CIA / other federal Internship

CIA and DoD: not really, they have nothing to do with finance. Does the CIA even have an internship program? There are some financial analysis roles in both those places, but I highly doubt there's internship programs for that.

Fed and CBO: yes, since you are dealing with numbers for the most part. I would say the Fed is the gov't job that positions you best for a job in finance, especially if you work in a capital markets research group or something along those lines.

But if you are interested in a job in finance anyway, why not apply to banks and boutiques directly? All else being equal, a finance internship is going to set you up better than a gov't-related intership when you apply to finance jobs. Moreover, many gov't internships don't pay - and if they do, not well - and be ready for a long and bureaucratic process...even as an intern.

cheers

Funny, all the finance-related internships I found were unpaid and govt were paid

Thanks, good info. The CIA does have one, payed, my thinking is, coming from a non-target, I may not be able to land an internship with a top bank and thought that a CIA internship would demonstrate intelligence (and probably be more interesting). Just a backup plan.

It would definitely help your resume pop from the rest. But I think you're gonna have an uphill battle demonstrating that you can do the work that is required. Definitely not impossible, but think of ways that will demonstrate your knowledge and interest in finance (an internship would take care of this) when you recruit next year.

Good luck tho

Not sure, but doesn't that mean you have security clearance of confidential? If that's the case I don't know how much you can disclose of your internship if anything really. Only reason I bring it up is because I was considering a internship with the NSA at my university's career fair and they mentioned something along those lines.

The CIA internship program is not looked at as a stepping stone to other industries by the Agency. It is a two summer program (or a summer and a semester) that they look at as a way to start college students early and then keep them in the Agency after graduation. They also give you a polygraph (lie detector) test and specifically ask you questions like, "Do you plan on working somewhere else after this internship." The CIA polygraph test is by far the most intrusive polygraph test issued by a government agency. They will ask you about everything in your life. Finally, everything is confidential, so you can't write about it on a resume or speak about what work you did in liberty.

So I hope that answers your question.

I did an internship with the DIA one summer and also interviewed with the CIA program (got in but declined their offer) during my next summer. I can tell you that you definitely get a top secret clearance any any of the top IC agencies (NSA, DIA, CIA etc). You can talk about what you did on your resume to an extent but obviously not everything, you will have to check with your supervisor about what's disclosable (ie, the fact that I worked on Afghan issues and analyzed sigint and evaluated humint were not classified). and yes the polygraph was no joke. banks will probably find such a gig interesting but perhaps not directly relevant, as others have pointed out. it is a circuitous route to get into finance.

I think that definitely makes your resume interesting, and would probably help at least for consulting jobs. As others have said it could help you stand out, especially if it's only your sophomore summer internship.

i think doing the economist and IR jobs will actually put you in an OK spot for global macro. Global macro funds like candidates with experience at the IMF, ECF, Fed....