Getting your teenager an internship is an entirely different strategy than prodding your college student into the pre-work world. And as far as I’m concerned, it’s never too soon. If you can find them one, do it! It’s great on a college application.

The key difference between a teen internship and a college one is that the teen one doesn’t need to be pertinent to their goals in life in order to be valuable. This is a good thing, considering that teenagers have goals like beating their Wii high score, seeing how many hours in a row they can go without doing anything, or reading one of the Twilight book series from front to back without sleeping.

It also opens up the internship world to include absolutely everything, which makes it easier to find them one. And it doesn’t have to interrupt a summer job because the internship can be part-time.

If they do happen to land a full-time internship, and therefore it does preclude them getting a summer paid job, don’t miss out on teaching them money management. If you can afford to, give them a substantially bigger allowance so they will have incentive to take the internship. I will be posting spending wisely and saving wisely blogs next week.

If you can’t afford to, and your teen is responsible for saving money for college, then definitely make the internship part-time, or reduce it to an internship-like experience by having them volunteer for something. The key to a teen internship is that it is like an apprenticeship: they will learn a trade, an industry and a skill. The person who gives them the opportunity must have a need, and in exchange for that need filled, will be willing to tell your kid’s school that your kid has experienced something educational.

To get them an internship, try these 10 things. And before you set out to try them, add this word to your thinking: apprenticeship. That’s what many teen internships amount to, and when you approach people, they may be more open if they see the experience as having an apprentice.

1. Hit up every friend you have to see if they need free help this summer. With the economy the way it is, there are a lot of overworked offices around—employees laid off and remaining ones doing double time, double jobs. It’s a great time to get your teen in there to help.

2. Send teens to area job fairs. This is especially good for 16 year olds. Look for them now. Closer to summer is too late. Just Google job fairs in your area.

3. Talk to local government—everyone from town council to the mayor’s and governor’s offices.

4. Talk to local newspapers. Publishing has been hit hard by lay-offs and they need free help. A teenager can learn a lot at a newspaper. They may even join their school newspaper next fall after experiencing one in the summer.

5. Talk to local agricultural programs: Community Sustained Agricultural (CSAs) programs, organic farms, research projects at universities that run in summer.

6. Talk to your local library. They may be most open to teenagers, and will hear of other community educational programs.

7. Talk to local photographers. Photography interests a lot of teens, and in this Internet age, photography/videography skills are always a plus.

8. Talk to local tech companies. Tech companies often have more means than others, and room for computer-literate kids, which includes most teens. Put those texting and game-playing skills to work!

9. Talk to local Film Festivals. Film Festivals are everywhere and rely on volunteerism. Kids will have a natural interest and they’ll learn how hard fund-raising is.

10. Talk to local artists, writers, architects, and law offices. (These may also be your friends you hit up.) They often need assistance and can’t afford it, especially in this economy. They will be very willing to teach an art form in exchange for help. If your kid likes and is good at research, this is an especially good avenue.

Once your kid gets an internship of some kind—an apprenticeship—call their school. See if the experience can apply for some kind of credit. The school where I’m Secretary of the Board of Trustees has a work-study program for seniors for part of the year. Kids can often earn credit or extra credit for good apprenticeships/internships.

Make sure to speak with the college guidance counselor at the school. They make great advocates and allies for encouraging students in this direction, as well as working with community members to create an internship out of an assistant situation. They’re also creative about finagling ways for your kid to get credit for the experience. Talk to them even before you set out to help your kid get an internship.

If your kid does well in school, ask for recommendations from teachers to hand to internship prospects. They may even have advice about whom to ask in the community. Better yet, have your kid ask them. It’s great experience for them to advocate for themselves.

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This is always a tricky question. After I advise my students, and they’ve left my office, their new decision awkwardly in their minds, a piece of paper with a contact or two jotted down, I often feel like calling after them: “Or you could….”

This year, this economy, even more college tuition hikes staring them in the face for fall semester, I feel downright guilty touting the high-brow virtue of internships. Maybe I should be sneaking a call to their parents and asking how they’d like me to play it. (Not a bad idea.)

There are always tradeoffs, even in a thriving economy. But for this year in particular my advice to students is divided like this (There are variations on this for younger teenagers as well. I’ll do a separate blog post for them.):

If you are paying for college yourself, and you need the money: Go for the highest paying job you can in the summer, sock away as money as you can. Use this Savings Calculator to see how much money you’ll save by September. The idea is if you can avoid working during the school year, it’s best. That way, during the school year you can pursue student clubs, extracurricular activities, Fall and Spring internships that will expose you to your fields of interest, and supplement your resumes when you graduate.

Also, in summer, there’s always time to volunteer in some capacity that can enhance a resume and test out a field of interest, to see if it’s something you really want to pursue. Even if your college kid volunteers instead of officially interns for a Political Interest Research Group (PIRG), for instance, it is a memorable, life-changing experience.

Volunteerism is important, too, for perspective. Sometimes a good paycheck is so intoxicating to kids, they get completely money focused, and they don’t think about the long-term implications of devoting themselves to menial labor. All they want to do is work for money. But they need to really understand that what looks like a lot of money now won’t in five years. If they volunteer in an environment that’s more of an investment in their intellectual and professional future, they’ll be exposed to seeing longer term payoffs—which is a great money lesson, of course.

PIRGS, incidentally, exist in every state and have some of the most valuable internship programs in the country. Your kid will lean about grassroots democracy, political canvassing, how a Congressional Bill works, what issues are important to the state, who the political players are, how laws are made, and how purse strings are pulled. Talk about teaching kids valuable lessons about money at an unpaid job.

PIRGS are my number one recommendation for students, even if they’re not going into journalism, political science, or law. Intelligent citizenship creates thinking that is applicable to every career.

The best part: PIRGS always need volunteers. So even if your kid must work year round, encourage them to volunteer for a PIRG, to get the same richness of experience and boost to the resume. I’ve had students tell me that their work for a PIRG changed their thinking, opened their eyes to interests they never knew they had, incited passion about issues they didn’t know mattered.

If you are going to be a freshman or sophomore in the fall: Even if your college kid doesn’t need the money to pay for college, this is a great summer for these ages to have a paid summer job. First of all, internships are harder to get for kids entering college, or even soon-to-be sophomores, especially if the kids are trying to get those internships through their universities.

Most universities give priority to juniors and seniors because they need to prep them for the job market and they’re running out of time. Many students don’t think about internships and valuable volunteerism until well into their junior year. (Big mistake.)

For freshman and sophomores, this summer is a great time to learn the value of earning money and what to do with that money. Job fairs are happening all over the country. Just Google job fair to find out where, and look at local university postings. Have your kid check them out. Sometimes there are paying jobs at university job fair events that are as high caliber as internships. Definitely have them start looking for a job now.

Whatever the job, encourage the kids to start a savings program with a portion of their earnings. If they aren’t paying for their college education, then introduce mid-term savings vehicles: CDs and bonds, for example. Remind them when they do graduate they’re going to want cars, apartments, vacations, more material goods than they imagine. Socking away money now is something they’ll be happy about later. It teaches them envisioning and planning, very important money management skill.

To show them how their money will grow in different savings vehicles, use the same Savings Calculator I mentioned above. You can key in different interest rates to show accumulation over time. I’ll also do a blog post on learning what interest rates mean, and how interest is calculated, so kids can understand what the deal is, and how it’s determined.

And, of course, encourage them to volunteer somewhere, particularly if they think they’re interested in a field but aren’t sure if they’re cut out for it. For instance, many kids who think they want to study medicine spend some time in a hospital and change their minds. If your kid has a set goal already, try to help them get exposed to the environment they’re interested in on a volunteer basis.

Volunteering at freshman and sophomore age can sometimes translate into internships the following summer.

If you are going to be a junior, senior in the fall: If you can at all afford to, focus on an internship, especially if you have never had one.

Try not to let your kids wait until they’re seniors for their first internship. It’s very competitive, and often when students apply for internships, it takes a semester or two to land one.

Also, once a student is a junior, their coursework is of course major-focused. What if they decide, after a summer internship related to their field of study, that they don’t like that path? Better to know before the fall semester.

If you are going to be a freshman or sophomore and REALLY know what you want to study: Often in the fields of science, law, and medicine, kids know early. If this is the case, and they can afford it, definitely try for an internship in that field, or simply volunteer. First of all, these fields are intensely competitive, so the more experience you have, the better.

But more important: Your kid needs to make sure he or she is cut out for the field. I know too many students—and adults—who ended up in careers because by the time they realized they didn’t necessarily like what they were doing they had a degree and a first job in that field.

It’s not a tragedy if that happens. It’s why many people go to graduate school. But testing waters, and learning about who you are, versus what you think you should be, is perhaps the greatest life lesson a college age kid could hope to get.

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