While often the terms job and internship are used interchangeably, in the case of post-graduate positions, the term job is generally associated with work that is ongoing (has no end date), while the term internship is associated with a time-delimited position, ranging from one semester to two years. At MountUnionCollege, internships are more academically focused; students can receive class credit for internships.

In the case of summer positions, calling a position a job or an internship gets very murky, and is simply a matter of choice on the part of the employer. Some summer jobs are called internships, and visa versa, and all are time-delimited. However, the main difference in this case is that internships are associated with the opportunity for students to learn something specific or new.

Internships can be paid or unpaid. The term internshipdoes not necessarily imply that a position is unpaid, though often that may be the case. For post-graduate positions, those specifically designated as internships are quite likely to be paid. Likewise, it is possible that an employer may offer an unpaid summer job.