Internship Applications - Academic vs. Work experience?

Hi everyone,

I am a student at non-target UK university and currently applying for summer internships in ER. I have two finance/ER-related pieces of experience under 'Work & Leadership Experience'. I am now deciding whether to put in a 3rd place quite recent 6-month non-finance related internship or academic programme sponsored by US Department of State that was about 2 years ago.

Is stating an experience that is 2 years old a bit odd? Please note both are non-finance related but feature transferrable skills. One is work and the other in academia so what would be your preference?

Thanks and keep up the good work on this forum!

Regards, Fellow monkey

410 WSO Academy Equity Research Session Reviews: 4.84/5

Springfield College

Class of '29 Sep 2026 Cohort

5.00/5

Equity Research Mock Coffee Chat

“Michael gave me very practical, specific advice for breaking into equity research as a freshman. I came in with mixed results from past alumni and industry chats, and he showed me how to make them more useful. He advised tailoring the length and questions of each chat to the contact: start with a brief intro, then pivot to targeted questions tied to their role. For shorter calls, he suggested pinpoint questions that draw out actionable advice. When a contact works in a different area, he told me to phrase my interest broadly and then ask for insight into their team or function, so my goals line up with their work. He also changed how I prepare. He told me to read the analyst’s published reports or their firm’s research before the call and to bring one or two stock or sector ideas and ask for their take, which shows I’ve done my homework. He suggested using school resources like terminals and the finance club to gather sources and data. On building my resume, he recommended continuing to publish on a Substack or website, pursuing WSO or part-time research projects, and applying to the WSO equity research internship or similar programs, then adding the published pieces to my resume and portfolio. He also told me to join my school finance club and get Bloomberg access. Finally, he coached me to ask for introductions during the call when it comes up, to repeat the request in the thank-you email, and to explicitly ask who they’d recommend and offer to follow up. I left with clear action items I can start on right away.”

Class of '25 Nov 2026 Cohort

5.00/5

Equity Research Career Roadmap (optional)

“Chris was very easy to talk to and made the session feel relaxed and genuinely useful. He gave me clear, actionable tasks that I can go away and work on straight away to expand my network. I hope to reconvene with him at a later date to discuss the progress I have made and get his feedback on the work I have been doing.”

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+10	Associates who stuck around for > 5 years working for the same analyst. Why?	4	1w
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+6	Preparation for grad scheme - buyside ER	1	1d
+1	IB SA -> ER FT	4	2w
0	Equity Research Rankings	1	1w

1	redever	99.2
2	Secyh62	99.0
3	BankonBanking	99.0
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10	bolo up	98.8

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Internship Applications - Academic vs. Work experience?

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Internship Applications - Academic vs. Work experience?

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