Internship or Apprenticeship?

What’s the difference between an internship and an apprenticeship?

Internship

An intern is someone who:

• usually wants to explore many options for their next job, or career in general
• may be unpaid
• is probably in school

A company who hires interns:

• often has special project work that is a good fit for part-time employees
• knows it’s very likely the intern will work or study elsewhere after their internship

Apprenticeship

An apprentice is someone who:

• knows what type of job they want next, or what kind of career they want
• is almost always paid
• is probably not in school

A company who hires apprentices:

• has apprentices work side-by-side with expert employees on typical project work
• usually hires them for craft work, such as software development
• expects that the apprentice will probably work for them as a full-time employee after the apprenticeship

No value judgements

Neither an internship nor an apprenticeship is bad and the other good. I believe they’re intended for different people and companies.

Someone who isn’t sure they really want to be a web developer might feel overwhelmed in a rigorous apprenticeship. Someone who craves pair-programming with an expert may feel frustrated in an internship.

Similarly, not every company is able to provide the kind of one-on-one relationships that are necessary in an apprenticeship.

Who cares?

Well, I might be alone, but I do.

Lately, I’ve seen many many many interesting variations on the themes of internship and apprenticeship in web design and web development, probably driven by demand.

Setting expectations for everyone involved never hurts.