High School Business Intern

Learning on the job

Are you a high school student interested in a business career? Then why not consider an internship at PNNL? During the academic year, students attend regular classes at their school for half a day and work up to 4 hours a day, 5 days a week at PNNL, working with a mentor in a specified business area. The internship includes educational and leadership development activities involving laboratory demonstrations, field trips, communications, and career awareness workshops.

For an academic year internship, PNNL works in collaboration with your high school’s work-based learning (WBL) program to provide elective credits that apply to graduation for an academic year internship. 

High School Business Intern

Key Program Dates & Information

Internship applications open in early February. Internships take place during the school year between August and May. To learn more and view our current High School Business internship opportunities, visit the PNNL careers page.  

Applying for an Internship

Once postings are open, a list of all high school internships will be available on the PNNL careers page— type “High School” in the search bar. Collect the items below and then bundle them into one PDF file. The system will only accept one uploaded file. Please be careful— if you make a mistake, you will need to create a new profile and start the process over.

Cover Letter: Explain why you are applying. Be specific. Why do you want a high school business internship opportunity? Convince the reader to look at your application. Your cover letter will be seen first; therefore, it must be well written and specific to the job for which you are applying.

Resume: Provide educational background and academic information. You may want to include advanced placement courses, a list of your computer programming courses or experiences, and/or office skills. Include two personal references.

“I went to Kennewick High School and did a business Internship from 1989-1990. I have worked at the Lab full time for over 25 years and part time for nearly 30 years! PNNL paid for my education, which has helped me move from position to position throughout my career here at the Lab. Participating in the internship allowed me to get my foot in the door and have a career that I love, establish lifelong friendships and have a successful future.” — Laurie True, National Security Operations Office.