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Volpe Pathways Internship Program – Student Trainees

  • Opportunity Posted On:

    10.23.2024

  • Company / Organization:

    US DOT

  • Location:

    Boston, MA

  • View Job:

    View Job Opportunity
  • Opportunity Description

    The US DOT Volpe Center and Transportation Safety Institute are recruiting for a wide variety of Student Internship positions under the Pathways Internship Program.  To qualify, you MUST be a continuing student enrolled or accepted for enrollment for the current/upcoming semesters for the duration of the internship as a condition of employment, taking at least a half-time course load. You will be required to provide documentation to support eligibility.

     

    Duties

    The Student Intern:

    Perform a variety of assignments to broaden skills and provide practical experience aimed at developing the employee’s skills and knowledge to perform progressively complex assignments.
    Assignments at this level are designed to orient, train, and increase the student’s knowledge in his/her perspective area of study.
    Assisting specialists/analysts in developing material for briefings, reports, presentations and conference materials needed by supervisor and executive management.
    Developing documents, such as research based papers, graphs, charts, and other data to be used by transportation officials in defining transportation challenges and recommending options and potential solutions.
    Performing a variety of program support functions, such as inputting, assigning, maintaining, monitoring, or updating work status and records as well as administering and performing other support activities.
    Ideal Candidate Statement:

    The ideal candidates are Undergraduate and Graduate students who have demonstrated leadership, innovation, and self-initiative. This is a great opportunity for current students with an interest in transportation, majoring in science, engineering, technology, administration, mathematics, business, economics, program support, policy analysis, planning, environmental protection, operations research, computer science/IT, cybersecurity and research based majors.

    Flexibility, creativity, curiosity, and a willingness to take initiative will help you to find—or to create—the projects that interest you the most. Good social skills will allow you to establish a close rapport with our clients both over the phone and in the field. Here is your opportunity to study trains, planes, automobiles, boats, buses, bicycles, traffic lights, pipelines, sidewalks, unmanned and autonomous systems, or hyperloops—yes, even hyperloops. To learn more about the work we do, please visit our website: www.volpe.dot.gov/our-work.

    This is a temporary internship to complete project work that is temporary in nature. The appointment is not-to-exceed September 20, 2025, and can be extended without further competition to a new temporary appointment at management’s discretion based on the need of the organization for the work to continue and provided the employee remains eligible for employment in the Pathways Intern Program. Internships are expected to begin in May 2025, however, applications will be accepted for a limited number of positions available as early as February 2025.

    See the list of available internships here: https://www.volpe.dot.gov/about-us/careers/us-dot-volpe-center-pathways-internship-positions-available

    As a student intern you will work as a member of one of Volpe’s organizational teams. Project work varies by division, to learn more visit: https://www.volpe.dot.gov/our-work. You will carry out specific assignments in accordance with defined work procedures outlined by your supervisor. Complexity of duties increases with experience.

    Volpe’s Pathways Internship Program is designed to provide interns an opportunity to broaden their perspectives on issues facing government. Interns will work throughout the Volpe Center and support higher-level employees in coordinating, facilitating, and implementing activities within the division or office to which they are assigned; and be exposed to and participate in activities, innovations, and challenges facing the Transportation Industry.

    This is a temporary internship to complete project work that is temporary in nature. The appointment is not-to-exceed September 20, 2025. The temp appointment can be extended without further competition to a new temporary appointment at management’s discretion based on the need of the organization for the work to continue and provided the employee remains eligible for employment in the Pathways Intern Program.

    Upon graduation and completion of program requirements you may be non-competitively converted, without a break in service, to a term (time-limited), career, or career conditional (permanent) appointment in the federal government with a GS-12 full performance level. Grade level upon conversion will be determined by management and neither conversion nor promotion under this Program is guaranteed.