Salon.com > internships

I’m stuck living at home!

Wed, 12 Dec 2012 01:00:00 +0000

Dear Cary,

I'm a college graduate in my late 20s. I graduated a few years ago but I did not find a "good" job after college. I'm still in the process of making a career change. I went back to school a few years ago for a certification and I'm currently working as an intern. I work another part-time job just so I can pay bills. It may take me a few years to reach solid ground. For now, I absolutely hate how broke I am and I hate living at home.

Last night, I got in a huge fight with my mother over something others may perceive as trivial. Basically, she threw away some possessions of mine that I had no intention of throwing away. It enraged me more than it would have enraged a logical, levelheaded person. Today, I've been thinking about my life and I realize why I went crazy. I hate that at my age, I still have to fight with my mom about respecting my things. I hate that I am furious, but I feel I have no right to be since I still live at home.

A judge searches for free labor

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 12:45:00 +0000

This is a story of what’s happening to the best and the brightest of the echo boomer generation -- the children of the baby boomers, many of whom, to echo Bob Dylan, have finished 20 years of schooling, only to find they can’t get put on the day shift.

Traditionally, the most prestigious job a law school graduate can get straight out of school is a federal judicial clerkship. Holders of these one-year positions are usually much sought-after by big law firms and other desirable employers, and the competition among law students for federal clerkships is ferocious.

Even at elite law schools, only students at or near the top of class have a reasonable shot at a federal clerkship. In addition, now many young lawyers with sterling resumes have begun applying for clerkships. The result is that any federal judge will be deluged with hundreds of highly qualified candidates for an open position.

In response, the government has created an online application site for judicial clerks, featuring strict rules about when candidates can apply and when clerkship offers can be made. William Martinez, a federal judge in Denver, is currently using the site to solicit applications for a standard year-long clerkship in his chambers.

Asteroid mining start-up seeks interns

Tue, 02 Oct 2012 20:36:00 +0000

The job posting for Planetary Resources' asteroid mining intern might sound like a hoax or a sketchy Craigslist ad. Look a little closer and you'll see that it's backed by big-time investors like Google CEO Larry Page and executive chairman Eric Schmidt. (Director James Cameron is an advisor, even though "Avatar" took a bold stand against plundering extraterrestrial wealth.)

Planetary Resources wants to expand humanity's natural resource base by looking for essential materials, like water and metals, in non-Earth surfaces, then transport them back to Earth. The company hopes to achieve this through the creation of highly specialized robots, satellites and space telescopes, and believes the industry will "add trillions of dollars to the global GDP."

Until now, the company, which has been around since 2010, has kept things pretty hush-hush. But now it's ready to let a few college students inside. According to a recent job posting, the company needs interns "to assist in the development of new systems and technologies for the commercial robotic exploration of near Earth asteroids." Cool, right?