Management trainee vs internship

The differences between management trainees and interns can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a management trainee, becoming an internship takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a management trainee has an average salary of $48,477, which is higher than the $35,254 average annual salary of an internship.

The top three skills for a management trainee include enterprise management, management training and customer service. The most important skills for an internship are powerpoint, financial statements, and C++.

Management trainee vs internship overview

	Management Trainee	Internship
Yearly salary	$48,477	$35,254
Hourly rate	$23.31	$16.95
Growth rate	-8%	-5%
Number of jobs	88,275	51,064
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 81%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age	43	47
Years of experience	6	2

What does a management trainee do?

A management trainee's responsibilities will vary in the assigned industry or department. Most of the time, they function as administrative support where the tasks include processing documents and keeping records, preparing presentations, and analyzing reports. There are also instances when a management trainee must take part in implementing policies, crafting strategies, and observe in handling revenue and budget reports. Furthermore, a management trainee works under the supervision of a manager or supervisor, and it is essential to adhere to all policies and regulations at all times.

What does an internship do?

Interns are trainees who are engaged by a company to work for them for a brief period. Interns usually use this opportunity to gain actual work experience, fulfill university or college requirements, and ensure that they are working towards the right career path for them. They sign on for a fixed amount of time. The responsibilities of interns depend on the company and the department that handles them. They do a variety of tasks that exposes them to the type of work that the company is engaged in and to the different aspects of the professional world.

Management trainee vs internship salary

Management trainees and interns have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Management Trainee	Internship
Average salary	$48,477	$35,254
Salary range	Between $38,000 And $61,000	Between $24,000 And $49,000
Highest paying City	Seattle, WA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	New Jersey	Alaska
Best paying company	BNSF Railway	Qorvo
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Telecommunication

Differences between management trainee and internship education

There are a few differences between a management trainee and an internship in terms of educational background:

	Management Trainee	Internship
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 81%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Western Carolina University

Management trainee vs internship demographics

Here are the differences between management trainees' and interns' demographics:

	Management Trainee	Internship
Average age	43	47
Gender ratio	Male, 61.8% Female, 38.2%	Male, 42.0% Female, 58.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.6% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 15.5% Asian, 7.6% White, 61.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 9.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 18.1% Asian, 10.3% White, 56.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.0%
LGBT Percentage	9%	6%

Differences between management trainee and internship duties and responsibilities

Management trainee example responsibilities.

Manage internal marketing programs including telemarketing and email campaigns to increase customer activity.
Manage payroll, payments, social security calculations, all administrative functions and vacation rolls coordination.
Develop management and leadership principles while managing, training, and motivating employees in fast-pace, high-volume sales/customer service business.
Develop workforce management, inventory management, leadership, time-management and prioritization skills through working closely with store and department management.
Perform successful sales in roofing and general construction.
Create Instagram and Facebook posts having to do with new clothing shipments.

Internship example responsibilities.

Lead enrollment process efficiently through securing proper registration forms, official transcripts, immunization records, and IEP documentation as needed.
Manage all company financial transactions through QuickBooks.
Design PHP application to automate schedule updating process.
Manage a web-base graphical interface that utilize a SQL database to better track fabrication lab operations.
Organize online recipe content through the blog, design flyers for it and spread the contest word through twitter and blog.
Develop sponsored post strategy for LinkedIn and Facebook.

Management trainee vs internship skills

Common management trainee skills

Enterprise Management, 14%
Management Training, 11%
Customer Service, 9%
Product Knowledge, 8%
Cash Management, 5%
Store Training, 4%

Common internship skills

PowerPoint, 10%
Financial Statements, 6%
C++, 5%
Mental Health, 5%
Data Analysis, 4%
Facebook, 4%

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Management Trainee
Management Trainee vs Internship

Updated January 8, 2025

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