, and other languages.
3. Engineering Internships
- Average Salary: paid internships can pay up to $20 per hour.
- Workload: 100% of positions are full-time.
- Low Demand: 32 engineering internships are available on
Did you know that the majority of big engineering companies offer summer internships?
In fact, it takes only a few minutes to find engineering opportunities for students majoring in aerospace, chemical, civil, computer, electrical, industrial, materials, and mechanical engineering.
Requirements
- Required: an essay or personal statement.
- Preferred: a competitive GPA (3.0 or greater).
- Preferred: a letter or recommendation.
4. Data Entry Clerk
- Average Salary: from as little as $5 up to $25 per hour.
- Workload: 9% of positions are full-time.
- Low Demand: 702 data entry jobs are available on
Data entry jobs are exactly what they sound like! They’re jobs that involve entering data, such as:
- Describing or identifying images
- Entering up-to-date prices
- Transcription of audio notes
- Subtitling
- Tagging and annotating data
- You name it!
You are typically asked to perform on-demand tasks that computers are unable to do.
Requirements
- Preferred High school diploma or equivalent.
- Preferred: Completing a qualifier to validate transcription/subtitling/tagging skills.
5. Doing Homework For Others
- Average Salary: depends on how well you negotiate with other students (a fair salary is $16 per hour).
Some websites actually pay you to do homework for other people.
The good news is that math, engineering, and physics homework earn the most.
Doing homework for other people can be deemed unethical, especially when completing graded assignments. Make sure answers to homework questions can only be used as a tutoring aid or a reference.
Requirements
- Preferred High school diploma or equivalent.
6. Computer Repair Technician
- Salary: $30 per hour.
- Workload: 100% of positions are full-time.
- Low Demand: 8 computer repair technician jobs are available on
Many computer repair shops hire repair technicians to:
- Repair hardware: board repair, chips cleanup, smartphone screen repair, etc.
- Install or update software packages
- Build new PCs
- Recover lost data
Requirements
- Some repair shops require technicians to complete a certification.
7. Research Assistant
- Salary: $22 per hour.
- Workload: 79% of positions are full-time.
- Low Demand: 107 research assistant jobs are available on
Research assistants are hired to help professors with their academic research.
Engineering students who want to pursue an academic career can benefit from a research assistant position to:
- Gain engineering skills that are not taught in the classroom.
- Develop a mentoring relationship with a faculty member.
- Earn a letter of recommendation for graduate school.
Requirements
- Required: A bachelor’s degree in a related field of study.
- Preferred: Academic or work experience related to the field of research.
8. Laboratory Assistant
- Salary: $23 per hour.
- Workload: 79% of positions are full-time.
- Low Demand: 538 laboratory assistant jobs are available on
Laboratory assistants help measure results, analyze data, and record experiments' results under supervision.
Engineering students have all the skills required to land part-time laboratory assistant jobs.
Requirements
- Required: Excellent attention to detail
- Required: Research and analysis skills
9. Tutor
- Salary: $20 per hour.
- Workload: 75% of positions are full-time.
- Medium Demand: 7,407 tutoring jobs are available on
Engineering students can make money by tutoring high school and college students.
At the high school level, parents often hire engineering students to teach algebra, calculus, trigonometry, statistics, and geometry.
At the university level, engineering students can tutor any courses they passed with flying colors.
Requirements
- A bachelor’s degree in the subject-matter field is preferred.
- Recent teaching experience is a plus.
More Jobs for Engineering Students
There is no shortage of employment opportunities for engineering students. If you did not find a match in this article, you might want to check more specialized articles:
- Best Part-Time Jobs for Chemistry Students
- Best Part-Time Jobs for Mathematics Students
- Best Part-Time Jobs for Computer Science Students
You can find all opportunities for college students here: