[jaycee4141]

Hey guys!
I've been toying around looking at different programs with BBC, Channel 4, etc.
And, as an American, I don't know the difference between an apprenticeship and Work Experience.
I kind of assumed they were both like internships but I'm not really sure.
Does one usually come before the other? Is it either/or or do people usually do both? Is there pay involved?

Thanks for your help!

[IndyJK9]

Work experience is not paid. Normally just done to get experience or look good on your CV.

An apprenticeship is. You learn how to do the job, and get paid, although wages are not very high.

[pheonix254]

Work experience is any experience you get in any job. It is generally, though not always paid. It can range from being 1-2 weeks at a firm whilst a school, to working a retail job at weekends. Pretty much any employment counts as "work experience"

An Apprenticeship is learning a trade, it involves on-the-job training, leading to a qualification, this is how it differs from work experience. It is paid in the vast majority of circumstances, though wages are low. It is generally an alternative to university education, and is vocational in nature, in that it's a skill - carpentry, car mechanic, machinist, metalworker, accountant - these are all typical apprenticeship jobs.

Internships in the UK are generally something you do whilst at University as an undergraduate, either in the summer whilst you don't have classes during the vacation period (known as a summer internship), or as a year-long period where you work in a field related to your chosen area of study or major.( a "year-in-industry" internship.) They tend to be a trial of a graduate job, before you have received your degree.

Hope that clears up the definitions this side of the pond!

Stu Haynes, MEng