Every 10 years our country does a census to collect demographic data about our populous to drive public policy decisions. It’s an extremely big deal, and it temporarily creates 1.4 million jobs (according to government figures). Sometimes temporary jobs like these can be an alternative to an internship, but we want you to get more meaningful work experience if possible. Luckily, the U.S. Census Bureau does a lot more than its once every ten years nationwide census. They are “the leading source of quality data about the nation’s people and economy,” so you’d be amazed by all of the things that they track. For instance, much of the economic data that you have been hearing about in the news lately – as in “Stocks plunge on weakened Monthly Retail Sales” – comes from the U.S. Census Bureau. If you’re fascinated by data or just love counting things, there aren’t many places that offer a more interesting work experience that the Census Bureau.
Ok, I’d like to go on about the cool things that the Census Bureau does, but we don’t really have time. Navigating the Census Bureau’s job and internship offerings can get a little confusing, so I want to make sure that you can find what you’re looking for. On their main Jobs page they have links to four sections – Headquarters Opportunities, 2010 Census Taker Opportunities, Regional Office Opportunities, and Student and Research Opportunities. That last one is exactly what we’re looking for. From here there are three options to follow – Student Temporary Employment Program (opportunities in Suitland, Maryland in Analysis, Mathematical Analysis, IT, Geography, and General Office/Office Assistant), Student Career Experience Program (Co-ops in Suitland, MD that include Geographer, Statistician, Mathematical Statistician, and IT Specialist), and Presidential Management Fellows Program (which appears to be geared toward graduate students). There’s a ton of information about these internships, and they are paid. Applying doesn’t appear to be difficult, so just follow directions and you should be ok. It seems to me that the Student Career Experience Program is more like a real internship, while the Student Temporary Employment Program is more like a part-time/Summer job. Still, both appear to offer an excellent chance to get real world experience doing some pretty cool stuff.
Links to Help You Begin Your Research
Are you excited for the 2010 Census?
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Tags: accounting, administrative, analyst, finance, geography, human resources, information technology, Internships, Maryland, math, paid, statistics, Washington DC
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