Internships vs. Volunteering Abroad: Which is Better?

Are you looking for internship or volunteering opportunities while abroad? You’re in luck with CIEE!  

Follow along as we detail the differences between internship vs. volunteer work and what you can expect during an overseas adventure. Be forewarned: Both are excellent opportunities to dig deep and learn more about yourself and the world around you (and a whole lot of other things)!  

What is the Difference Between Volunteering and Interning?  

Let’s start with the basics when it comes to volunteer vs. internship while abroad – what exactly do these terms mean?  

International internships are in-person (or even virtually with CIEE) work placements in a foreign country. Importantly, internships, no matter where in the world you participate, are a great way for you to gain valuable, hands-on experience in an industry you’re interested in while learning alongside seasoned professionals.  

Read More: Top 4 Benefits of an Internship Abroad  

Internships are also an exciting way to build your resume with tangible skills you’ll pick up during your experience. We’re talking communication, problem-solving, and organizational skills – a whole boatload of valuable talents! Simply put, internship opportunities are a really great way to help you prepare for your professional future. And doing them while abroad will help you gain even more skills, like intercultural communication (talk about a resume stand out).  

Read More: What are International Internships? Everything You Need to Know  

Volunteer opportunities, which you can also partake in while you’re abroad, are excellent ways to get involved with the local community abroad, immerse yourself in a new culture, and learn skills along the way (just like you would during an international internship). The things you’ll learn while volunteering abroad are virtually endless – you’ll enhance your intercultural communication skills (sound familiar?), time management skills, leadership skills, and more. Heads up – volunteer experience is also an incredible resume booster.  

Read More: How to Put Study Abroad on Your Resume: 4 Steps 

What is the Difference Between Volunteering and Interning?  

One of the main differences between an internship vs. volunteer experience while abroad is that CIEE’s volunteer opportunities are only part of a study abroad program – there aren’t any sole study abroad volunteer programs, while we do offer exclusive internship programs. In other words, you can gain internship credit for a CIEE international internship program. In contrast, a volunteer opportunity isn’t credit-based (but, as we said, it still looks incredible on a resume).  

Read More: How to Get an Internship Abroad: 4 Easy Steps 

Another way to think of internship vs. volunteer work abroad is that internships tend to be really focused on a business industry while volunteer opportunities can be more community-based. Let’s provide a few examples: You can volunteer as a teaching assistant at a local school or even work at local food banks and women’s shelters, while an internship abroad may include working in a finance firm or, depending on your academic and career interests, shadowing doctors and nurses at a health care clinic. Both sound great, right? They’re just a bit different.  

One striking similarity between intern vs. volunteer roles while abroad is the program expectations – whether you decide to partake in a CIEE internship study abroad option or volunteer as part of another program, both your interning and volunteering will be part-time. Academic work and classroom learning will still be a large part of your study abroad program, no matter which experience you decide to pursue. And for good reason. Combining classroom learning with real, tangible work outside school is the best way to fully immerse yourself in the effort and learn it inside and out.  

The distinctions between internship and volunteer opportunities are minor; both are incredible ways to gain new skills and help yourself and others. It’s all about how you leverage such experiences that will make the most significant difference!  

What Counts as Volunteering?  

CIEE offers many volunteer opportunities – you’ll just have to do some extra digging when researching study abroad programs. After narrowing down your study abroad options, we recommend reading the fine print of your chosen program and paying special attention to the “Projects, Volunteer Opportunities, or Internships” section on the individual program page.  

From there, you’ll get a sense of what internship and volunteer opportunities exist in your new study destination! You can always reach out to the CIEE team too if you have any remaining questions.  

Volunteering with CIEE Examples  

Okay, we won’t make you do all the fine-print reading yourself! Below, we’ve outlined some specific examples of the kinds of volunteering you can do while abroad:  

• Volunteer at a local environmental organization, orphanage, women’s shelter, or non-governmental organization (NGO) in Gaborone, Botswana 
• Give back to the local community, and enhance your Japanese language and cultural understanding with volunteer opportunities in Kyoto, Japan 
• Share your time and gain practical skills within a range of organizations throughout Lisbon, Portugal 
• Dive into community work and learn about the local culture in Buenos Aires, Argentina  
• Explore several incredible volunteer opportunities in Rabat, Morocco, including working with sub-Saharan African migrants and refugees, shadowing a doctor at a local children’s hospital, promoting human rights values through work with NGOs, leading games or art projects with local students, and more  

Read More: Top 10 Study Abroad Volunteer Opportunities with CIEE 

As you can see, there are plenty of ways you can volunteer abroad. Helping others while seeing the world? It doesn’t get any better than that.  

Now, let’s review more internship vs. volunteer details!  

What Counts as an Internship?  

CIEE offers several different internship-specific programs and part-time internships as part of our more extensive study abroad programs. The programs range in length and take place in cities worldwide.  

You can obtain an internship in just about any industry you can think of (though we recommend finding one related to your academic or professional goals), and you can select from an array of different international internship program options, including Summer Global Internships, Semester Global Internships, Part-Time Internships, and Virtual Global Internships.  

You can also use our handy Internship Search Tool to search and filter through open internship placements to find the best internship program for you.  

Interning with CIEE Examples  

Just like we did with volunteer opportunities while abroad, we’ll give you a quick example of what some of our internship programs are like – and heads up, they’re incredible.  

• Summer Global Internship in Barcelona, Spain 
• Summer Global Internship in Cape Town, South Africa
• Global Internship in Singapore, Singapore
• Global Internship in London, England 
• Part-time internship in Santiago, Chile  
• Part-time internship in Rabat, Morocco  
• Virtual Global Internship

And really, that’s just scratching the surface! There are a ton of internship opportunities. 

Is an Internship Better than Volunteering?   

When it comes to internship vs. volunteer opportunities abroad, no option is better than the other. As with most things, the choice is up to you, your goals, and what you’re ultimately hoping to get out of a life-changing study abroad experience.  

If you’re passionate about giving back to the community and want to learn more about the local culture and challenges of people in your study abroad destination, seek out a volunteer opportunity abroad. However, if you’re seeking a glimpse into the working world in an industry you’re passionate about, check out CIEE’s internship programs.  

Read More: What Are Your Goals for Studying Abroad?  

No matter what you decide to do, internship and volunteer opportunities while abroad are perfect ways to gain a boatload of skills, learn more about yourself as you uncover your passions, and discover a new, local culture. You’ll not only have some amazing stories to bring home, but they’ll be ones you can add to a resume that will surely impress a future employer or school – wherever your next steps after college lead you.  

Can I Volunteer and Intern at the Same Time? 

You can seek out a volunteering opportunity with nearly any study abroad program, including an internship program. So, technically, you can volunteer and intern simultaneously, but we recommend holding off until you get started on your program. 

If pursuing both internship and volunteer opportunities while abroad is your primary focus for a study abroad trip, then go for it. But you may want to wait until you get a better sense of your academic expectations and new schedule while abroad. Plus, you’ll also want some time for independent exploration of your new international city!  

Essentially, we don’t want you to get overwhelmed while abroad. If you are looking for something to do after several weeks, speak with a CIEE staff member about an internship or volunteer opportunity, so you can work together to see what makes the most sense for you. 

Volunteering vs. internship opportunities while abroad are exciting ways to journey through the world and learn a lot as you go – partaking in one over the other is entirely up to you. Just know that we at CIEE have your back no matter what you decide to do!  

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