Internships and apprenticeships both give you hands on training. Completing an internship is an excellent opportunity for students to earn experience and possibly seeking employment and an apprenticeship (almost) guarantees you a high paying job once you successfully complete it.
Here are a few facts about how apprenticeships differ from internships.
1. Internship programs outnumber apprenticeships. Apprenticeships aren’t as common in the U.S. as they are in Europe, but there are a number of ones you can apply for. Often, they are geared toward highly skilled technical jobs in areas such as engineering or construction. Other popular trades where you can find apprenticeships include carpentry, plumbing, electrical, and telecommunications. Internships, on the other hand, are readily available for most college students through their school or university and are often generalized rather than specified for a particular trade.
2. Apprenticeships are longer term. When it comes to an internship, most people either do it for a semester or summer and then move on to the next one or get hired full-time. With an apprenticeship, it can take years to complete and requires a full-time commitment. While there are programs that last only a year, many are multiple years in length.
3. Both give you hands on training, but apprenticeships typically give you more. Due to the length of the commitment, anyone who has completed an internship knows you aren’t going to have too much responsibility. Yes, you’ll get to see how the marketing department works or how a newsroom operates, but chances are you won’t be creating a marketing campaign or publishing a news article. An apprenticeship, on the other hand, gives you real on the job training in the profession you will eventually work in. “The whole deal is your seeing what you are doing for the rest of your career,” says Vincent.
4. Classroom training is tied to the apprenticeship. Internships are a great way to get exposure to corporate America and to beef up your resume, but typically what you learn during your stint with a company isn’t going to be taught in the classroom. This isn’t the case with an apprenticeship. “A key piece of an apprenticeship is that your classroom instruction relates to your occupation,” says Ladd. “You get a combination of classroom and on the job training and you’re getting paid.”
5. You’ll come out of the apprenticeship with a job. In a perfect world, you would complete an internship in your senior year of college and then get a full time offer from the employer you have been working for, but that’s not always the case. In many cases, your internship won’t get you that foot in the door. However, an apprenticeship will. Since the employer is sponsoring you and spending the time to teach and train you, you are almost guaranteed to have a good paying job once you complete the program. “When you complete an internship you don’t have anything at the end that says I’m ready,” says Ladd. “When you complete an apprenticeship you’ve earned the certificate that says I’m fully proficient to do the job.”
Here are a few facts about how apprenticeships differ from internships.
1. Internship programs outnumber apprenticeships. Apprenticeships aren’t as common in the U.S. as they are in Europe, but there are a number of ones you can apply for. Often, they are geared toward highly skilled technical jobs in areas such as engineering or construction. Other popular trades where you can find apprenticeships include carpentry, plumbing, electrical, and telecommunications. Internships, on the other hand, are readily available for most college students through their school or university and are often generalized rather than specified for a particular trade.
2. Apprenticeships are longer term. When it comes to an internship, most people either do it for a semester or summer and then move on to the next one or get hired full-time. With an apprenticeship, it can take years to complete and requires a full-time commitment. While there are programs that last only a year, many are multiple years in length.
3. Both give you hands on training, but apprenticeships typically give you more. Due to the length of the commitment, anyone who has completed an internship knows you aren’t going to have too much responsibility. Yes, you’ll get to see how the marketing department works or how a newsroom operates, but chances are you won’t be creating a marketing campaign or publishing a news article. An apprenticeship, on the other hand, gives you real on the job training in the profession you will eventually work in. “The whole deal is your seeing what you are doing for the rest of your career,” says Vincent.
4. Classroom training is tied to the apprenticeship. Internships are a great way to get exposure to corporate America and to beef up your resume, but typically what you learn during your stint with a company isn’t going to be taught in the classroom. This isn’t the case with an apprenticeship. “A key piece of an apprenticeship is that your classroom instruction relates to your occupation,” says Ladd. “You get a combination of classroom and on the job training and you’re getting paid.”
5. You’ll come out of the apprenticeship with a job. In a perfect world, you would complete an internship in your senior year of college and then get a full time offer from the employer you have been working for, but that’s not always the case. In many cases, your internship won’t get you that foot in the door. However, an apprenticeship will. Since the employer is sponsoring you and spending the time to teach and train you, you are almost guaranteed to have a good paying job once you complete the program. “When you complete an internship you don’t have anything at the end that says I’m ready,” says Ladd. “When you complete an apprenticeship you’ve earned the certificate that says I’m fully proficient to do the job.”
Apprenticeship vs Internship: Which -ship is best for you?
When it comes down to it, internships and apprenticeships differ greatly in both process and purpose. For the self-starting, creative, and innovative learner, an apprenticeship in a field like business, design, or technology just might be the best education you could ask for.