10 Business Internships for High School Students in San Diego
If you are a high school student interested in business, consider participating in a business internship, which offers the opportunity to explore the field in depth. You will have the chance to gain experience while building skills that employers value. Including a high school internship on your resume can also significantly strengthen your college applications by showcasing your initiative to admissions officers.
Why choose business internships in San Diego?
San Diego's business community offers opportunities to explore industries ranging from technology startups and nonprofits to established financial institutions and creative organizations. You'll gain invaluable insights into how businesses operate, network with professionals, and potentially discover new interests. These experiences provide you with practical exposure to various business environments, helping you make informed decisions about your future academic and career paths.
To help you get started, we've put together 10 business internships for high school students in San Diego.
1. Ladder Internship Program
Location: Remote
Cost: Varies; financial aid available
Acceptance Rate: Selective
Dates: Multiple 8-week cohorts in a year
Application Deadline: Varies by cohort
Eligibility: High school students
Ladder Internships is a selective virtual internship program designed to connect ambitious high school students with high-growth startups across diverse industries, including technology, business, artificial intelligence, health tech, marketing, journalism, and consulting. You'll work remotely on real-world projects assigned by your host company, which might involve competitive research, product development, content creation, or data analysis, depending on the organization and your interests. Throughout your eight-week internship, you'll receive guidance from both your company mentor and a dedicated Ladder Coach who will provide regular check-ins and constructive feedback to help you grow professionally. By the end of your internship, you'll have the opportunity to present your completed work to company stakeholders, showcasing your contributions. Ladder's partner companies are high-growth startups that have raised over a million dollars on average, with many founders being Y Combinator alumni or former employees of major tech companies.
2. Bank of America Student Leaders Program
Location: Various locations across the U.S., including San Diego
Stipend: Paid
Cohort Size: Approximately 300 students
Dates: 8 weeks during the summer
Application Deadline: October 14 – January 15 (tentative)
Eligibility: Current high school juniors and seniors in good academic standing (more info here)
The Bank of America Student Leaders Program places you in an eight-week paid internship with a local nonprofit organization focused on community impact, allowing you to develop professional skills while contributing meaningfully to your community. You'll work on projects supporting initiatives in education, housing, food security, and other critical areas, gaining an understanding of how nonprofits collaborate with both public and private sectors. Your internship experience is complemented by leadership development, where you'll focus on strengthening your communication skills, teamwork abilities, and leadership capabilities through workshops and activities. After completing your summer internship, you'll be invited to attend the all-expenses-paid Student Leaders Summit in Washington, D.C., where you'll connect with fellow participants from across the country and explore important topics like civic engagement, advocacy, and social responsibility.
3. Cristo Rey San Diego High School Corporate Work Study Program
Location: Corporate partner sites across San Diego
Stipend: Paid
Acceptance Rate: All enrolled Cristo Rey San Diego students participate
Dates: Internships run throughout the academic year (one full workday per week plus an extra day every fourth week)
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: High school students in Cristo Rey San Diego
In this work-study model, you’ll spend one full weekday at a corporate site working in a real entry-level role while still keeping up with your classes the rest of the week. You might be placed in finance, logistics, marketing, or operations, where tasks include data entry, drafting basic reports, organizing documents, or supporting customer-facing teams. You’ll get repeated exposure to common office software, including spreadsheets, CRM tools, and internal communication platforms. Over the year, you’ll see how leaders in your host company approach budgeting, performance metrics, and project reviews. Reflection sessions at school help you connect these daily experiences with broader economic and business concepts you might study in class.
4. San Diego Parks and Recreation Paid Internship
Location: City of San Diego Parks and Recreation Department (various locations throughout San Diego)
Stipend: Paid (exact rate varies by department and position)
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Not specified
Dates: Year-round opportunities; flexible scheduling based on department needs
Application Deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: High school students (15+) from San Diego and surrounding areas
The City of San Diego Parks and Recreation Department offers paid internship opportunities across multiple departments, including Recreation & Aquatics, Natural Resource Management, Park Ranger services, Web Development, Information Technology, and Storm Water Management. You'll gain exposure to the diverse operations of one of the region's largest employers while learning about career opportunities in public service and urban management. Your assignments are customized based on department needs and your strengths and interests, allowing you to explore different functional areas from administrative roles to field-based conservation work. You'll participate in team meetings, collaborate with experienced professionals, and work on projects that directly contribute to the department's mission of serving San Diego residents and visitors. The internship provides exposure to government operations, budget management, and public-sector decision-making, creating a knowledge base directly applicable to nonprofit and corporate management careers. You'll connect virtually with professionals and gain exposure to diverse career pathways within the city government structure.
5. Junior Achievement Fellows – JA San Diego
Location: Various high schools and local businesses across San Diego County
Stipend: Paid (varies by host)
Cohort Size: Limited
Dates: Typically 1-2 academic semesters, with internship components layered on top of school
Application Deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors at select San Diego schools (such as Lincoln High, Chula Vista Learning Community Charter)
JA Fellows combines leadership training, economic education, and real work placements at local businesses. In the classroom portions, you’ll learn about the local economy, personal finance, and core professional skills like communication and teamwork. You will then be matched with an industry mentor and a paid internship placement where you might support tasks in finance, customer service, operations, or marketing. Depending on your host, you could help with basic bookkeeping, draft social media posts, or track inventory and sales metrics. You will be expected to show up reliably, ask questions, and reflect on how your host organization fits into broader regional economic trends. Regular check-ins with JA staff help you troubleshoot workplace challenges and improve your performance over time. This program is especially well aligned with economics-focused business internships for high school students in San Diego because it deliberately links theory, mentorship, and paid work.
6. DPR Build Up High School Internship
Location: On major commercial construction projects in the San Diego area
Stipend: Paid hourly rate; Transportation stipends available for students with demonstrated financial need
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Not specified
Dates: 8 weeks
Application Deadline: April 15
Eligibility: Rising high school juniors and seniors, along with recent graduates
DPR Build Up offers rising high school juniors and seniors real-world experience in the construction and project management industry through an eight-week paid internship working on major commercial construction projects. You'll work between 30-40 hours per week on active construction sites, learning about planning, scheduling, design coordination, and the diverse professional roles involved in large building projects. Your experience will include exposure to project management software, budgeting processes, safety protocols, and the coordination required to successfully execute complex construction projects. You'll work alongside construction professionals at all levels, gaining insight into career opportunities and professional practices within the construction and real estate development industries. The program is structured to provide meaningful work experience that contributes to your professional development and career awareness.
7. Kaiser Permanente Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP)
Location: Kaiser Permanente facilities, including San Diego
Stipend: Paid
Acceptance Rate: Competitive
Dates: 6-8 weeks between June and August
Application Deadline: Varies by region
Eligibility: High school students (16+) living near participating medical centers
SYEP places you in administrative and support roles within Kaiser Permanente, focusing on the non-clinical side of healthcare. You’ll be exposed to scheduling, patient intake, data entry, and other office functions that show how a large organization coordinates services. Weekly educational sessions focus on professional skills, career readiness, and understanding how different departments, from finance to HR, contribute to healthcare delivery. On the job, you will practice basic office software skills and customer service while learning about confidentiality and compliance. Mentors from different departments help you explore possible career paths in business functions like HR, operations, and administration. You also gain experience navigating a complex organizational chart and multi‑layered policies.
8. Media Arts Center San Diego Internship
Location: Media Arts Center San Diego (Various locations; City Heights Library IdeaLab, San Diego, CA)
Cost/Stipend: Free training program; Paid internship component available
Cohort Size: Small groups of 10
Dates: 6-week training program followed by 450-hour paid internship (6-12 months)
Application Deadline: Varies by cohort; January applications closed on November 7
Eligibility: Students from San Diego County high schools and universities
The Media Arts Workforce Development Initiative at Media Arts Center San Diego provides comprehensive training in video production, multimedia design, and content creation, followed by a substantial paid internship with the City of San Diego. You'll participate in a six-week intensive training program covering video production fundamentals, multimedia design principles, and digital content creation techniques. The training is delivered in small cohorts of approximately 10 students, ensuring personalized attention and hands-on skill development. Following successful completion of training, you'll transition into a 450-hour paid internship working with various City of San Diego departments, including the Library, Economic Development, Communications, and Environmental Services. This structure allows you to develop marketable technical skills while simultaneously gaining professional work experience in a government setting. You'll build a portfolio of media projects and gain valuable insights into public sector communications.
9. Minor Volunteer at the San Diego Air and Space Museum
Location: San Diego Air and Space Museum, San Diego, CA
Cost/Stipend: None
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Not specified
Dates: Flexible and year-round opportunities
Application Deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: High school students who are 16 years or older
The San Diego Air and Space Museum offers diverse volunteer opportunities across multiple departments, including Docents, Restoration, Collections Care, Education, Facilities, Library & Archives, and Exhibit Fabrication. You will contribute to preserving and sharing San Diego's air and space heritage while developing skills in areas such as aircraft restoration, museum education, archival research, or graphic design. If you pursue the Docent track, you must be at least 18 years old and complete an extensive training program lasting 6-12 months to serve as a subject-matter expert guiding tours through the museum and restoration areas. The museum also provides student internships for high school, undergraduate, and graduate students in the Library & Archives, Graphics, and Restoration departments, though these unpaid positions are exclusively available to students enrolled in internship programs requiring academic credit.
10. Interns4Good – Online Nonprofit Internships
Location: Virtual
Cost/Stipend: None
Acceptance Rate/Cohort Size: Not specified
Dates: Flexible; Varies by internship
Application Deadline: Rolling
Eligibility: High school students
Interns4Good connects you to nonprofits looking for help in areas such as finance, outreach, social media, HR, or blog writing. As a finance‑oriented intern, you might help with budget tracking, basic grant research, or simple financial documentation, while as an outreach intern, you’ll work on communications and relationship building. You’ll learn how nonprofit organizations think about revenue sources, cost control, and impact measurement. Supervisors often give you the latitude to propose ideas around new content formats, process improvements, or outreach strategies, which will encourage you to think creatively within constraints. You’ll also accumulate documented volunteer hours, which can be important if your school or scholarship programs track service.