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.

Written by Dan Croak.