Educational Preparation

College/University Coursework
The majority of engineering programs—regardless of specialty—include core curriculums that will enable the recent graduate to work in any of the job functions discussed in previous sections. If, however, you want to start pursuing an energy-industry career path right away, consult with your academic advisors and consider coursework related to the field such as:

• Advanced Mechanics of Materials
• Automation & Robotics
• Combustion
• Design Principles of Reactor Systems
• Energy & Environment
• Energy Conservation
• Energy Conversion
• Energy Design
• Fuel Cell Technology
• Oil Recovery Methods
• Power System Analysis
• Quantitative Analysis in Earth Sciences
• Reactor Physics and Design
• Reliability & Risk Concepts in Design
• Renewable Energy
• Rock & Fluid Properties
• Thermodynamics
• Well Testing & Evaluation

Internships & Co-ops
Workplace experience is one of the best ways to prepare for a career in the energy and power industries. You'll learn not only about the companies themselves, but also about how the industry works and what roles engineers play in it. You'll see how different segments of development and production work together, and what kinds of non-engineering skills you will need to be a productive member of the industry workforce.

In addition to looking for leads on campus, you may want to look at opportunities offered directly by employers. Many of the major players in the industry have programs in place designed to bring students at all levels into the workplace and give them real-world experience. Among the companies with such programs:

• Pacific Gas & Electric Company has engineering internships in Avila Beach, CA, at their Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Plant.
  
• Dominion, one of the nation's largest producers of energy, has several established student programs offering internships and co-ops in many of their facilities across Virginia.
  
• American Electric Power offers Michigan-based internships at the Donald C. Cook Nuclear Power Plant, as well as other student opportunities in their operations in 11 states (Michigan, Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and Louisiana).
  
• Duke Energy offers co-ops and internships in many of its locations, including North and South Carolina, Ohio, and Indiana.
  
• In Idaho Falls, the Idaho National Laboratory has a number of nuclear engineering internships.
• Westinghouse Engineering lists its internships on their company’s page in the career section. They also host an annual intern café and regularly participate in active campus recruiting. Internships are located at many of Westinghouse’s locations including, but not limited to, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, and Utah.
• American Council On Renewable Energy (ACORE) Internships are available through their Washington, D.C.,-based headquarters.
  

The Nuclear Energy Institute (a nuclear energy industry group providing information on the nuclear industry to members, policymakers, the news media, and the public, and serving as the industry’s unified voice when lobbying Congress) has information on internships in nuclear energy. In addition, many industry employers have co-op and internship information available on their web sites alongside their regular job listings.