I am looking for methods by which I can gain experience working with state or federal (American) organizations. I plan to begin applying for jobs with government libraries and archives next year, and I would like some experience besides what I am doing for my current job. I do not mean that my current job is pointless, only that I feel no reason not to spend time augmenting it.
As I am not a student, I cannot apply for online internships, which was my first plan. I could enroll in an online class but I do not have the money for the tuition. So, I am looking for other options. Anything that will help me get a foot in the door and begin to network with people and organizations within the government.
Are you sure that these online internships have as an explicit condition the requirement that you be a student? Most internships have no such condition.
The internships I have found so far through resources like the State department and usajobs.gov are all specifically for students. I’ve also emailed the person in charge of State department internships, asking if she knows of any non-student internships, and she has not heard of any.
Of course, this does not mean there is no cache of non-student internships out there. I simply have not found any through the resources I know of.
It’s fairly plausible that most/all government internships are specifically for students, so if you’ve looked carefully and not found things then they may not exist. However, consider looking for local government; it will probably transfer well, especially if you can find internships with large cities or counties/regions.
From what sources I have found/spoken to, this looks like the case. The only internships appear to be student ones and there does not seem to be any non-student equivalents for getting your foot in the door. Networking and connections seem the best route.
I am looking for methods by which I can gain experience working with state or federal (American) organizations. I plan to begin applying for jobs with government libraries and archives next year, and I would like some experience besides what I am doing for my current job. I do not mean that my current job is pointless, only that I feel no reason not to spend time augmenting it.
As I am not a student, I cannot apply for online internships, which was my first plan. I could enroll in an online class but I do not have the money for the tuition. So, I am looking for other options. Anything that will help me get a foot in the door and begin to network with people and organizations within the government.
Does anyone have any suggestions?
Are you sure that these online internships have as an explicit condition the requirement that you be a student? Most internships have no such condition.
The internships I have found so far through resources like the State department and usajobs.gov are all specifically for students. I’ve also emailed the person in charge of State department internships, asking if she knows of any non-student internships, and she has not heard of any.
Of course, this does not mean there is no cache of non-student internships out there. I simply have not found any through the resources I know of.
It’s fairly plausible that most/all government internships are specifically for students, so if you’ve looked carefully and not found things then they may not exist. However, consider looking for local government; it will probably transfer well, especially if you can find internships with large cities or counties/regions.
From what sources I have found/spoken to, this looks like the case. The only internships appear to be student ones and there does not seem to be any non-student equivalents for getting your foot in the door. Networking and connections seem the best route.
If you code, talk to the Code for America folks?