Pathways Student Internships
Position Details
Below you can find detailed information for each Pathways position, if available. Read more about the Pathways program and these announcements.
Student Trainee (Admin Support)
Series: 0399
Grade Levels: GS-3/4, Full performance level 5
Application Link for OR & WV | Application Link for MN, NM, TX, WA, WV
| Location | Office | Description of Duties | Preferred Start Month |
| Portland, OR | Regional Office Wildlife & Sport Fish Restoration (WSFR) | Correspondence including monitoring the "Data Tracking System;" monitoring our central email in-box which will include forwarding the email to the appropriate WSFR staff; pulling reports from both FBMS and GrantSolutions and exporting them into Excel; Monitoring Federal Financial and Performance Report due dates for State and Tribal agencies; Logging in grant documents and saving them to the grant files; Maintaining our electronic grant file system; Timekeeper for QuickTime (Timesheets); Assistance with travel for WSFR staff. | May or June |
| Leavenworth, WA | Mid-Columbia Fish & Wildlife Conservation Office | Assisting with annual property inventory tracking and reporting; Assisting with micro-purchasing and acquisition; Filing and recordkeeping tasks and projects; Assisting with routing personnel actions; Assisting with vehicle and fleet usage reporting; Editing documents and website materials; Greeting visitors and receiving packages. | June 1st |
| Bloomington, MN | Regional Office Wildlife & Sport Fish Restoration | Provide administrative support, particularly with financial agreements and grants, for biologists as they work to distribute funds for state projects that support fishing, hunting and other recreation opportunities. Bloomington is a suburb of Minneapolis, and is the home of both the Minneapolis St. Paul Airport and the Mall of America. | flexible |
| Albuquerque, NM | Regional Office Migratory Birds | May | |
| Muleshoe, TX | Muleshoe National Wildlife Refuge | May | |
| Shepherdstown, WV | National Conservation Training Center |
Student Trainee (Engineering)
Series: 0899
Grade Levels: GS-4/5/7, Full performance level 9
Application Link
| Location | Office | Description of Duties | Preferred Start Month |
| Portland, OR | Regional Office National Wildlife Refuge System | Work on repair and construction related activities with the Infrastructure Management Division (IMD) for Regions 1, 7, and 8. IMD is responsible for managing the FWS real property to include real property inventory, inspections, identifying repair and construction needs, project management, planning, design, and construction. The intern will participate in assisting IMD staff and National Wildlife Refuges with tasks related to facility inspections, database management, repair/construction project management, and other functions. The position will work in the office and in the field to support ongoing projects within the regions. | June 1st |
Student Trainee (Communications/Public Affairs)
Series: 1099
Grade Levels: GS-4/5/7, Full performance level 9
Application Link
| Location | Office | Description of Duties | Preferred Start Month |
| Bloomington, MN | Regional Office Office of Communications | Write stories, news releases, and other communications materials about our agency's important conservation work. In addition, the pathways intern will assist with strategizing and planning outreach to the public, support events at our field stations, and learn about all the ways our agency works to conserve and protect fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats. | |
| Bloomington, MN | Regional Office Office of Communications | Write stories, news releases, and other communications materials about our agency's important conservation work. In addition, the pathways intern will assist with strategizing and planning outreach to the public, support events at our field stations, and learn about all the ways our agency works to conserve and protect fish, wildlife, plants and their habitats. | |
| Anchorage, AK | Regional Office Office of Communications (Native American Liaison) | ||
| Hadley, MA | Regional Office Wildlife & Sport Fish Restoration | Communications, analysis, and partnerships |
Student Trainee (Biological Sciences)
Series: 0499
Grade Levels: GS-4/5/7, Full performance level 9
Application Links (2): All locations except West Virginia and Davis, WV
| Location Possibilities | Office | Description of Duties | Preferred Start Month |
| Daphne, AL | Alabama Ecological Services Office | This position will expose the incoming Pathways intern to the exciting and varied life of an Ecological Services Biologist. Specifically, this intern will be investigating and working on issues related to endangered species and conducting habitat restoration activities to protect and conserve fish and wildlife habitat. | May |
| Tuskegee, AL, Huntsville, AL, Daytona Beach, FL, Tallahassee, FL, Fort Valley, GA, Alcorn, MS, Jackson, MS, San Antonio, TX | Regional Office Science Applications | One of the biggest threats to fish and wildlife is Climate Change. This Pathways Intern will work with biologists and social scientists on a variety of climate change climate change Climate change includes both global warming driven by human-induced emissions of greenhouse gases and the resulting large-scale shifts in weather patterns. Though there have been previous periods of climatic change, since the mid-20th century humans have had an unprecedented impact on Earth's climate system and caused change on a global scale. Learn more about climate change initiatives, such as mapping effects on at-risk species and habitat and developing science-based plans and communications for the agency and the public. | May |
| Decatur, AL | Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge | This Pathways intern will learn the ins and outs of working on a wildlife refuge! You will take part in a variety of projects, such as: wood duck banding, habitat protection and restoration, water management, and biological surveys of birds, bats, other wildlife, fish, or plants on the refuge. | May |
| St. Marks, FL | St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge | This position will introduce all aspects of management on a National Wildlife Refuge, such as: forestry, biology, fire, visitor services, and administration. This will include exciting opportunities, like: red wolf tracking, sea turtle protection, shorebird surveys, forest inventory, and woodpecker data collection | May |
| Lacombe, LA | Southeastern Louisiana National Wildlife Refuge Complex | This pathways student will participate in critical conservation and restoration activities and field work, such as: fish and wildlife surveys, collecting and sorting of plant, animal and water samples and specimens, and water quality data. | May |
| Austin, TX | Austin Ecological Services Office | The Grassland Effectiveness Monitoring program (GEM) team needs assistance with data organization and analysis. Duties will be wide-ranging depending on the intern's skillset and interest. Responsibilities may include field work, data entry and analysis, and production of information materials to promote the GEM protocol. | May |
| Albuquerque, NM | New Mexico Ecological Services Office | May | |
| Albuquerque, NM | Regional Office Realty | May | |
| Albuquerque, NM, Alamo, TX, Austwell, TX, Brazoria, TX, Marble Falls, TX, Winnie, TX | Regional Fire Program (Several potential locations) | The position will support the development of spatial fire management plans, assist in facilitating basic field based GIS training, and will be provided mentorship in formal plan writing, natural resource policy and fire management activities. | |
| East Lansing, MI (flexible) | Regional Office Science Applications | This position will work alongside a Service Forest Ecologist stationed in East Lansing, Michigan. The pathways intern will provide technical support by identifying, reviewing, and organizing relevant information around forest harvest policies and processes on private and public lands across states in the Midwest Region. The East Lansing Field office is centrally located in the lower peninsula of Michigan, near Michigan State University and a short drive from multiple Great Lakes | Flexible |
| East Lansing, MI (flexible) | Regional Office Science Applications | The primary purpose of this position is for a Pathways student to experience the wide variety of work that can FWS is using to incorporate climate adaptation planning and strategies which inform land and water management actions to ensure a future for fish, wildlife, and plants. This Pathways Intern will join other interns and work with biologists and social scientists on a variety of climate change initiatives, such as mapping effects on at-risk species and habitat, developing science-based plans, and developing communication materials for the agency and the public. They will be introduced to climate change initiatives within FWS and within the Midwest region, including the FWS Climate Change Action Program, Resist, Accept, Direct framework, Climate Response Group, and Nature-based Solutions. | Flexible |
| Anchorage, AK | Regional Office National Wildlife Refuge System | ||
| Davis, WV | West Virginia Ecological Services Office | Position will work with the Partners for Fish and Wildlife program within the West Virginia Field Office. Work will include private lands across the state working on restoration projects for the recovery of listed species. Position will help support on the ground activities, as well as outreach, and in office work. | May or June |
Student Trainee (Visitor Services)
Series: 0099
Grade Levels: GS-3/4, Full performance level 5
Application Link
| Location | Office | Description of Duties | Preferred Start Month |
| Liberty, TX | Trinity River National Wildlife Refuge | May | |
| Houston, TX | Houston Urban | May |
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