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The Purpose of an Externship vs. an Internship

Deciding on a career path early on in the educational career can be nerve racking for many. If you don’t have any experience in the field you are pursing, it can be hard to judge whether or not you will like it solely based on classes. It is this lack of certainty that leads many students to change majors once, twice, and sometimes even three times before they complete a single degree.

For students who are further along in their studies there are internships. Internships are also a valuable tool for networking as well as gaining experience. While students can still change their minds about the field after an internship, typically they are available to help students prepare for jobs after college. Most internships are available for credit and some, like Southwestern Company , are paid while others are not.

In an effort to help students understand the fields that they will be entering, externships were developed. Usually much shorter than an internship, an externship gives the student an opportunity to shadow a professional in the field for brief period of time. There is not much emphasis on the student completing any work, it is more to help them experience the job first-hand and assess early on whether or not it is something that they want to pursue further. While most of the time externships are not paid or offered for credit, they can be a valuable tool for gathering contacts and making connections.

Wherever you are in the education process — investigating potential careers or filling out an application with a program like the Southwestern Company — both internships and externships can be important tools to help lead you into the future.

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