Internships and fellowships alike can hold infinite value for one’s career path- both at the early – and mid-career levels. While the terms “internship” and “fellowship” are often used interchangeably, the two actually differ in more ways than one, including the application process, the intended applicant and the experience itself, and also, the stipend. The most important similarity between the two is that both of them is a learning experience for the student.
Fellowships usually concentrate on professional development and/or academic research, instead of professional experience
An internship can basically be thought of as a chance to realize experience working for an organization or organization that otherwise only hires more advanced professionals. Sometimes internships are “trial periods” for college kids seeking jobs within the company after college, and sometimes they’re completed as a part of a degree or educational program requirement.
Fellowships, on the opposite hand, carry a more academic or scholarly undertone
Fellowships typically involve less day-to-day structure and emphasize the completion of some type of project that may help participants reach their respective fields. Fellowships are stereotypically for those who are at the graduate or post-graduate levels. While this certainly does not apply to any or all fellowships, many fellowships require a minimum of a bachelor’s degree, and a few even require a master’s or doctoral degree.
Full-time professional fellowships are for those that have earned a minimum of a bachelor’s degree. There also are many academic fellowships that are for graduate students and post-graduates. Some are just for graduate students working toward a PhD, like the National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, which are called “pre-doctoral fellowships.” Fellowships for those that have already completed a PhD are cited as “post-doctoral fellowships.” Internships, on the opposite hand, are more often receptive to undergraduate or perhaps high school students.
Fellowships applications typically require applicants to propose a particular project to complete during the fellowship period
Internship applications are often quite just like entry-level job applications- you have got to submit your resume, answer some brief questions or submit a canopy letter about why you would like the position and why you are qualified for it, and you will need to provide contact information for professional references. For several fellowships, due to the character of the experience, applicants must write at length about specific research or projects that they will use the fellowship time and funding to finish.
Fellowships typically carry a group stipend, while many internships offer hourly wages- more sort of a typical job
In most cases, fellowships carry fixed-amount stipends, instead of hourly wages. this is often partially thanks to the decreased day-to-day structure of most fellowships – many fellowships don’t require fellows to log a particular number of hours or punch in or out after they are performing on their projects. Fellows are typically more independent and dealing with projects at a complicated level; whereas interns are typically assisting with entry-level operational and administrative tasks.
Internships are generally unpaid or only provide college credits instead monetary compensation
This key difference is probably going associated with the fact that several fellowships are reserved for post-college students or professionals, but – fellowships are lots less likely to come back with attainment payments or no payments in the slightest degree. This is often important to stay in mind when choosing internships; while the experience may okay be worth working at no cost all summer, doing so is not feasible for everybody.
On the other hand, working for credit could also be appealing to students who hope to graduate early. Knowing the difference between internships and fellowships can not only facilitate you in being able to craft a more thoughtful, targeted application but also may facilitate you to make important decisions about which experiences will benefit you most.
– Chandni Sethia
