Internships and fellowships are the two vital career aids every student, early-career, and mid-career professional would like to have listed on his CV. It simply amps up your financial value before a recruiter, or a hiring manager, when you apply for your first job at a top firm, across industries. The terms “fellowship” and “internship” are often confused and are many times used interchangeably. However, the two differ distinctly in a number of ways. Ranging from the target application to the work experience, to the application process itself, to the money you make, there are way too many things that make the two, different.
Fellowships Offer Professional Growth, While Internships Help Gain Work Experience
An internship can be described as an opportunity to acquire experience working for a firm that otherwise hires only advanced professionals. It can be termed as one of the best executive education programs available for college students and recent graduates. Many times, internships are taken as “trial periods” by college students searching for part-time jobs that can be executed post college hours. And sometimes, they are sought as a mandatory requirement to successfully complete a degree program.
A fellowship, on the other hand, is known to carrying much scholarly or academic undertone. It mostly involves completing a specific project pertaining to your field of study and doesn’t demand tasks to be done on a day-to-day basis. A fellowship would demand a lot of research work to be performed on an individual’s behalf.
Fellowships are meant for graduates & post-graduates
A majority of fellowship opportunities demand a minimum educational qualification as a bachelor’s, or a master’s degree. In fact, full-time fellowships are limited to only those having at least a bachelor’s degree. Even, to bag an academic fellowship, you have to be a graduate or a post-graduate student.
A few of the global fellow programs are meant only for graduate students who seek a Ph.D. degree, for instance, National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship, which are also known as “pre-doctoral fellowships”. Internship opportunities are available to even the high school students, besides the undergraduates.
Fellowship Applicants are Required to Propose & Complete a Project
Among all the executive education programs, fellowships are considered the aptest to grow your prospective career in a specific industry. While on the other hand, applying for an internship is like putting your application for an entry-level job. You submit the resume, answer a few questions drafted by the potential employer, and send a cover letter justifying your suitability and qualification for the job. Moreover, fellowship programs provide for a pre-set stipend while a number of internships pay in a fashion much similar to that of a full-time job, i.e. hourly wages.
A Large Percentage of Internship Programs are Unpaid
An Internship may prove to be a great leadership and management program for graduating students who would want to learn about the current industry practices and relevant skillset associated with the concerned business domain, but many times, they don’t offer any compensation. However, they may provide you with college credits instead of remunerations.
A fellowship, on the other hand, will not offer a college credential. Although the internships might come without compensation, the work experience you gain during your time at the internship will help you immensely while interviewing for your first full-time job role. Also, you can choose to complete your graduation a little early with internship-led college credentials under your name.
Brief Conclusion: Understanding the differences and similarities between an internship and fellowship program allows you to draft a much effective, thoughtful, and informed application to either of the available opportunities. Further, you will be less confused with choosing between an internship program and a fellowship one.
