5 Work Experience Opportunities for High School Students
5 Work Experience Opportunities for High School Students
Written by
Written by
George Gatsios, Founder of Delta Institute
George Gatsios, Founder of Delta Institute
Published on
Published on
If you are a high school student and want to understand what professional work actually looks like, a work experience opportunity is a great way to get started. These programs allow you to work directly with companies, engage in industry-relevant projects, and network with experts.
To help you get started, here are 5 work experience opportunities that are great for high school students.
Delve is a 4-week virtual work-experience program that helps high school students gain real-world exposure before college. You work on industry relevant projects with global companies like Ferrari, AWS, Adobe, Stripe, Financial Times, and more to build professional skills.
By the end of the program, you have a completed project, a strong foundation in your chosen industry, career ready skills, and a strong network of professionals. You also receive a certificate of completion and a recommendation letter directly from the company – making it a strong addition to your college applications.
Cost: $4,900
Location: Virtual
Application Deadline: May 31 (summer III deadline)
Program Dates: Vary based on the company
Eligibility: Open to high school students globally
FPRI offers a remote research internship for high school students interested in foreign policy, international relations, and global affairs. As a participant, you will gain exposure to data analysis, and research and communication skills under the guidance of a scholar or professional in the field.
This is a good fit for you if you are looking to engage in policy research, attend seminars, and contribute to research that can be published on FPRI’s research corner. You will also have access to FPRI’s events which will help you sharpen your industry-specific skills as well as general professional skills.
Cost: Free
Location: Virtual and in-person
Application Deadline: Typically November/December for Spring | April for Summer | July for Fall
Program Dates: February - April for Spring | June - August for Summer | October - December for Fall
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors
The KPMG job simulation offered by Forage is a self-paced, virtual program. Students can explore professional services through high school editions in areas such as advisory, audit, and tax, while completing realistic tasks that mirror the kind of work teams do on the job.
When you complete the simulation, you come out with a better sense of consulting, audit, or tax work and a concrete understanding of the different career paths available. It is especially useful if you want a short, no-cost option that helps you test whether business, accounting, or professional services feels like a good fit. It is important to note that this program does not offer live learning modules or mentor support and is intended for students who want to complete an online course.
Cost: Free
Location: Virtual
Application Deadline: No fixed deadline; open access
Program Dates: Approximately 2-5 hours (in total)
Eligibility: Open to high school students
The EnergyMag virtual internship program for high school and college students is an opportunity to research key developments in renewable and storage energy. This program allows students to work virtually and gain hands-on experience in research, data analysis, and industry reporting of scientific issues.
As an intern, you will explore different technologies, analyse market trends, learn to synthesize information from sources, conduct outreach, and draft analytical reports for publication. You get to work directly with a mentor to build skills in critical thinking, professional writing, and marketing research, culminating in a published report.
Cost: Free
Location: Virtual
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions throughout the year
Program Dates: 2-8 weeks or 1-9 months
Eligibility: Sophomores, juniors, and seniors who have at least one honors science or honors english class with a GPA of at least 3.25
The Summer High School Intern Program by NIST is designed for students interested in STEM research. As part of the program, you participate in cutting-edge research at NIST while working closely with staff scientists and engineers on a specific research topic. Students can opt to intern at one of the 6 NIST laboratories:
Cost: Free
Location: Varies based on lab
Application Deadline: January (tentatively, based on previous years)
Program Dates: June - August
Eligibility: U.S. citizens who are high school juniors or seniors during the application period and have a minimum GPA of 3.0
If you are a high school student and want to understand what professional work actually looks like, a work experience opportunity is a great way to get started. These programs allow you to work directly with companies, engage in industry-relevant projects, and network with experts.
To help you get started, here are 5 work experience opportunities that are great for high school students.
Delve is a 4-week virtual work-experience program that helps high school students gain real-world exposure before college. You work on industry relevant projects with global companies like Ferrari, AWS, Adobe, Stripe, Financial Times, and more to build professional skills.
By the end of the program, you have a completed project, a strong foundation in your chosen industry, career ready skills, and a strong network of professionals. You also receive a certificate of completion and a recommendation letter directly from the company – making it a strong addition to your college applications.
Cost: $4,900
Location: Virtual
Application Deadline: May 31 (summer III deadline)
Program Dates: Vary based on the company
Eligibility: Open to high school students globally
FPRI offers a remote research internship for high school students interested in foreign policy, international relations, and global affairs. As a participant, you will gain exposure to data analysis, and research and communication skills under the guidance of a scholar or professional in the field.
This is a good fit for you if you are looking to engage in policy research, attend seminars, and contribute to research that can be published on FPRI’s research corner. You will also have access to FPRI’s events which will help you sharpen your industry-specific skills as well as general professional skills.
Cost: Free
Location: Virtual and in-person
Application Deadline: Typically November/December for Spring | April for Summer | July for Fall
Program Dates: February - April for Spring | June - August for Summer | October - December for Fall
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors
The KPMG job simulation offered by Forage is a self-paced, virtual program. Students can explore professional services through high school editions in areas such as advisory, audit, and tax, while completing realistic tasks that mirror the kind of work teams do on the job.
When you complete the simulation, you come out with a better sense of consulting, audit, or tax work and a concrete understanding of the different career paths available. It is especially useful if you want a short, no-cost option that helps you test whether business, accounting, or professional services feels like a good fit. It is important to note that this program does not offer live learning modules or mentor support and is intended for students who want to complete an online course.
Cost: Free
Location: Virtual
Application Deadline: No fixed deadline; open access
Program Dates: Approximately 2-5 hours (in total)
Eligibility: Open to high school students
The EnergyMag virtual internship program for high school and college students is an opportunity to research key developments in renewable and storage energy. This program allows students to work virtually and gain hands-on experience in research, data analysis, and industry reporting of scientific issues.
As an intern, you will explore different technologies, analyse market trends, learn to synthesize information from sources, conduct outreach, and draft analytical reports for publication. You get to work directly with a mentor to build skills in critical thinking, professional writing, and marketing research, culminating in a published report.
Cost: Free
Location: Virtual
Application Deadline: Rolling admissions throughout the year
Program Dates: 2-8 weeks or 1-9 months
Eligibility: Sophomores, juniors, and seniors who have at least one honors science or honors english class with a GPA of at least 3.25
The Summer High School Intern Program by NIST is designed for students interested in STEM research. As part of the program, you participate in cutting-edge research at NIST while working closely with staff scientists and engineers on a specific research topic. Students can opt to intern at one of the 6 NIST laboratories:
Cost: Free
Location: Varies based on lab
Application Deadline: January (tentatively, based on previous years)
Program Dates: June - August
Eligibility: U.S. citizens who are high school juniors or seniors during the application period and have a minimum GPA of 3.0
About the Author
George Gatsios holds a BA and MA in Economics from the University of Cambridge and is the founder of Delta Institute. He leads the organisation’s global strategy, overseeing programme design, partnerships, operations, and product innovation across education, career development, and technology. His work centers on building scalable, hands-on learning experiences that connect students with real-world industry exposure and future-ready skills. Alongside his leadership at Delta Institute, George serves as a Research Assistant in Economics at the University of Cambridge and London Business School, contributing to research at the intersection of economic theory, empirical analysis, and policy. He is an active member of the International Baccalaureate Educator Network (IBEN) and a strong advocate for lifelong learning and internationally minded education.
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