Hey, I’m planning on going into business when I get older and I’m struggling to find internships. I’ve heard of Bank of America Business Leaders, but you need to be a junior to apply. There just doesn’t seem to be anything business related for high school students. Do you have any ideas? Thoughts?
I was recently made aware that high school interns, by law, need to be paid. Would someone verify whether this is true? Is it a state-by-state requirement? Assuming it is true, it may have something to do with a lack of options for well-intentioned students.
not true. I’ve done two internships before (unpaid)
that does not mean it is not true. i have also not paid people for internships.
To my knowledge, it depends on the state but in most states, unpaid internships are illegal. If your working for a small start-up company or a single person, and they don’t plan on paying you, chances are they won’t file you as an actual employee or declare having an intern on any official documents but you can still put it down as an internship on your resume since no one will dig that deep into it. Working for a large financial firm though like Bank of America, they will hire an intern the proper and legal way and they will pay their interns. Since they are paying their interns, they tend to want people with more experience. For you to find an internship, it might be beneficial to reach out to family and friends who work in the field you want to pursue and see if they are willing to mentor you and take you in for some extra help.
Perhaps in your state, but not true in mine. It is not a federal mandate, nor would it be
In my state, it is possible not to pay interns, but there is considerable risk that may not be worth taking. Just reread the opinion from our law-firm.
I would suggest that you and your parents reach out to business people they know to see if anyone would be willing to have you at their business in the summer. Personal connections are probably the best way to get something for a 16-17 year old.
My husbands office hires (yes they pay) summer high school interns, but really they don’t do much except act as gophers, do copying, run things from one side of the office to the other, etc. Still it’s a chance to see how their business runs. In their office, none of these are full time.
Although it is not an internship program check and see if you have a local Junior Achievement program. We have one that uses local space at a college, bank etc. They have different activities that teach about business and look good to colleges. My daughter did a free weeklong summer day camp which was located on a college campus. There are different programs so it depends on what your local group participates in.