What exactly are they, and how do you get them? Does your school help you, or do you have to do everything by yourself?
PS How do high school students get involved in university-level lab research? It’s not that I want to take part in one, I just want to know how you guys do all this stuff.
<p>I think you usually start small, by getting involved and knowlegable in that area and perhaps by volunteering first. Or by referral from a teacher. It will be interesting to see.</p>
<p>At dd's school, they have a science museum where you can begin in an afterschool program right from freshman year and also go on field expeditions breaks and summers. To her, this was one of the most exciting reasons to go to this school. But you'd be surprised how many kids aren't interested (or to be fair, maybe they persue other interests.) But starting with the basics can lead to significant fieldwork, reasearch opportunities, professional conference presentations, publications etc.</p>
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What exactly are they, and how do you get them? Does your school help you, or do you have to do everything by yourself?
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Yes, yes, and yes. There is no standardized internship -- really its just a concept that means you are not a permanent employee and are viewed as someone who is getting experience in a particular area.</p>
<p>That means some are paid, some are not. Some are full-time, some part-time during the school year. Some near where you go to college, for others you might move to a different city for the summer. Some are structured and have you assigned to work with different mentors, in others they give you a job they think you can handle and its more an immersion experience.</p>
<p>Some schools are noted for their internship and coop programs (in a coop program you take a semester off from school to work full time) and have a strong network of companies that recruit interns. Other people find their internships on their own by looking thru books and websites listing internships, or taking the initiative and contacting an employer or lab where they'd like to work and in effect create their own internship by asking. These latter, BTW, may take more work to uncover but on the other hand nobody else is competing with you for the slot.</p>