---
title: Internship Or Apprenticeship?
teaser: What's the difference between an internship and an apprenticeship?
tags: playbook,apprenticeship
author: Dan Croak
published_on: 2011-12-14
---

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](http://code.google.com/soc/)
[many](http://university.rubymendicant.com/)
[many](http://www.baincapitalventures.com/startupacademy/)
[interesting](http://www.internmatch.com/company/kpcb-fellows-program)
[variations](http://apprentice.io/) on the themes of internship and
apprenticeship in web design and web development, probably [driven by
demand](https://thoughtbot.com/blog/post/3310910483/a-shortage).

Setting expectations for everyone involved never hurts.