<p>I’m wondering if anyone has experience with serving as an intern to your local Congressman. My nephew is an econ major and thinks it’d be cool to intern in Washington one summer, witnessing government at work. Any advice about the application and/or the merit of such an internship??</p>
<p>Hi Beil-I had the opportunity to work as a congressional intern during Watergate. I found the experience invaluable, and shaped a lot of who I am today. I contacted my Congressman’s district office for an application.G’Luck to your nephew! PM me if you have specific questions you feel I can answer.APOL-a mom.</p>
<p>Son interned spring of '07 with a congressman from our state. He attended Georgetown, so it was easy to work in the congressman’s office one day a week. He absolutely loved the experience. He saw a posting for the internship thru a posting at Georgetown and applied.</p>
<p>My DS did a summer internship at a House of Representatives Congressional Committee…he liked it (and they liked him)…there were lots of nifty opportunities (e.g., he attended a fair number of special programs put on just for interns…my personal favorite (from a mom’s perspective!) was a special presentation by Supreme Court CHief Justice John Roberts, where DS had his picture taken w/him)…</p>
<p>The work, however–like most internships and entry level jobs–was frequently less than scintillating…altho they did make an effort to give him legislative projects, he also spent a lot of time copying and filing…his biggest complaint is there wasn’t enough work to keep him as busy as he likes to be…fortunately, his boss was sympathetic and let DS come up with a couple of legislative research projects which he (the boss) was kind enough to say were helpful, and which my DS enjoyed doing… </p>
<p>I myself work on Capitol Hill and I can tell you from experience that the great majority of Hill internships are either unpaid or barely paid…and it’s expensive to live in DC, especially anywhere near Capitol Hill. So it’s not all that good a choice for a kid who has to earn money for school during the summers…but if your family/student can afford it, it is in fact a wonderful opportunity…</p>
<p>It certainly was a fantastic summer for my DH, and working on the Hill is a fantastic experience…</p>
<p>Good luck …</p>