[Sethro117]

I have an offer for a part time internship doing programming and security for a medium grocery chain at their home office. It's paid and part-time but I feel doing it and my business would conflict and much like it did with my job at NCR cause tardiness. I'm wondering which looks better on a resume and to potential employers? I have 3 years of professional IT experience plus 2 before of student system and network admin for my high school so all together about 5 years.

I'm thinking of taking it and just see what happens and thought I'd get some other opinions on how much an Internship really matters to employers.

[Martyr2]

Depends who you internship with and who you worked for. If you internship at a fortune 500 company, that speaks more than full time work at a mom and pop shop nearby. If you internship at a fortune 500 company or had equivalent full time work experience, the work experience will surely win.

Employers see internships as learning experiences... which they are. Full time work is seen as being an expert and established which is what most want at their company.

In your case if you internship with a company or full time work at your high school, perhaps the internship would seem more desirable. Working at a high school is not exactly glorified.

But in most cases full time work experience beats down internships.

[Sethro117]

I was fulltime with NCR Corporation which is a Fortune 500 company. The internship isnt exactly mom and pop store its Harps Foods but it isnt big either.

[Martyr2]

Well there you go then, full time work at a fortune 500 company will surely be seen as more desirable to potential employers than an internship with a small largely unknown company. Plus, if you feel it may conflict with your side business then it appears that it would be better to do the full time than the internship.

I think it should much more cut and dry now.