Start Your Environmental Career: Top Environmental Internshi

One of the things I always stress when I talk about internships, whether to high school students, college students or recent graduates, is the depth and breadth of available programs. There are thousands of internship programs across the United States and abroad--large and small, rural and urban, formal and informal--in every conceivable industry. We profile over 785 internship programs in the 2010 Vault Guide to Top Internships. With such a large spectrum, you will be able to find an internship that's perfect for your personality, academic background and career goals.

If you're interested in an environmental career, for example, an internship is a great way to break into the industry and figure out which of the many different roles and career paths to follow. Moreover, environmental employers are known to hire a high percentage of their intern classes for full-time positions each year "because they have become familiar with the organization's objectives and operations, and have acquired the skills needed to perform their job effectively," says the Vault Guide to Environmental Careers.

Lucky for you, there are many different environmental internships available--at universities, nonprofits, laboratories, NGOs, farms, government agencies and more. And you don't have to settle for a less prestigious program: Many of Vault's Top 10 internships have been environmental programs. Morris Arboretum was chosen as one of the Top 10 Internships (overall) in 2008, as was Hawk Mountain Sanctuary in 2007. Here are some of the other top environmental internships that made our lists:

Amelia Island Plantation (Top 10 Most Unusual Internships 2009)

Bermuda Institute of Ocean Sciences (Top 10 Most Unusual Internships 2009 and 2010)

Farm Sanctuary (Top 10 Most Unusual Internships 2010)

Hawk Mountain Sanctuary (Top 10 Internships 2007; Top 10 Most Unusual Internships 2009)

Land Between the Lakes (Top 10 Most Unusual Internships 2009)

Morris Arboretum (Top 10 Internships 2008; Top 10 Most Unusual Internships 2009 and 2010)

Check out Vault's internships database to read about more top environmental internships. You can filter programs by industry, location, qualifications and more to find the one that's right for you.