Internship opportunities for High Schoolers

[Anonymous]

Hello, any recommendations for where high schoolers can apply for internships, next summer? I am new to the area and while my high schooler is researching online, I thought I reach out to this community to see if there are any recommendations? He is interested in Engineering.

Thank you in advance.

[Anonymous]

My kid is doing one through the Montgomery Rise program and so far, it's been great. But she may have lucked out on the one she got.
Montgomery Rise is a partnership between MCPS and the county which finds internships for HS students. They get a $500 stipend and must do 50 hours over the course of several weeks.

[Anonymous]

DP. It's called Summer Rise

https://www.montgomeryschoolsmd.org/departments/partnerships/summer-rise/

[Anonymous]

Summer Rise is a good option, but it's only for rising juniors and seniors. Placement is not guaranteed. My rising junior did not get a spot last year.

This year, same child got an internship that she learned about through her HS counseling/college & career center.

[Anonymous]

How does it work in terms of selection? Do they give all the resumes and profiles to the host institutions and they get to pick?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hello, any recommendations for where high schoolers can apply for internships, next summer? I am new to the area and while my high schooler is researching online, I thought I reach out to this community to see if there are any recommendations? He is interested in Engineering.

Thank you in advance.

Some schools have great internship coordinators who will help, but many cannot find the internships for the students. The student must find it.

Ask older kids what internships they have done and follow up on those.

Ask science teachers if they know of any.

Ask any adult in the field of interest if there company has any internships, paid or unpaid.

Do google searches for the name of the company and high school internship. NIST and NIH have some for example. They have very early deadlines, so start fall before the summer you want to work.


Create a resume and write a good cover letter. That way you are ready as soon as you hear of any. Might even want to ask a math or science teacher for a letter of recommendation

Good luck. It is a challenge to find them if you do not already have a lead.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:How does it work in terms of selection? Do they give all the resumes and profiles to the host institutions and they get to pick?

They try to match the student's interest with availability. As a pp noted, not everyone gets matched.

[Anonymous]

Your kid should get a job. Internships for kids in HS sound like BS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your kid should get a job. Internships for kids in HS sound like BS.

Internships are very hard to get, but they are interesting opportunities. Ones through NIST, NIH, the Navy, etc are super competitive.

Summer jobs are also great options. I wish teens aged 14-17 would be paid less than minimum wage or a stipend...I think it would make more opportunities available.

There are also many opportunities for SSL hours. My son worked at a camp for SSL, and it was an unpaid job. Great experience, but he would have rather been paid monetarily.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid is doing one through the Montgomery Rise program and so far, it's been great. But she may have lucked out on the one she got.
Montgomery Rise is a partnership between MCPS and the county which finds internships for HS students. They get a $500 stipend and must do 50 hours over the course of several weeks.

My kid applied for that and didn’t get a job. They had many more applicants than jobs.

[Anonymous]

Use your connections (work, friends, relatives, neighbors, etc.). What is your DC’s interest?

[Anonymous]

It's very difficult for a teen to get a job never-mind an internship. Your best bet is nepotism

[Anonymous]

Try retirement communities. A lot of them have (unpaid) internships.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Your kid should get a job. Internships for kids in HS sound like BS.

It's a requirement for SMCS.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Your kid should get a job. Internships for kids in HS sound like BS.

It's a requirement for SMCS.

Everyone I know who’s had a high school kid intern had connections.