The ‘Mega-Internship’: Research Jobs for High School Students
Many high schools today offer advanced courses in various subjects. However, you may want to gain real world experience or learn the latest concepts which are being studied in the field you love. Sometimes a short-term internship does not do justice to your interests. If you are seeking a research opportunity that is more long term, more ‘mega’ per se, you can use this blog as a starting point to learn about some of the amazing opportunities out there!
What is a Research Job for High School Students?
A research job is similar to a research internship, but the main distinction made in this blog between the two is the duration of the position. For the purposes of this blog, a research job is something that lasts at least a semester, and more typically, a year. It tends to be more immersive than a research internship as well.
Why should YOU get involved in Research Jobs for High School Students?
Oftentimes school courses alone do not give you a full picture of a topic. Students have to wait until college to really figure out if the class they thought they loved was really something they wanted to pursue. For some students, they do not know what they want to study until their junior year of college. While college is the time to explore your options, not knowing what you want to pursue yet may make you feel stressed. Pursuing a research job will allow you to not only figure out the topic you want – or definitely do not want– to study, but also give you insight into whether you would want to do research or go into the industry in the future.
Securing a research job in high school will also set you up well for pursuing research positions early on in college. Among the pool of highly ambitious and talented young adults, you can put your best foot forward with a research experience under your belt.
Research Jobs for High School Students You Should Keep An Eye Out For
INSTITUTE FOR YOUTH IN POLICY (YIP)
YIP is a completely student-led youth organization that focuses on non-partisan research and political advocacy. If you are interested in government, public policy or the humanities, you should definitely apply to YIP! YIP has different positions available year-round, many of which deal with researching policy, education systems, criminal justice issues, and more. Their positions are open to high school students and undergraduates at no cost. Some of their roles are internship positions, while others are more long term job positions. Students work remotely and are usually required to do 5-10 hours of work per week, making it manageable for a full-time student.
THE SUMMER YOUTH INTENSIVE PROGRAM (SYIP)
The College of Chemistry at UC Berkeley hosts the Youth Intensive Program (SYIP) yearly. Each year, SYIP accepts 30 students entering grades 9-12 into the program. The program features 9 months of remote coaching pertaining to scientific research in chemistry and related fields. Then, the student is invited to work with a mentor’s research laboratory for four weeks learning lab procedures and helping the mentor with data analytics, all while gaining hands-on experience with the latest lab technologies. The cost to attend this program is $14,750.
EXEMPLARY STUDENT RESEARCH PROGRAM (ESRP)
ESRP is a program hosted by the Argonne National Laboratory. This program involves teachers and high school students who work together to make a research proposal, create an experiment, gather data, draw conclusions and present a poster at Argonne. It is free to attend, and focuses on science research. ESRP requires two visits to Argonne during the school year, once to collect data, and another time to present. ESRP is an intensive program that comes at no cost!
PRINCETON PLASMA PHYSICS LABORATORY (PPPL)
PPPL is a program by the US Department of Energy offered exclusively to graduating high school seniors. This is a program for students interested in plasma physics, fusion energy and STEM more broadly. This program is completely free of cost!
WAKSMAN STUDENT SCHOLARS PROGRAM (WSSP)
WSSP is an incredibly enriching year-long program for students interested in molecular biology and bioinformatics. For this program, students, teachers and research scientists tackle a real-world research problem. It starts at the summer institute with a teacher and 1-2 students and continues at the student’s high school with a larger group of students. By the end of the program, students will have a completed research project and will publish their results. This program is free to attend.
WERNER H. KIRSTEN STUDENT INTERN PROGRAM
Situated at the National Cancer Institute at Frederick, this program is a one-year opportunity offering students exposure to a myriad of fields such as technology, biology and statistics. Students accepted to the program will either work as a “Wet Lab” intern or a “Dry Lab” intern. “Wet Lab” interns will take part in hands-on laboratory training and biomedical research, while “Dry Lab” interns will take on projects in data analysis, IT tasks, graphics, media and partnership development. These internships are free of cost, and are perfect for anyone considering working in healthcare in any capacity.
Getting Started with Research Jobs for High School Students
Now that you know there are research jobs out there, when should you apply? Some research opportunities are available year round, while others take place during the summer or the school year. The application deadlines are extremely varied, so make sure to check individual deadlines for the programs you are interested in.
PLANNING AHEAD FOR A RESEARCH JOB
The last two years of high school tend to be the most academically challenging. During this time, it may be hard to juggle a year-long research position alongside school work and commitments. Many research job programs understand this burden, and have left their programs open to rising freshmen and sophomores. If you are an underclassman and you are worried that you do not have enough experience or knowledge to apply, you should still give the application a shot! The researchers you will work with know that you are just starting high school. More often than not, they will guide you through the research process and work with you to understand the concepts before working in a lab.
PREPARING FOR A RESEARCH JOB
As you plan to apply to research jobs, it’s a good idea to also bolster your resume with experiences and skills to help you stand out in the application process. For this reason, we highly recommend applying to a program at Inspirit AI.
AI Scholars Live Online is a 10 session (25-hour) program that exposes high school students to fundamental AI concepts and guides them to build a socially impactful project. Taught by a team of graduate students from Stanford, MIT, and more, students receive a personalized learning experience in small groups with a student-teacher ratio of 5:1.
Is a Research Job Right for You?
Especially in the later years of high school, you may not have as much time to dedicate to an intensive job. You may also feel that you would rather work in a company rather than a lab, in which case you might be better suited to intern at a company. Sometimes research can feel hands-on, but other times it can feel more theoretical and academic. Depending on your specific interests, you are always welcome to explore a variety of options. If you are unsure, a shorter-term internship may suit you better. However, if you are willing to dive deep into a memorable research experience, a research job is one of the best ways to do that!
About Inspirit AI
AI Scholars Live Online is a 10 session (25-hour) program that exposes high school students to fundamental AI concepts and guides them to build a socially impactful project. Taught by our team of graduate students from Stanford, MIT, and more, students receive a personalized learning experience in small groups with a student-teacher ratio of 5:1.
