5 Internship Opportunities for Veterans
An internship fair held in 2018 in Virginia was held with the goal of allowing students to network, and to gain an understanding of strategic communications, marketing, and public relations as a whole; and to explore career options. (US Navy/Max Lonzanida)
When you're ready to transition to the civilian workforce, you may decide that an internship is your next step. An internship is a great way to get on-the-job experience and build your professional network. Here are some organizations and places to find internship opportunities, especially for veterans.
Hiring Our Heroes
Hiring our Heroes has three fellowship programs that range from six to 12 weeks and connect military service members, spouses and caregivers with companies committed to hiring military-connected employees. The internship opportunities include positions with 3M, Amazon, FedEx, Microsoft, etc.
Corporate Fellowship Program -- a 12-week program that gives service members professional training and hands-on experience in the civilian world.
Military Spouse Fellowship Program -- a six-week program that connects military spouses to local employees and helps spouses build their network and gain experience.
Caregiver Fellowship Program -- a new program that gives caregivers of wounded warriors networking, hands-on experience and professional development.
Pathways Internship Program
The VA also has the Pathways Internship Program, which is open to current students enrolled in high school, college or another qualifying education program. The opportunities are listed on USAJOBS Student Jobs -- the federal employment website -- and qualifications vary based on the career field. When the program is over, the participants may be able to convert to a full-time position.
Veterans in Media & Entertainment
The entertainment industry, like many others, is all about who you know, which doesn't help veterans break into the industry. Veterans in Media & Entertainment (VME) helps by placing veterans in jobs, internships and casting roles. The student veterans have held internship opportunities and production assistant positions while working on their degrees in writing, finance, law, marketing and accounting.
VME works with partners to make a list of qualified candidates. If selected, veterans undergo a two to six-month paid internship with companies like Facebook, Paramount Pictures and the LA Rams.
Michigan Department of Transportation
The Federal Highway Administration funds the veteran employment opportunities with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT). MDOT then partners with nationwide service-related opportunities to put veterans in available positions based on the veteran's experience, education and training.
Opportunities are open in engineering, maintenance, planning and project management. Opportunities are available to honorably discharged veterans. You can see the options here. Don't want to live in Michigan? Check out your home state for similar programs.
General Dynamics Military Internship Program
The Military Internship Program through General Dynamics is open to service members and spouses and is available to everyone, regardless of military occupation, specialty or rank. Applications are open year-round, and when using the SkillBridge program, service members are not working their military job. However, they are still eligible for all their benefits and military pay. The internship is part of the DOD SkillBridge program – which allows service members to do an internship through specific training, apprenticeships or internships during their last six months of service.
Join a strong community of military veterans and their family members by connecting with other students at GGU.