Volunteering, Internships &
Externships
Volunteering, internships and externships* are great ways to gain experience and test whether you might like a career in that area. Many people start their careers by being volunteers or interns. You can intern, volunteer and extern in just about every area including, but not limited to, public policy, shelter management, research, veterinary hospitals, business and fundraising.
First, I'll define terms; then we'll talk about how to get one.
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Internship: These are generally semester-long or summer opportunities to work in a given field. While they are usually associated with college students, there are opportunities for those out of school and for high school students. They can be paid or unpaid and often offer college credit. Increasingly (although not fast enough), there are internship opportunities for those out of school and in high school.
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Externship: This is a one-week opportunity to follow someone--often over spring or winter break--usually for those still in school (high school or college).
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Shadowing: Follow someone for a day (most often).
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Volunteering: Volunteering is a big catch-all category for unpaid experience. Volunteering can range from working an hour a week to being there fulltime. Some volunteer programs can be informal. Others can be more formalized with lectures and mentorships. For many organizations, such as animal shelters, volunteers are essential and they cannot survive without their volunteers who do everything from walking dogs to cleaning cages to writing grants.
All provide the opportunity to learn, gain experience, meet people who can help you and from whom you can learn from, and explore different fields. People intern for many reasons. Perhaps you are thinking of going into that field or perhaps you want to spend time working with animals even if you have no plan of going into that field as a career.
How to get an internship, volunteer experience, etc.
Many opportunities are published on organizations' webpages or on other lists. I've listed examples below. But that isn't the only way. (This is not a blanket endorsement of those sites--do your due diligence.)
You can also approach organizations and propose volunteering, an externship or internship. Don't limit yourself to specific programs you read about. If there is a place you are interested in, contact them. How do you do that? You can write directly to the person you would like to work for. Can't find the name of that person? Then, the general rule is to write to the head of the organization. The CareerMutt resume and cover letter section will be a help. If you are a student, also make sure you contact your career office to see if they can help you find contacts and opportunities.
You can also think about people you may know and see if they can help you. Every time you read an interesting article about animals or see a television show--the places mentioned are all possible internship sites. Think big.
A Few Sample Links to Show You the Variety of Opportunities Available--If you don't see an opportunity in your geographic area (and these are only a few examples), you can use the internship descriptions to craft the kind of experience you want. Then reach out to organizations in your area.
Animal Welfare Institute whose mission is to alleviate animal suffering caused by people.
Best Friends Animal Sanctuary (Kanab, Utah) "Summer interns are valued team members and play a direct role in achieving Best Friends Animal Society’s no-kill mission and organizational success. Interns will have the opportunity to meet with Best Friends founders and leaders, learn about and shadow staff in other departments, and attend presentations on various animal welfare topics." That's an example of an organized internship program with guest speakers and other opportunities.
The Hare Research Group, Department of Evolutionary Anthropology, Duke University