Many internships, both paid and unpaid, exist within the private sector of emergency management. Universities, events/venues, and major corporations regularly host emergency management or business continuity student interns for summer or semester-long projects. These openings are also often listed on the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) jobs board at https://jobs.iaem.org/jobs/, but don’t hesitate to reach out to business.
Things to know:
Some private sector internships are paid and require you to relocate for a period of time, but many others (like those at universities) can be local to you.
Many emergency management or safety-related internship vacancies may be written for those within an emergency management degree path, so reach out to the vacancy’s contact and offer your interest as a meteorologist if that is the case.
Depending on the sophistication of the company’s internship program, you may need to bring your own project idea to the company. We list internship project ideas on our Student Internship Project Examples page.
Before you apply:
Learn about the company that you’re applying to. Know their products, their locations (or branch campuses if a university), and spend some time analyzing what you believe their vulnerability to weather may be.
Take the four Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) courses recommended under the “Basics of Emergency Management” section of our Emergency Management Educational Resources page. These will communicate a strong interest in learning more about the field, so list them on your resume! You'll be asked to take IS-100, 700, and 200 before starting your internship, so consider taking and listing those as well.
Research the internship program and try to find past interns through LinkedIn or your university’s alumni network. If the internship program typically tasks interns to develop their own project, then check out some of the examples on the Student Internship Project Examples page.
If you have any questions or would like some help in the application process, please contact [email protected].