Micro Internships vs Part-time Internships: Which One Is Better?

Written by Adam Grossman

An ordained rabbi, who has founded multiple ventures focused on workforce development, he is a cofounder and the Chief Development Officer at The Selling Factory.

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An internship is a temporary assignment with an established, professional business, in which you’ll gain practical, real-world work experience. It’s a good way to explore your potential career, gain hands-on skills, and begin building your resume.

There are many different types of internships, including full-time, part-time, and micro-internships. In this post, we’ll define the scope, as well as look at the pros and cons of both part-time and micro-internships.

What Does an Intern Do?

Most interns spend their allotted time assisting with projects, making important connections through networking, and developing hard and soft skills. “Hard” skills are those that directly contribute to the role, like making phone calls or attending meetings. “Soft” skills include critical-thinking, communication, and empathy.

There are many benefits of internships, and those who take the time to add this notch to their resume can appear more attractive to prospective employers in future.

The Benefits of Internships

An internship means giving up a portion of your free time – just when you’re also likely to be working on completing your education – so you’ll want to know exactly what you’re getting in return. Why you might want to consider pursuing an internship can include:

  • Figuring out whether a prospective career path is suited to you. While you may have an idea of what you want to do after high school or college, there’s often no way of knowing whether you’ll enjoy a career or industry until you’ve experienced it.
  • Gaining real-world experience in a role, in which you’ll be learning from seasoned professionals who have many years of experience in an industry.
  • Starting to build your professional network, which could help open up new opportunities for you after graduation.
  • Learning the importance of time management and punctuality as you prepare to transition into the working world.
  • Having a competitive edge over other candidates who will be looking to secure the same positions as you when you start applying for roles.

Still, internships can be difficult to manage when you have an otherwise full schedule. Enter, part-time and micro internships, or “micro-internships.”

What is a Micro Internship?

Micro internships are typically short in duration and centered around a single project. For example, MIT micro internships last for between two and four weeks, with interns dedicating anywhere from 10-35 hours each week. Work is specific to a designated project as opposed to involving multiple different areas of a business.

Micro internships for college students offer work experience in a short timeframe minimizing the distractions from your other responsibilities. Provided that the project work is completed within the allotted time, you can use leisure time to schedule your internship around your studies.

What is a Part-time Internship?

While full-time internships may follow a traditional working pattern, part-time internships usually require a time commitment of between 10 and 20 hours per week. They may be completed during the summer months, but some students opt to undertake them during a college semester.

Part-time internships are just as immersive as their full-time counterparts, and time is usually spent on multiple tasks, as opposed to a single project like micro internships.

What’s the Difference Between a Micro Internship and Part-time Internship?

If you can’t decide whether a part-time internship or micro internship is the best option for you, consider the pros and cons of each.

Pros and Cons of Micro Internships

Micro internships are well-suited to students who already have existing and time-consuming commitments. Since they usually focus on a single, short-lived project, there’s generally less workload than you’d face on a part-time or full-time internship. They’re often more flexible too, allowing remote work or the ability to complete work outside of regular working hours as long as it gets done.

Because of their length, multiple micro internships might also be completed in the same year. This means that you could diversify your experience and make your resume all the more attractive to future employers.

However, due to the singular focus on one project, there’s less scope for picking up varied skills and working in different areas of a business. Coaching and oversight, which can help to build your professionalism, career capital,, and network, might also be lacking with a micro internship. Lastly, you’ll need to find legitimate micro internships that offer real-world experience as opposed to companies that are just looking for quick, cheap labor.

Pros and Cons of Part-time Internships

Part-time internships involve a greater degree of varied responsibilities. You’re more likely to experience different parts of a business and work with a broader variety of professionals. Part-time internships also provide coaching, which teaches new skills and builds professional relationships.

If you’re looking to earn some cash to help with the cost of your education, part-time internships can be beneficial because they last longer than micro internships. In other words, you could be earning an intern’s wage for a longer period of time.

Part-time internships require a time commitment of 10-20 hrs. per week, which can be too much for some student’s schedules.

What’s the Best Internship for College Students?

Whether to pursue a micro internship or part-time internship comes down to your personal (and professional) preferences and needs. Considerations can include time commitment, field of work, hard and soft skills acquired, etc.

If you’re looking for a part-time internship that will give you essential real-world experience, college credit, and pay, get in touch with The Selling Factory. The Selling Factory is an on-demand sales development team that hires top students from American universities and trains them on entry-level sales activities for various companies. 

Just one semester with us can impart you with invaluable sales techniques that’ll set you up for any future career, regardless of your goals. Alumni of The Selling Factory have gone on to launch careers at Deloitte and KPMG, Oracle, Johnson & Johnson, Chewy, and more! If you’re interested in a flexible internship that offers college credit and pay, while teaching you portable skills that bolster your resume, apply for a part-time internship with The Selling Factory today.

Victoria Zamitalo

Campaign Manager

Victoria received a BA in History and Economics from the University of Florida in May 2023. She is a driven sales professional with over 5 years combined experience in customer service, consumer relations and outbound sales, and is deeply passionate about fostering close relationships between consumers and sellers. She aims to train the next generation of sales professionals in not only the tricks of the trade, but also interpersonal skills that make sales the exciting and ever-changing industry that it is.

victoria@thesellingfactory.com

Mia Semel

Campaign Manager

Before graduating with a B.A. in Sustainability Studies, Mia took on multiple roles while interning at The Selling Factory, including sales development, recruiting, and leading campaigns. She is an active listener and effective communicator, specializing in fostering genuine connections and finding common ground among differing perspectives. She aims to find practical, creative solutions regarding sustainable development, biodiversity and the climate crisis.

mia.semel@thesellingfactory.com

Kira Grieve

Senior Campaign Manager

Kira graduated from the University of Florida and received her Master of Science in Entrepreneurship. She is passionate about helping businesses grow and connecting with new people. Some of her hobbies include traveling and hiking. She hopes to visit all of the National Parks one day!

kira@thesellingfactory.com

Jared Glosser

Vice President

After graduating from UF in 2014 with a B.A. in history, Jared started his professional career Fundraising for a non-partisan political lobby in South Florida. In 2016, Jared moved back to Gainesville to work for a non-profit, recruit students for international travel opportunities, and pursue his MBA at UF. Jared has been with The Selling Factory since 2019 focusing on operations, client onboarding, and client success.

jared@thesellingfactory.com

Ian Massenburg

Chief Operating Officer

A graduate of University of Florida (B.A. 2001), Ian Massenburg brings over 18 years of sales executive and sales management experience to The Selling Factory. Before coming on-board, Ian worked alongside Brad at Infinite Energy, and then spent his next 3 years as VP of Partnerships selling SaaS products B2B. Ian brings his vast knowledge and experience to the team and to our partner companies served.

ian@thesellingfactory.com

Damien Paulk

Campaign Manager

Damien is a University of Florida graduate that recently joined the team full time after working as a Sales Development Intern for one year. As a Campaign Manager, Damien looks forward to contributing to the growth and success of The Selling Factory. When Damien is not at work he enjoys exploring Gainesville with his girlfriend and dog or watching the Gators dominate college football.

damien@thesellingfactory.com

Brendan Viehman

Campaign Manager

Brendan graduated from Liberty University with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration and Project Management. For the past 5 years, he has enjoyed working with blockchain technology and cryptocurrency development. In his free time, he surfs and makes personal finance videos for his YouTube channel.

brendan@thesellingfactory.com

Savannah Howard

Campaign Manager

A graduate from the University of Florida’s College of Journalism and Communications, Savannah obtained her Bachelor of Science in public relations with a concentration in French. After almost two years as a sales development intern for The Selling Factory, she joined the leadership team in 2021 taking on the role of Campaign Manager. In her free time, Savannah enjoys going to concerts and festivals and cooking for her friends and family.

savannah@thesellingfactory.com

Zack Kampf

Campaign Manager

Zack is a creative technologist with experience in advertising, event planning, and game design. He started as an SDR in 2018 and has been with TSF ever since. Upon graduating UF in 2019 he became a campaign manager and is currently seeking a master's degree from NYU. In his spare time, you can find him at the intersection of Art & Technology!

zack@thesellingfactory.com

Josiah Blakemore

Growth Manager

Josiah has over 10 years of sales experience, worked with Brad and Ian at Infinite Energy, and also spent time selling SaaS as Director of Partnerships at SharpSpring. He’s always been very competitive and has a love for sports and games. He enjoys solving problems and coaching team members to do the same!

josiah@thesellingfactory.com

Sue-Ming Frauenhofer

Marketing Manager

Sue-Ming received both her B.S. in Psychology and M.S. in Management from The University of Florida. As a student, she took on multiple roles while interning at The Selling Factory, including sales development, marketing, and recruiting, eventually leading to her current role as Marketing Manager. She enjoys refining her taste in music and visual art, engaging in mindfulness and meditative practices, and frolicking outside with her sidekick pup.

sueming@thesellingfactory.com

Adam Grossman

Chief Development Officer

Adam is an ordained rabbi, who has founded multiple ventures focused on workforce development. Hired as CEO by a failing non-profit, in over 5 years, his ingenuity saved the organization, which led Slingshotfund.org to recognize it as one of North America’s most innovative Jewish non-profits. His expertise to identify, cultivate, and on-board talent ensures our student teams meet our partners’ needs.

adam@thesellingfactory.com

Brad Gamble

Chief Executive Officer

After graduating from UF in 1999 with a B.S.B.A, Brad Gamble has dedicated himself to sales management, branding, coaching, and building companies. He served as the VP of Sales & Marketing for Infinite Energy until 2014, when he founded The Selling Factory. He has dedicated himself to teaching critical skills to tomorrow’s leaders, and helping companies achieve sales success and revenue growth.

brad@thesellingfactory.com