{"id":58274,"date":"2026-09-29T10:38:50","date_gmt":"2026-09-29T14:38:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.oiq.qc.ca\/?post_type=publication&p=58274"},"modified":"2026-09-29T10:38:51","modified_gmt":"2026-09-29T14:38:51","slug":"internships-cep-status-and-jobs-answers-to-the-gray-areas-of-engineering","status":"publish","type":"publication","link":"https:\/\/www.oiq.qc.ca\/en\/publication\/internships-cep-status-and-jobs-answers-to-the-gray-areas-of-engineering\/","title":{"rendered":"Internships, CEP status and jobs: answers to the gray areas of engineering"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n
\n\t

This series of articles was created to answer questions that many students have but do not always know who to ask. The goal is not to make your path more complicated, but to help you understand the rules of the game so you can move forward with confidence, avoid missteps, and make informed decisions at the right time. Inspired by real situations encountered during internships, at university, or early in a career, these articles guide you through issues where the answers are rarely black and white<\/p>\n\n<\/div> <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\n
\n
\n
\n\t

The articles<\/h3>\n\n<\/div>
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

Graduate, intern, CEP: Can you use the title of engineer?<\/h3>\n

You work in engineering, but can you already call yourself an engineer? Learn which titles you can use without creating confusion.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/g>\n\t<\/g>\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n

\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n

CEP: Before you call yourself an engineer<\/h3>\n

The CEP pathway is more than an administrative step. Find out what this status really means for your professional journey.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/g>\n\t<\/g>\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n

\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n

A signature at the end: that\u2019s not supervision<\/h3>\n

How can you tell whether you are truly receiving the immediate control and supervision required during your internship or employment?\r\n<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/g>\n\t<\/g>\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n

\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n

Reserved activities: What you can do without breaking the rules or derailing your career<\/h3>\n

Testing, programming, modifying, recommending: where is the line between contributing to a project and carrying out a reserved activity?\r\n<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/g>\n\t<\/g>\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n

\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n

No engineers at your small business: a great internship or a minefield?<\/h3>\n

A small team can offer an incredible experience, as long as the right supervision is in place.\r\n<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/g>\n\t<\/g>\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n

\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n

Programming a PLC: coding or engineering?<\/h3>\n

When are you simply coding a solution, and when do you start making engineering decisions?<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/g>\n\t<\/g>\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n

\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n

Is it a prototype or an engineering project?<\/h3>\n

Your project may still be a prototype. But at what point do real-world consequences change the rules of the game?<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/g>\n\t<\/g>\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n

\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n

You can launch a startup in engineering before you get your permit<\/h3>\n

Starting a business while you are still studying is possible. But some professional responsibilities still require an engineer\u2019s involvement.<\/p>\n <\/div>\n \n \n \n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\n\t\t<\/g>\n\t<\/g>\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n

\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_relevanssi_hide_post":"","_relevanssi_hide_content":"","_relevanssi_pin_for_all":"","_relevanssi_pin_keywords":"Starting a business while you are still studying is possible. But some professional responsibilities still require an engineer\u2019s involvement.","_relevanssi_unpin_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_keywords":"","_relevanssi_related_include_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_exclude_ids":"","_relevanssi_related_no_append":"","_relevanssi_related_not_related":"","_relevanssi_related_posts":"","_relevanssi_noindex_reason":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"type_publication":[259],"secteurs_activites":[],"categorie_publication":[272,292,306],"theme":[],"class_list":["post-58274","publication","type-publication","status-publish","hentry","type_publication-aide-a-la-pratique","categorie_publication-aide-a-la-pratique","categorie_publication-devenir-ingenieur-au-quebec","categorie_publication-stages-et-premiers-emplois"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nInternships, CEP status and jobs: answers to the gray areas of engineering - OIQ - Ordre des ing\u00e9nieurs du Qu\u00e9bec (French only)<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Explore the gray areas of engineering related to internships, CEP status, reserved activities, supervision, and employment.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.oiq.qc.ca\/en\/publication\/internships-cep-status-and-jobs-answers-to-the-gray-areas-of-engineering\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Internships, CEP status and jobs: answers to the gray areas of engineering - OIQ - Ordre des ing\u00e9nieurs du Qu\u00e9bec\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Explore the gray areas of engineering related to internships, CEP status, reserved activities, supervision, and employment.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.oiq.qc.ca\/en\/publication\/internships-cep-status-and-jobs-answers-to-the-gray-areas-of-engineering\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"OIQ - Ordre des ing\u00e9nieurs du Qu\u00e9bec\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-09-29T14:38:51+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.oiq.qc.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/vignette-web.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"675\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.oiq.qc.ca\\\/en\\\/publication\\\/internships-cep-status-and-jobs-answers-to-the-gray-areas-of-engineering\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.oiq.qc.ca\\\/en\\\/publication\\\/internships-cep-status-and-jobs-answers-to-the-gray-areas-of-engineering\\\/\",\"name\":\"Internships, CEP status and jobs: answers to the gray areas of engineering - OIQ - Ordre des ing\u00e9nieurs du Qu\u00e9bec\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.oiq.qc.ca\\\/en\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-09-29T14:38:50+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-09-29T14:38:51+00:00\",\"description\":\"Explore the gray areas of engineering related to internships, CEP status, reserved activities, supervision, and employment.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.oiq.qc.ca\\\/en\\\/publication\\\/internships-cep-status-and-jobs-answers-to-the-gray-areas-of-engineering\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.oiq.qc.ca\\\/en\\\/publication\\\/internships-cep-status-and-jobs-answers-to-the-gray-areas-of-engineering\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.oiq.qc.ca\\\/en\\\/publication\\\/internships-cep-status-and-jobs-answers-to-the-gray-areas-of-engineering\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.oiq.qc.ca\\\/en\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Internships, CEP status and jobs: answers to the gray areas of engineering\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.oiq.qc.ca\\\/en\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.oiq.qc.ca\\\/en\\\/\",\"name\":\"OIQ - Ordre des ing\u00e9nieurs du Qu\u00e9bec\",\"description\":\"Ordre des ing\u00e9nieurs du Qu\u00e9bec\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.oiq.qc.ca\\\/en\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.oiq.qc.ca\\\/en\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.oiq.qc.ca\\\/en\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"OIQ - Ordre des Ing\u00e9nieurs du Qu\u00e9bec\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.oiq.qc.ca\\\/en\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-CA\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.oiq.qc.ca\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.oiq.qc.ca\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/logo-oiq-696x696-yoast.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.oiq.qc.ca\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/logo-oiq-696x696-yoast.png\",\"width\":696,\"height\":696,\"caption\":\"OIQ - Ordre des Ing\u00e9nieurs du Qu\u00e9bec\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/www.oiq.qc.ca\\\/en\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"}}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Internships, CEP status and jobs: answers to the gray areas of engineering - OIQ - Ordre des ing\u00e9nieurs du Qu\u00e9bec (French only)","description":"Explore the gray areas of engineering related to internships, CEP status, reserved activities, supervision, and employment.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.oiq.qc.ca\/en\/publication\/internships-cep-status-and-jobs-answers-to-the-gray-areas-of-engineering\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Internships, CEP status and jobs: answers to the gray areas of engineering - OIQ - Ordre des ing\u00e9nieurs du Qu\u00e9bec","og_description":"Explore the gray areas of engineering related to internships, CEP status, reserved activities, supervision, and employment.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.oiq.qc.ca\/en\/publication\/internships-cep-status-and-jobs-answers-to-the-gray-areas-of-engineering\/","og_site_name":"OIQ - Ordre des ing\u00e9nieurs du Qu\u00e9bec","article_modified_time":"2026-09-29T14:38:51+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1200,"height":675,"url":"https:\/\/www.oiq.qc.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/vignette-web.png","type":"image\/png"}],"twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Est. reading time":"1 minute"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.oiq.qc.ca\/en\/publication\/internships-cep-status-and-jobs-answers-to-the-gray-areas-of-engineering\/","url":"https:\/\/www.oiq.qc.ca\/en\/publication\/internships-cep-status-and-jobs-answers-to-the-gray-areas-of-engineering\/","name":"Internships, CEP status and jobs: answers to the gray areas of engineering - OIQ - Ordre des ing\u00e9nieurs du Qu\u00e9bec","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.oiq.qc.ca\/en\/#website"},"datePublished":"2026-09-29T14:38:50+00:00","dateModified":"2026-09-29T14:38:51+00:00","description":"Explore the gray areas of engineering related to internships, CEP status, reserved activities, supervision, and employment.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.oiq.qc.ca\/en\/publication\/internships-cep-status-and-jobs-answers-to-the-gray-areas-of-engineering\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-CA","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.oiq.qc.ca\/en\/publication\/internships-cep-status-and-jobs-answers-to-the-gray-areas-of-engineering\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.oiq.qc.ca\/en\/publication\/internships-cep-status-and-jobs-answers-to-the-gray-areas-of-engineering\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.oiq.qc.ca\/en\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Internships, CEP status and jobs: answers to the gray areas of engineering"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.oiq.qc.ca\/en\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.oiq.qc.ca\/en\/","name":"OIQ - Ordre des ing\u00e9nieurs du Qu\u00e9bec","description":"Ordre des ing\u00e9nieurs du Qu\u00e9bec","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.oiq.qc.ca\/en\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.oiq.qc.ca\/en\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-CA"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/www.oiq.qc.ca\/en\/#organization","name":"OIQ - Ordre des Ing\u00e9nieurs du Qu\u00e9bec","url":"https:\/\/www.oiq.qc.ca\/en\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-CA","@id":"https:\/\/www.oiq.qc.ca\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.oiq.qc.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/logo-oiq-696x696-yoast.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.oiq.qc.ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/logo-oiq-696x696-yoast.png","width":696,"height":696,"caption":"OIQ - Ordre des Ing\u00e9nieurs du Qu\u00e9bec"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.oiq.qc.ca\/en\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"}}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oiq.qc.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication\/58274","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oiq.qc.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oiq.qc.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/publication"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.oiq.qc.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication\/58274\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":58307,"href":"https:\/\/www.oiq.qc.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/publication\/58274\/revisions\/58307"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.oiq.qc.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=58274"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"type_publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oiq.qc.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/type_publication?post=58274"},{"taxonomy":"secteurs_activites","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oiq.qc.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/secteurs_activites?post=58274"},{"taxonomy":"categorie_publication","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oiq.qc.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categorie_publication?post=58274"},{"taxonomy":"theme","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.oiq.qc.ca\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/theme?post=58274"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}