Laura Berlinsky-Schine November 15, 2022 5 Internships

12 Remote Internships for High Schoolers in 2023

What’s Covered:

• 12 Online Internships For High Schoolers
• Tips for Finding a High School Internship
• How do Internships Impact Your College Chances?

Internships are valuable experiences for high school students. They not only help your resume stand out to admissions committees and future employers, but also demonstrate that you’re spending your time outside of school learning about and delving into your passion. Furthermore, they teach you important skills that you’ll ultimately need in your chosen field.

COVID-19 impacted a number of opportunities and experiences, including internships. However, the pandemic opened a variety of opportunities that can be completed from anywhere. Here are eleven remote high school internships to keep you learning and engaged — all still accepting applications.

12 Online Internships for High Schoolers

1. EnergyMag Internship

Looking to help make the world a better place? Through EnergyMag’s internships, open to high school and college students, you’ll gain experience working in the renewable energy sector. You’ll gain research and analytical skills and work experience via half-time (2-8 weeks, 20 hours per week) or quarter-time (1-9 months, 8 hours per week) internships.

2. PHC Group, LLC Mary Miller Summer Program

Rising high school seniors and new graduates can gain leadership skills and explore independent interests through this paid internship. Working under the guidance of the public health director, you’ll work on social media and community projects, as well as conduct research on social trends.

3. Ladder Internship Program

Ladder Internships is a selective start-up internship program for ambitious high school students! In the program, you work with a high-growth start-up on an internship. Start-ups that offer internships range across a variety of industries from tech/deep tech and AI/ML to health tech, marketing, journalism, consulting, and more. 

Ladder’s start-ups are high-growth companies on average raising over a million dollars. Past founders have included YCombinator alums, founders raising over 30 million dollars, or founders who previously worked at Microsoft, Google, and Facebook. In the program, students closely with their managers and a Ladder Coach on real-world projects and present their work to the company.

This highly flexible program is designed to be accessible to a wide range of students. You will complete your internship remotely, from anywhere in the world, and there are internships available throughout the year, so you can easily plan around your other commitments—you can expect to work for 10-20 hours/week, for 8-12 weeks. Open to high school students and gap year students!

Here is the application form.

4. Medicine Encompassed

Medicine Encompassed is a student-run 501(c)(3) nonprofit aiming to promote awareness and increase accessibility for those interested in future medical careers through various mediums. They have a variety of opportunities available for high school students (grades 9-12) from all backgrounds, both on a national and international scale.

5. United Planet Virtual Internship

United Planet is a global non-profit with the mission of fostering a global community through volunteership. Students over the age of 16 can intern in the fields of global health, environmental sustainability, and children and education. This opportunity will allow students to broaden their understanding of various cultures throughout the world, while also expanding their network by working with teams of like-minded students.

6. NASA High School Internship Program

NASA offers high school internship programs to students year-round. Many of these internships are in-person at one of NASA’s many centers countrywide, but some of them can be completed virtually. This high school internship program allows students to work on a variety of different projects, and there is no prior experience required to apply! Most interns are offered a stipend depending on their academic level and internship length.

7. U.S. Department of State’s Pathways Internship Program

The U.S. Department of State’s Pathways Internship Program provides students with paid opportunities to explore various Federal career paths. One current position is the Pathways Internship Student Trainee with the Department of Health and Human Services. There are three options within this role, including an Administrative Trainee, Public Health Analyst Trainee, and Information Technology Trainee.

8. Virtual Internships Foundations Program

The Virtual Internships Foundations is a program specifically designed to give 14-18 years old the opportunity for career exploration and professional development remotely. Students will work directly with companies to complete projects designed to support the company and nurture their own professional skills. The 4-week program requires 15-18 hours of commitment from the student per week.

9. Forage

Forage connects students with virtual work experience programs, allowing them to learn about and grow their skills at major businesses. These 5-6 hour programs give students a major advantage with Fortune 500 companies, enabling them to build their resumes, while working alongside other talented students.

10. Google Computer Science Summer Institute

The Computer Science Summer Institute (CSSI) is an online, four-week program for rising college students interested in pursuing computer science. This program is focused on students from marginalized communities to specifically help them learn computer science fundamentals, participate in workshops to promote self-care, identity, career, and skill development, and build community with peers and industry experts.

11. YouUnited

This student-led nonprofit aims to empower students from middle school through college with skills and opportunities to succeed in the career landscape. By signing up, students have access to internships, scholarships, and many other resources that allow them to connect with one another and gain experience in the work world.

12. Smithsonian Institution

The Smithsonian Office of Internships provides high school students the opportunity to gain experience in the world’s largest museum, education, and research institution. There are a variety of virtual, hybrid, and in-person internship opportunities across the various different museums such as the National Museum of Natural History, National Portrait Museum, and National Museum of the American Indian, and a variety of others.

Tips for Finding a High School Internship

1. Look Local

Getting an internship doesn’t always have to mean working at a big company. As a matter of fact, it will probably be easiest to find an internship at a nearby company due to that local connection.

Another benefit of working for local businesses is the ability to really make an impact. With fewer employees and more direct exposure to the owner/CEO, local internship opportunities can allow you to learn so much and contribute to the direction of the company.

A lot of times, there aren’t even listings for internships at small businesses online. As a high student, oftentimes your best bet can be directly emailing the business you would like to intern at, or messaging the small business owner on LinkedIn.

2. Adapt Your Search

Since the shifts to the workforce that began during the COVID-19 pandemic, looking for an internship may require adapting your preferences to opportunities that better align with working remotely. For example, it is a lot easier to pursue opportunities such as journalism, software engineering, and marketing in a remote environment as compared to mechanical engineering and healthcare.

While it may be difficult to find opportunities in a field you’re interested in, it’s important to not give up hope and try to be resourceful when finding opportunities. Ask your teachers, counselor, and family members whether they know someone in your field of interest. Dig through LinkedIn profiles and try cold messaging business owners.

3. Work on Your Interview Skills

As a high school student, interviews can definitely be intimidating. However, the more you practice on your interview skills, the more prepared and confident you will feel when the opportunity arises. One really great way to practice is by doing mock interviews with people you know.

Get more tips on finding and applying to high school internships.

How Do Internships Impact Your College Chances?

Extracurriculars are extremely important in the college admissions process, especially to selective colleges. In fact, extracurriculars are almost as important as academics at many schools. This is because most applicants will be academically-qualified, so it’s the more qualitative factors like extracurriculars and essays that set each candidate apart.

Internships can generally boost your application, but it depends on factors like your responsibilities, the duration of the internship, and the selectivity of the role.

To learn the strength of your extracurriculars, check out our free admissions chances calculator. It will not only let you know the strength of each activity, but will also assess your overall profile and your chances at hundreds of schools in the US.

Disclaimer: This post includes content sponsored by Lumiere Education.