Environmental Internships: The ""Natural"" Jobs

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If you think you might be interested in an enriching outdoor work/study experience—one that just could lead you to a rewarding new career—consult the chart on the following page to find out whether any of the programs outlined there appeal to you. Although the list is not meant to be exhaustive, it does include many of the best apprenticeship opportunities that are available now. The internships listed range anywhere from a few months to a year . . . but the three-month summer stints are the most popular (and, therefore, often the most difficult to obtain).

Most sponsors like to have your application on file several months before the beginning of the season during which you want to work, so you'll have to think pretty far in advance when you apply. In addition, remember that internships are precisely what the name implies: temporary training programs, not permanent or full-time jobs. Don't expect to receive much in the way of a salary, if anything at all: A few of the programs pay up to $150 a week, but most supply the workers with only room and board plus-perhaps—a small stipend. (Some groups expect trainees to locate their own housing.)

Of course, the hope of monetary reward isn't the primary reason most folks take on a traineeship: It's usually more a matter of grabbing a chance to chalk up a little experience in a dreamed-of occupational field. In fact, many of the ex-interns I've spoken to said that their experience was so valuable that they would gladly have paid the sponsor for the opportunity to participate!

In other words, for short-term, on-site, actionpacked learning, it'd be hard to beat an environmental internship. Try one for a few months . . . and you just may find yourself on the road to an exciting career!

EDITOR'S NOTE: More information on training programs is available in 1981 Internships, edited by Kirk Polking and Colleen Cannon. This annually updated volume features over 15,000 positions in a variety of fields. Look for it in good bookstores, or order it—for $7.95 plus $1.25 shipping and handling—from Writer's Digest Books, Dept. TMEN, 9933 Alliance Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45242.

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