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What does a graduate internship do?

Updated January 8, 2025
6 min read

A graduate internship is a short-term experience that oftentimes leads to a permanent position. The academic program allows graduates to experience different roles within an organization. This professional learning experience provides them with practical and meaningful work associated with their career interest or field of study. Many interns are hired by the company where they are working under an internship program due to their relevant work experience.

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Graduate internship responsibilities

Here are examples of responsibilities from real graduate internship resumes:

  • Develop several Perl scripts to assist engineers to validate RTL files and automate several processes.
  • Develop software in python to automate the test process for both functional validation and production test process.
  • Script in Perl in order to efficiently automate the process of setting up simulation conditions and collecting data.
  • Design PHP application to automate schedule updating process.
  • Assist with Facebook, Instagram, and twitter.
  • Provide counseling and recommendations to patients regarding their prescription and over-the-counter medications under the direct supervision of the on-duty pharmacist.
  • Implement various sensor fusion algorithms in MATLAB.
  • Design and implementation of a test environment (JAVA).
  • Respond to patient inquiries on drug therapies, interactions, and allergies.
  • Automate the testing by developing multiple scripts on python for various validation testing.
  • Work on creating a financial reporting solution base on java and in-house frameworks.
  • Review patient profile for allergies, drug-drug or drug-food interactions, and duplicate orders.
  • Operate social media pages, resulting in a tripling of the number of Facebook page fans.
  • Create a comprehensive map using GIS to best determine where in the city the new businesses should be locate.
  • Develop patient monitoring system using PHP, MySQL, HTML, CSS to ease communication between doctors and patients.

Graduate internship skills and personality traits

We calculated that 11% of Graduate Interns are proficient in Patients, Python, and Java. They’re also known for soft skills such as Patience, Analytical skills, and Instructional skills.

We break down the percentage of Graduate Interns that have these skills listed on their resume here:

  • Patients, 11%

    Provided appropriate counseling to patients on proper use of medications, referring questions requiring professional knowledge and experience to a pharmacist.

  • Python, 10%

    Enrolled students were introduced to fundamentals of Python programming, and database including how to write Python codes and simple queries.

  • Java, 9%

    Suggested and designed Java based billing and reporting application for Accounting Department.

  • PowerPoint, 8%

    Synthesized on-line materials into mini-lectures and designed PowerPoint presentations for facilitating instruction to approximately 85 students per semester.

  • C++, 6%

    Developed command line app to check dependency libraries on windows and android platforms using QT5, VS2012 and C++.

  • Customer Service, 5%

    Worked in a pharmacy setting that provided excellent customer service, averaging approximately 400 prescriptions a day.

Common skills that a graduate internship uses to do their job include "patients," "python," and "java." You can find details on the most important graduate internship responsibilities below.

Patience. To carry out their duties, the most important skill for a graduate internship to have is patience. Their role and responsibilities require that "working with students of different abilities and backgrounds may be difficult." Graduate interns often use patience in their day-to-day job, as shown by this real resume: "provided excellent patient care, effective communication, compassion, empathy, and patience with all visiting patients. "

Interpersonal skills. Another skill commonly found on graduate internship job descriptions is "interpersonal skills." It can come up quite often in graduate internship duties, since "teacher assistants must be able to develop relationships with a variety of people, including teachers, students, parents, and administrators." Here's an example from a resume of how this skill fits into day-to-day graduate internship responsibilities: "utilized interpersonal techniques for engaging providers and patients and encouraging the use of services. "

Most common graduate internship skills

The three companies that hire the most graduate internships are:

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Compare different graduate interns

Graduate internship vs. Teaching & research assistant

The job of teaching and research assistants is to support faculty members in course material preparation and instruction. They often work in educational institutions such as universities and colleges. They perform varied duties and responsibilities that may include organizing visual aids and reference materials, conducting discussion groups, laboratory sessions, and seminars, and grading term papers, exams, and laboratory reports. Teaching and research assistants may also teach sections, conduct tutorials, and assist in overseeing study projects. The skills and qualifications required for this role may include being enrolled in a doctoral or master's study program and excellent communication skills.

The annual salary of teaching & research assistants is $15,715 lower than the average salary of graduate interns.While the two careers have a salary gap, they share some of the same responsibilities. Employees in both graduate internship and teaching & research assistant positions are skilled in python, powerpoint, and c++.

These skill sets are where the common ground ends though. The responsibilities of a graduate internship are more likely to require skills like "patients," "java," "ladders," and "customer service." On the other hand, a job as a teaching & research assistant requires skills like "lab reports," "laboratory sessions," "organic chemistry," and "r." As you can see, what employees do in each career varies considerably.

On average, teaching & research assistants reach similar levels of education than graduate interns. Teaching & research assistants are 0.4% more likely to earn a Master's Degree and 2.1% more likely to graduate with a Doctoral Degree.

Graduate internship vs. Teaching fellow

An individual who works at an institution to foster the students' academic strive is known as a teaching fellow. They are known as a self-motivated and education-based counselor. They help to pursue a better career perspective in an individual's academic endeavors.

On average, teaching fellows earn a $8,471 lower salary than graduate interns a year.A few skills overlap for graduate interns and teaching fellows. Resumes from both professions show that the duties of each career rely on skills like "powerpoint," "data collection," and "data analysis. "

Each career also uses different skills, according to real graduate internship resumes. While graduate internship responsibilities can utilize skills like "patients," "python," "java," and "ladders," teaching fellows use skills like "classroom management," "academic support," "rehabilitation," and "math."

Teaching fellows may earn a lower salary than graduate interns, but teaching fellows earn the most pay in the education industry with an average salary of $49,553. On the other hand, graduate interns receive higher pay in the automotive industry, where they earn an average salary of $67,349.teaching fellows earn similar levels of education than graduate interns in general. They're 2.0% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree and 2.1% more likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Graduate internship vs. Teaching assistant

Teaching assistants are employees who aid teachers in activities needed to deliver lessons. They are usually junior employees or even students who are doing part-time work. Teaching assistants usually set up classrooms, prepare handouts, and give out these handouts in the classroom. They may also be tapped to help prepare presentation materials, source items for classroom demonstration purposes, and assist in the conduct of the lesson. Teaching assistants also help collect schoolwork from students and may also assist teachers in checking schoolwork.

An average teaching assistant eans a lower salary compared to the average salary of graduate interns. The difference in salaries amounts to teaching assistants earning a $15,992 lower average salary than graduate interns.By looking over several graduate interns and teaching assistants resumes, we found that both roles require similar skills in their day-to-day duties, such as "python," "powerpoint," and "c++." But beyond that, the careers look very different.

Some important key differences between the two careers include a few of the skills necessary to fulfill the responsibilities of each. Some examples from graduate internship resumes include skills like "patients," "java," "ladders," and "customer service," whereas a teaching assistant is more likely to list skills in "lab experiments," "laboratory experiments," "ta," and "organic chemistry. "

Teaching assistants earn the best pay in the education industry, where they command an average salary of $35,860. Graduate interns earn the highest pay from the automotive industry, with an average salary of $67,349.Most teaching assistants achieve a lower degree level compared to graduate interns. For example, they're 6.4% less likely to graduate with a Master's Degree, and 1.0% less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree.

Graduate internship vs. Laboratory teaching assistant

Laboratory teaching assistants typically earn lower pay than graduate interns. On average, laboratory teaching assistants earn a $16,964 lower salary per year.While their salaries may vary, graduate interns and laboratory teaching assistants both use similar skills to perform their duties. Resumes from both professions include skills like "powerpoint," "c++," and "data analysis. "While some skills are required in each professionacirc;euro;trade;s responsibilities, there are some differences to note. "patients," "python," "java," and "ladders" are skills that commonly show up on graduate internship resumes. On the other hand, laboratory teaching assistants use skills like computer lab, general chemistry, molecular biology, and lab reports on their resumes.The average resume of laboratory teaching assistants showed that they earn lower levels of education compared to graduate interns. So much so that theyacirc;euro;trade;re 11.4% less likely to earn a Master's Degree and less likely to earn a Doctoral Degree by 1.9%.

Types of graduate internship

Updated January 8, 2025

Zippia Research Team
Zippia Team

Editorial Staff

The Zippia Research Team has spent countless hours reviewing resumes, job postings, and government data to determine what goes into getting a job in each phase of life. Professional writers and data scientists comprise the Zippia Research Team.

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