{"id":25688,"date":"2023-08-24T19:46:35","date_gmt":"2023-08-24T19:46:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/uncategorized\/2023\/08\/24\/how-to-navigate-the-world-of-paid-vs-unpaid-federal-internships\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T05:04:40","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T05:04:40","slug":"how-to-navigate-the-world-of-paid-vs-unpaid-federal-internships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.sightlinemg.com\/federaltimes\/home\/2023\/08\/24\/how-to-navigate-the-world-of-paid-vs-unpaid-federal-internships\/","title":{"rendered":"How to navigate the world of paid vs unpaid federal internships"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To be paid or not to be paid, that used to be the question \u2014 especially when it came to federal internships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Today, the majority of these programs, or at least the ones run by the Office of Personnel Management, are compensated, though there are some \u201cvolunteer\u201d programs out there, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usajobs.gov\/job\/674147600\">like this one<\/a> at the International Development Finance Corporation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Since internship pay is regulated on an agency-by-agency basis, due to there not being a law mandating a specific level of compensation, some internships can be unpaid, some pay minimum wage and some pay the equivalent of full-time salaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So the only easy answer to \u201chow much will I be paid as an intern for the government?\u201d is: it depends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt depends on your level of experience and expertise and the position you\u2019re hired into, and the work that you\u2019re expected to do,\u201d said Michael Mahoney, who manages the hiring policy office at OPM.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some <a href=\"https:\/\/www.federaltimes.com\/management\/hr\/2021\/12\/01\/new-bill-aims-to-bolster-plummeting-federal-internship-numbers\/#:~:text=The%20bill%2C%20titled%20the%20Building,would%20have%20to%20wait%20months\">60,000 paid internships<\/a> were given out within the federal government in 2010, however, according to the White House\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.federaltimes.com\/management\/hr\/2021\/05\/28\/2022-budget-gears-up-for-a-federal-employment-increase\/\">proposed fiscal year 2022 budget<\/a>, that number has dropped to just 4,000.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In response to that drastic cut, initiatives like the <a href=\"https:\/\/payourinterns.org\/pay-our-interns-launching-new-push-for-paid-internships-to-be-included-in-upcoming-federal-budget-and-advance-goal-of-attracting-talent-to-public-service\">Pay Our Interns push to include interns in the federal budget<\/a> have been urging the federal government to institutionalize and standardize paid intern opportunities. OPM, also at the request of lawmakers, has reviewed its flagship program called Pathways and put out proposed reforms last week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.federaltimes.com\/home\/2023\/08\/15\/office-of-personnel-management-to-revamp-pathways-internship-program\/\">proposed changes<\/a> to Pathways offer easier access to the program for people without degrees and make the process of converting an internship into a permanent position more flexible. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The Pathways Program is one popular route to finding a federal internship. Another is browsing USAJobs, the main website listing available federal internships, to find programs with salaries as much as <a href=\"https:\/\/www.foxnews.com\/politics\/federal-government-internships-paying-50k-60k-even-more-student-trainees\">$50,000 to $60,000<\/a> a year \u2014 more than some full-time jobs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Many internship salaries, however, do not exceed the U.S. median income. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">So because pay for federal interns can vary, check the job description, which should list compensation level, Mahoney advised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some federal internships, like internships at OPM, operate on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.opm.gov\/policy-data-oversight\/pay-leave\/salaries-wages\/2023\/general-schedule\/\">General Schedule<\/a> scale.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cThe internships at OPM administers, like the Pathways Program, their interns are paid in the same manner as other federal employees, such as myself,\u201d said Mahoney. \u201cWhich is to say that for every position, there\u2019s a grade level based on one\u2019s level of education and experience and there\u2019s a scale that comes with that \u2014 a pay range \u2014 which is sometimes adjusted for locality pay.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The GS is generally how most federal employees are paid.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The less experience an applicant has when applying, the lower on the scale said applicant will be placed and vice versa. For interns, there is no one grade an applicant is automatically assigned, however, interns who have not earned a degree yet may get hired on the lower end, around levels two, three, four or five, according to Mahoney.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cBecause oftentimes [interns] qualify just on the basis of a college degree or the fact that they\u2019re in school getting a degree, they don\u2019t have a lot of experience,\u201d Mahoney said. \u201cSo, they\u2019re going to make it on the lower end. But that isn\u2019t always the case.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Not every agency necessarily conforms to the GS as a default method of payment, however.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cSometimes agencies do have their own pay scales in law,\u201d Mahoney said. \u201cBut, generally speaking, we defer to the General Schedule, and in our rules we say \u2018or equivalent\u2019 to accommodate those agencies that might have something a little bit different.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cUnpaid federal internships, they\u2019re still valuable experiences,\u201d said Brian Rowe, director of experiential education at American University\u2019s career center. \u201cI think there\u2019s a lot of flexibility with volunteer internships. I see our students engaging in those experiences. I mean, they\u2019re good experiences. They do give federal experience and give exposure to the federal work culture and to agencies and their missions. So yes, they\u2019re there. They\u2019re a part of the internship landscape.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Some feel that valuable experience that unpaid internships can provide is not always a compelling enough reason to take one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI wish they were paid,\u201d said Elizabeth Schill, assistant director for professional development at the Georgetown Cawley Career Education Center. \u201cI think schools like Georgetown or American are unique in that a lot of students are already here in D.C. during the year. But it does prevent a lot of students who otherwise can\u2019t afford to do an internship from doing these fantastic internships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think unpaid internships just exclude a whole lot of students. And it becomes an area where the students who are in more elite classes have that it\u2019s kind of that self perpetuating cycle where students who already have access to a lot of these programs and opportunities by virtue of their background, continue to do so,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">While applicants should not expect that housing is provided during a federal internship, as it often is not, certain agencies, like the National Park Services, do provide it when sending you to a National Park, however, this does not necessarily mean that the pay is a liveable salary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cIt wasn\u2019t possible for me to take up another job during the internship [because] I was working full time,\u201d said Kira Carney, a former intern for the National Park Service. \u201cHousing was provided, so that was helpful. Food and meal planning, and all of that was not provided. In general, it was not as well paying as it should have been, particularly in regard to how much it costs to travel there. Across the board, interns need to be paid significantly more for the incredible amount of work that they\u2019re doing for organizations.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The average cost of living in Washington, D.C., is 53% higher than the national average. <a href=\"https:\/\/resources.twc.edu\/articles\/budgeting-your-internship-dc#:~:text=for%20incidental%20expenses.-,Total,while%20you%20get%20your%20bearings.\">Some estimates <\/a>say that an intern should budget between $115 and $170 per week for general expenses in D.C. outside of rent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cI think the standard was $15 an hour,\u201d said Katie Gray, a former intern for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. \u201cI can\u2019t remember if I went up the GS, like up a grade, when I was there the second year, but if so, it was a very small amount, like only ten or fifteen cents more the second year. So, is it livable? Probably not.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Aside from how much they\u2019ll be paid, interns may also be wondering whether they\u2019re likely to get hired after their internship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Again, the answer: it depends.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cWe do run a merit system, but as long as your background, your educational experience and\/or your work experience [are good], I mean, there\u2019s generally two ways to qualify for federal jobs: education, experience or a combination of both,\u201d Mahoney said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Each internship posting will specify if there are opportunities to move into a permanent position.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">\u201cFirst and foremost, conversion is always at the discretion of the hiring manager or the agency that\u2019s employing them,\u201d Mahoney said. \u201cAnd sometimes there are realities in which the agency wants to but can\u2019t convert people [like] budget constraints.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Under the current regulations, interns can convert to other agencies if they accrue so many hours. When in doubt, ask your internship coordinator, Mahoney said, and be prepared to be flexible.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Not all federal internships are paid, so here&#8217;s some advice on how to determine if one is before 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