Externship vs. Internship: What’s the Difference?

Externships and internships offer valuable opportunities to gain experience in the real world while working toward your degree. You can include externships and internships on your resume to show employers you have gained relevant experience. 

Fundamental differences exist when comparing and contrasting the two types of programs. Nonetheless, completing an externship or internship allows you to develop new skills and gain a better understanding of what careers in specific fields will entail. 

Explore how internships and externships differ and consider how you can determine the right path for you.

What is an externship?

An externship is a short-term professional learning experience—ranging from a day to as long as eight weeks—where you can shadow a professional working in your area of study. Doing so allows you to learn more about a job and gain perspective on the daily responsibilities of a potential career choice while in school. You could complete an externship before choosing your college major while completing your major’s requirements or when considering a career change. 

A benefit to the shorter duration of externships is that it gives you time to complete several externships, providing you with an inside look at various career paths to help you choose the ones that align with your strengths and goals. Externships can also be a great way to improve your job prospects after graduating by building connections and growing your network. 

If you are still deciding on the type of internship you want, completing an externship first can give you the insight needed before committing to a longer internship experience.

Externship job responsibilities can vary depending on the company and role you have, but general duties include:

• Sitting in on company meetings

• Conducting informational interviews

• Observing working professionals

• Reviewing company information

• Touring facilities

What is an internship?

An internship is an extended professional learning experience that allows learners to get experience that aligns with their studies or career interests. Often, internships will last as long as a semester or a summer break. Internships can be valuable to employers and students since they can help ease the workload placed on full-time employees while having low compensation and training expenditures. As an intern, you will gain exposure to tasks commonly part of entry-level roles, and you can expect to contribute to the success of the project you are working on. 

As with externships, internships are an excellent opportunity to make valuable connections that will be useful after graduating when looking to start your career. If the company feels you could be a valuable team member, they might extend an offer for a full-time position after you finish your internship or graduate. It’s helpful to demonstrate a strong work ethic and willingness to take initiative on projects while building relationships with your colleagues, which can help improve your chances of getting a job offer. 

General internship job responsibilities can include:

• Completing project-based tasks 

• Performing clerical duties

• Collaborating with staff and taking part in company meetings

• Shadowing a mentor

Externships vs. internships: The primary differences

Externships and internships share some similarities but also differ in many ways. Additionally, both have unique benefits depending on your circumstances and career goals. The following list examines four core differences: purpose, payment, college credit, and duration.

• Purpose: The purpose of an externship is to observe the responsibilities and overall day-to-day experience of professionals in a particular career. Internships provide you with practical, on-the-job experience to gain skills and prepare you for your job.

• Payment: Externships are generally unpaid, whereas paid internships are far more common. However, you can also access paid internships.

• College credit: In many cases, you will not receive college credit for your externship, but internships can often count towards your credits. Whether or not your internship is eligible for credits is up to your school and how many total credits it awards for internships.

• Duration: Externships are usually shorter than internships, ranging from a day to several weeks long. Internships typically last anywhere from a month to as long as a year. 

Things to consider when choosing an externship vs. internship

When it comes down to choosing between an internship or externship, you don’t necessarily have to pick between one or the other. Depending on the time you have left before graduating, you can try externships and internships since they’re valuable ways to gain knowledge and improve your resume. Completing externships can be a great way to learn more about the careers that may interest you before pursuing them further. It’s essential to consider the differences between externships and internships regarding time length, work experience, and compensation when deciding which might be a better fit for you.

Industry examples of externships and internships

Externship and internship opportunities are available across a range of industries. Check out what some of these opportunities can look like depending on your chosen career path:

Medical 

Serving as a medical extern between semesters of medical school allows you to shadow medical professionals in hospitals and other health care facilities. The experience can even count toward clinical hours in some cases. As a medical student, you can apply for one-year medical internships, where the average intern salary is $50,843 [1].

Legal

Externships can allow law students to train in legal skills and earn college credit. In this scenario, you are typically assigned a mentor and will shadow their daily work. As a legal intern, you can help attorneys with their case prep work, do administrative tasks, and help with research. 

Veterinary

In veterinary programs, you can apply to two- to four-week externships where students can gain hands-on experience. In a veterinary internship, you may work in zoos, kennels, or humane societies to gain valuable experience working with animals in various settings. You can also get specialized experience in a specific study area, such as livestock, wildlife, or animal surgery.

Getting started with Coursera

Internships and externships offer two different opportunities for learners to gain valuable industry knowledge and to learn new skills. Both add value to your studies, depending on what you seek. You don’t need to choose between them; you can complete both. 

On Coursera, you can find highly-rated courses to help you prepare for your career. For example, learn how to build a professional resume that you can use when applying to internships and externships with the State University of New York’s How to Write a Resume project-centered course. 

You can also prepare for various job interviews and the types of questions you will commonly face by taking the University of Maryland’s Successful Interviewing course, which can help you learn how to increase your chances of success in your upcoming professional interviews.