Seattle Teen Internships

Get to Work.

As 2016 comes to a close, the new year brings application season for many summer programs and internships. Internships, whether paid or unpaid, are a great way to acquire new skills, explore different fields, and get involved in your community. Sure, you might have to give up your usual summer of sleeping until noon and watching Netflix, but an internship can both boost your resume and  help you network and make connections in industries.

Arts
While it is difficult to make it in the arts, internships are a great place to start. Seattle Children’s Theatre offers unpaid high school technical assistantships, where you work with college interns and theatre professionals to produce SCT’s summer season of student shows. Also, Young Americans’ Theatre Company, an entirely youth run company, issues production   assistant internships in the summer, with the opportunity to be appointed to the board of directors at the end.

Public Works
The city of Seattle has multiple positions for youth. Seattle City Light and the Port of Seattle both have compensated opportunities for teens. The Seattle Youth Employment Program is a paid internship program that employs young people, and is a part of the Mayor’s Youth Employment Initiative. Interns get placed at various organizations in Seattle, one being the Seattle Center. Junior Miraya Horton worked in Seattle Center’s call center over the summer through SYEP.  “It’s a great way for kids to make money in the summer and develop lifelong skills,” said Horton.

Environmental
ZooCorps at the Woodland Park Zoo is a volunteer program in which teens learn about environmental conservation and teach visitors about the zoo’s exhibits and habitats. The volunteers work through the school year and during the summer. Applications for the program are now open and close on January 17th.

Medical
Fred Hutch provides students with interest in research an eight week long paid internships to explore the medical world. Working with professionals in the field, interns get hands on experience in labs, and are exposed to a variety of careers in health and science, such as biostatistics and epidemiology.

Tech
Microsoft offers a ten-week, full time internship for high school junior and seniors. Interns work in various departments within the company, and develop tech and coding skills. Microsoft also has an apprenticeship program as an alternative to university.

Although applying can be stressful and overwhelming, don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. Rejection isn’t the end of the word and you can learn from it and improve yourself. It’s good to take advantage of the internship opportunities Seattle has to offer. Happy applying!