Internship

What is an internship?

An internship is a work practice conducted by advanced students or professionals to gain experience in the area in which they will carry out their activities. The person in charge of guiding them in this task is known as tutor.

Through an internship, a young person can put into practice what they have learned during their university career. That is, it can apply your academic knowledge in concrete real-world situations.

Most internships they are not remunerated, since they are considered as training for the intern, who may practice his profession in another company or organization different from the one receiving the training.

Many times, for the good performance in the practices, the intern receives a job offer specific by the organization where it was carried out.

Types of internship

The main types of internship are the following:

• Educational internships: those activities carried out by students of a certain career in companies or state agencies, with the aim of gaining experience in the activity where they will be developed.
• Paid internships: generally they obey to practices carried out by students of diverse careers in private companies or State organisms. Through a collaboration agreement with the university, these entities undertake to pay an income to the participants during its validity period.
• Internships for credit: they are carried out by students who seek to strengthen their academic curriculum. They generally need an academic sponsor to endorse and supervise the activities they will carry out within the organization or company. Credits are required to award postgraduate scholarships or to appear in competitions for academic positions, among others.
• International internships: those activities carried out abroad at the request of a national university. They can also be promoted by a national company with subsidiaries abroad or agreements with other international companies related to the economic sector where it carries out its activities.

Differences between practice and internship

The main difference is because, In a professional practice, the intern works temporarily in a company or organization, usually receiving salary compensation. The intention of the hiring company is to include you in its permanent staff after a trial period, during which it pays you a significantly lower salary (cheap labor).

Internships, on the other hand, they are usually not remunerated. If there is any type of remuneration, it is granted only for academic purposes.

Another difference is that work placements are usually a mandatory requirement to practice some professions (for example, medicine), while educational internships are usually electives.