Is it unprofessional to turn back on an internship offer I already accepted?

[sailingallalone]

Hi guys, I am currently finishing up my second year of pharmacy school and was just offered a summer internship with Walgreens out of state, where I will have family that I can stay with for the summer. It seemed perfect, so I accepted it.

But today (a week later) I was just offered another summer internship in-state close to home (where I would eventually want to work as a pharmacist) with Walmart. I feel like it would be a better career move to stay closer to home and make connections in the area - especially if I like Walmart and choose to stay with the company.

I have never been in this position before, so I'm not sure what is okay and what is not. Would it be viewed as unprofessional if I call the manager from Walgreens back and tell him that I received an offer that better suits my needs at the time? My concern is that I keep hearing how small of a world Pharmacy is, and I certainly don't want to burn any bridges. They guy at Walgreens seems incredibly friendly and I know I would be perfectly happy there, but it's hard for me to pass up an opportunity like this.

Thanks for any input!

SAAL

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[deleted346323]

Just thank them for the opportunity and tell them you accepted another offer closer to home. I don't think its a big deal.

 

[297point1]

It would not be unprofessional to turn down the position per se; how you turn it down will determine if you are unprofessional or not.

 

[sailingallalone]

Thanks guys.

So would it be acceptable to just thank him for giving me the opportunity, mention that another opportunity has come up that is a better fit for me, and apologize for the inconvenience I am causing? I'm not really sure how much detail to go into with why I am no longer following through.

 

[trailerpark]

An email is sufficient. Just mention closer to home, everyone understands that.

 

[BidingMyTime]

at will employment, works for interns the same way it works for technicians and pharmacists and everyone else. You can quit a job at anytime, its not unprofessional. Depending on your job, determines how much advance notice you want to give, since this is a summer job that you haven't started working at yet, its perfect to quit now, it gives the employer plenty of time to line up another summer intern.