Internship and externship are two temporary forms of training, which many individuals undergo when they start their career. The first and foremost distinguishing point between internship and externship is that in an internship the interns get experience by actively participating in the job, whereas in externship an extern has to play a shadow role in observing an expert performing the job and learning from it.
Nowadays, initial training is the prominent requirement for the freshers, in order to get real-world experience in the workplace, in the field they’ve opted, to build their career. It has a great role to play in an individual’s life because it adds to their skills and competencies.
There is many students, who misconstrue externship for an internship, but the fact is they carry a different meaning. So, check out this article to understand the difference between two.
Content: Internship Vs Externship
Comparison Chart
| Basis for Comparison | Internship | Externship |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Internship is a formally organized program for the freshers to get real life experience of an occupation or profession. | Externship is a program organized by the educational institution, to provide a brief real life experience for the students in the course opted by them. |
| What is it? | On the job training | Learning with experience |
| Concept | To provide interns with first hand experience. | Job shadowing |
| Monetary consideration | May or may not be given | Not given at all |
| Duration | More than a month | Few days only |
| Intensity | More | Comparatively less |
| Academic credit | Given | Not given |
Definition of Internship
The internship is defined as an on-the-job training provided to the undergraduate students or freshers, offered by the employer. The aim of this training is to facilitate the newly pass out students, exposure to the workplace. The program will cover the course of their study, to provide practical application of their theoretical knowledge.
In this training, the interns, are authorized to enter the organization, gain knowledge, learn new things and develop skills like communication skills, presentation skills, creative thinking and so on.
An internship can either be paid or unpaid depending on the agreement with the employer. There are various streams in which it is done, they are medical, engineering, marketing, finance, sales, management, etc.
Definition of Externship
Externship refers to a training program organized by an affiliated institution or a business organization to provide an experience-based learning to the learners. In this program, the extern is permitted to observe a competent worker at the workplace and ask questions related to the job. In this way, he gets a glimpse of the respective field chosen. In general, the training does not go for a long duration. Instead, it is kept short. No consideration is given to the externs in the form of remuneration.
The externship is more like job shadowing, where the trainee gets the job experience by shadowing a professional regularly in the organization. It is a passive form of training where learner gets experience by reflection. The program helps the externs to get practical experience of the challenges that arise while performing a job.
Key Differences Between Internship and Externship
The following are the major differences between internship and externship
- An internship is a temporary training provided to the beginners, to give them practical experience about the work life in the occupation. The externship is a short training organized by the educational institution to provide real-life experience for the students, in the respective fields chosen by them.
- In the internship, the interns get a hands-on job experience of the job, however, in externship the externs behave like a shadow of an expert, that does not provide much practical experience.
- An Internship is an on the job training, whereas externship is a sort of learning with experience.
- An internship is highly intensive, but externship is not.
- In general, an internship is a program of 2-3 months while the duration of the externship is less than a month.
- In the internship, an intern learns and earns at the same time, which is not possible in the case of the externship.
- In internship academic credit is given for the course an intern opts which is not given in the case of the externship.
Conclusion
Internship and Externship are very helpful these days, in building a person’s career. It gives guidance as well as knowledge to the beginners. Furthermore, it is a great opportunity for students to apply their theoretical knowledge, which they have learned during their education. With the help of these two the interns or externs gets practical exposure in the career path chosen by them.
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