Internship in the US

If you're not quite sure yet that working in a US company is the right thing for you, you may first of all try out working in the US. There are several exchange and internship programs that are all quite easy to handle. The greatest advantage is that you don't need a regular work visa for this, but only a J-1 Visa. And you are still allowed to work and earn money during that time. It is not uncommon to earn up to $1,300 a month, on the contrary, this is almost the average in such programs. However, many internships in the US are unpaid and all you will gain is experience.

You can generally not apply for a J-1 Visa by yourself, but only with the help of an organization that can issue you the IAP-66, which you need to apply for the visa. This can be a US or a German institution. Often, it will be required that you are enrolled at a German university or have graduated recently.

There are several organizations that can help you with the application. Among them are:

Carl-Duisberg-Gesellschaft e.V. Weyerstr. 79 -83
50676 Köln (Cologne)
Tel.:0221-20980
Fax: 0221-2098111
www.cdg.de

Zentralstelle für Arbeitsvermittlung (ZAV) Auslandsabteilung (Central office for job placement - foreign department)
Feuerbachstr. 42 - 46
60325 Frankfurt
Tel.:069-7111-0
Fax: 069-7111-540
www.arbeitsamt.de/zav/international/index.html

Council on International Educational Exchange e.V. Oranienburger Str. 13 - 14
10178 Berlin
Tel.: 030-284859-0
Fax: 030-280961-80
www.council.org

In general both the ZAV and the Carl Duisberg Gesellschaft have an employment department, but you can also find an internship for yourself. Internships may last between 3 and 18 months, sometimes financial support will even be available. The CDG programs especially apply to people who have just entered the job market with a finished job training or a university degree, or directly to students. A formal application to the organization is not necessary, but you have to show up for an interview in Cologne, Germany.

The ZAV programs apply to high school graduates, people just entering the job market and students. They offer jobs at the EPCOT Center in Florida (Disney World), as well as numerous jobs in the areas of trade, hotels, restaurants, child care, public administration etc. Just ask the ZAV for their current program! The fees depend on the length of stay, and on whether you find the position for yourself or had the organization find you one. They are between DM 500 and 2,100. You can get further information material from the organizations for free.

The Council on International Education Exchange (Council) does not offer job placement. In return, you are much more flexible and don't have to take any kind of admission test. The motto is first applied, first served. However, the programs are only for students and graduates who have obtained their degree within the past year. There are two interesting programs:

1. Praktikum USA (Internship USA)

With this, you can do internships in the US that are related to your course of study for up to 18 months, under certain circumstances (e.g. writing your thesis) it can be split into up to three internships of, e.g. 6 months each. If you have good basic qualifications and the right know how for the job search, you have good chances of finding a good offer. Even more so if the application already mentions that Council with its ‘Internship USA' program will take care of the right visa. Please note: the internship must be related to your specialist field, at least ‘officially.' In the end, this is a question of interpretation and especially students of the more general fields such as political sciences, American studies etc. will have quite a wide choice. You should still try to find an internship that is closely related to your field of expertise.

2. Work & Travel USA

This especially applies to students who are looking for a summer job in the US. The time frame for this is rather tight. The job may begin on June 1 at the earliest and end October 19 at the latest, but you may stay in the US until November 19 for tourist purposes. A great advantage is that you don't need to already have a job. You may also look for a job right there in the US. If you don't find one, you can still stay in the US for the entire duration of the program. However, if you get many job offers and can't decide, this program allows you to take several different jobs. This is often done in order to accept an interesting but unpaid internship. With this program, you will be permitted to, for example, work in a bar at night to earn money. In general, you don't have to work in your field of expertise during the Work & Travel program. This means that you can accept any job you want.

Further information: Both programs are explained in detail in an information brochure that you can request from Council for free. You can also request information packages for a token charge in the form of stamps or a voucher check from the Council's Berlin address. The token charge will be counted against the participation fees later. You can get more information from the Amerika Häuser (America Houses) in Frankfurt, Berlin, Cologne and Leipzig or directly from Council under 030-2848-590.