Interns

An internship is a job training for white collar and professional careers.

Internships for professional careers are similar in some ways but not as rigorous as apprenticeships for professions, trade and vocational jobs, but the lack of standardisation and oversight leaves the term open to broad interpretation. Interns may be college or university students, high school students, or post-graduate adults. These positions may be paid or unpaid and are usually temporary.

Generally, an internship consists of an exchange of services for experience between the student and an organization. Students can also use an internship to determine if they have an interest in a particular career, to create a network of contacts, to acquire a recommendation letter to add to their curriculum vitae, or to gain school credit. Some interns find permanent, paid employment with the organizations for which they worked upon completion of the internship. This can be a significant benefit to the employer as experienced interns often need little or no training when they begin regular employment. It also helps an employer in gauging a student's aptitude, since grade inflation has undermined the reliability of academic grades. Unlike a trainee program, employment at the completion of an internship is not guaranteed.

Internships exist in a wide variety of industries and settings. An internship may be paid, unpaid, or partially paid (in the form of a stipend). Stipends are typically a fixed amount of money that is paid out on a regular basis. Usually, interns that are paid through stipends are paid on a monthly basis. Paid internships are common in professional fields including medicine, architecture, science, engineering, law, business (especially accounting and finance), technology, and advertising. Non-profit charities and think tanks often have unpaid, volunteer positions. Internships may be part-time or full-time. A typical internship lasts between one and four months, but can be shorter or longer, depending on the organisation involved. The act of job shadowing may also constitute interning.

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