Looking for an internship in the US

Interested in an internship in the US? Of course, thousands of questions have to be answered before the right internship can be found. It is quite helpful to make a checklist that you can use as a guide in order to achieve this. Step by step, the many different options will be condensed into a rather clear picture of what you expect from your internship abroad. Based on this, you will then be able to decide on what field you should concentrate your search. First off, one little piece of advice you should take to heart - half-hearted applications for an internship in the US are not even worth sending out. If you really want an internship, show a certain level of commitment - then you will succeed eventually.

Preliminary considerations

In what specific field do I want to do an internship? (Business, architecture, teaching?) How long should the internship be? (4 weeks, 6 months, one year?) Do I want to pay for placement services or do I want to search myself? Do I want to earn money as an intern, will I be financially supported or will I be working for free? What language skills do I have? What other special skills do I possess?

Now, you will already have a more specific picture of what kind of internship you want to do and what your adventure should be looking like. Next, you have to find the right place. Some basic principles will make this a little easier - it is possible to organize an internship by yourself without having to pay any placement fees. However, unsolicited applications to US companies will be less than efficient. Your chances will increase if you are willing to work in many different fields. You will often have greater chances of actually working in smaller companies.

Where?

Now you should start looking for appropriate internships with all these things in mind. You may look in different places. Of course, the internet, your university's bulletin board and newspapers are the first place to start looking. As a starting point, we will provide some internet links and a book recommendation at the bottom of this article. Of course, this is only very general advice to get you started. However, they should help you approach your internship abroad from a slightly different angle.

Costs?

Of course, an internship abroad also costs money. The actual costs depend on how you organize your internship. Generally, there are two ways of organizing your internship abroad:

Pay for an internship

Internships you have to pay for are quite easy to find. Countless organizations offer placement for internships abroad. But of course these services are not for free, you often have to pay exorbitant fees. Furthermore, there is no guarantee for the quality of the internship - you buy a pig in a poke.

Organize an internship yourself

Internships you can organize yourself are a little more difficult to come by. You will need some time before finding something suitable. But with persistence and luck you can find internships anywhere in the world. The advantages are obvious. You don't have to pay any placement fees and you know from the start at which company or organization you will do your internship.

However, there are some costs you must take into consideration even for internships you are organizing by yourself. Depending on the company, you will have to pay for the international flight, sometimes you will have to find and pay accommodation all by yourself, and food is almost never included. A large sum you will have to pay yourself. Also, take into consideration the costs for travel insurance, visa fees and any additional expenses. However, keep in mind that all of these things you also have to pay for in your home country. So you don't really have to include the costs for accommodation and food in the costs for the internship.

And some companies abroad will even help you with some of these things. However, this varies depending on the company. Some pay you for your internship, some provide accommodation, some even pay a lump sum for food. However, generally speaking you shouldn't be expecting too much. It is better to have a good internship and carry a few of the costs yourself. And often the actual support will also depend on your own negotiation skills - so don't be afraid to try.

Financial support

Unfortunately, there is not really a lot of financial support available for internships abroad. However, there are some options you should make use of:

In Germany, there is "Auslands-BAFöG" (student grant for training or education abroad) - you can get more information on this in every German university's office for student promotion of the DAAD (Deutscher Akademischer Auslands Dienst = German academic exchange organization), for internship scholarships or travel allowance.

Fundraising - contact charitable organizations and foundations (e.g. Lions Club, Rotary Club etc.)

Of course, you cannot avoid all costs for an internship abroad. But with a little personal commitment, you can reduce them significantly. Anyway, money can't buy the experiences you will make during your internship.

Visa

Please keep in mind that you will need a special visa for your internship. Even if you are only going to stay for 90 days, you cannot come to the US as a tourist if you are planning to do an internship. And similar regulations apply to the B1/B2 visa that only allows for internships in a few exceptional cases ("study incidental to travel"). More likely, you will need the J-1 Visa. And for this, in turn, the US company will need to be registered with the US Department of State that provides it with a number of so-called IAP-66 forms. Only with this form can you apply for an internship visa. However, you will not find this form available for download on the official websites of the US embassy or the US immigration service. In case the US company does not have the necessary registration, you only other option is to contact an exchange organization such as the Carl-Duisberg Gesellschaft (cdg.de) or Council (councilexchanges.de) who can also help you if you have organized the internship yourself. They will raise a fee, but it will be significantly cheaper than if they organize the entire internship for you.

Please note that for few weeks now the additional form DS-158 must be filled out in addition to the usual standard application form IAP-66 in combination with the application form for any visa, the DS-156. Male applicants between the age of 16 and 45 will also have to fill out the DS-157. The processing times at the US consulates are significantly longer now (see also our Breaking News).

Possible internships abroad and links to placement services

German chambers for foreign trade: www.ahk.de

Youth for Understanding: www.yfu.org

World-Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms www.wwoof.org

German internship fair Unicum: www.unicum.de

Praktikum.de (German): www.praktikum.de

Praktika.de (German): www.praktika.de

Goethe Institute: www.goethe-institut.de

Council on International Educational Exchange: www.educationusa.de