Paid Opportunities and More for Teens

Get the details about internships and jobs at wildlife parks around NYC, a media internships, a podcast challenge, two writing contests and more!

Sign up here for our teen newsletter to stay up-to-date about all of our opportunities for teens. You can also find info about our programs and internships at bklynlibrary.org/teens, and follow us on Instagram @bklynfuture. 

Morgan Library: Teen Writing Contest
Did you know the first writer identifiable by name in human history is a Mesopotamian woman from 2300 B.C. named Enheduanna? Inspired by Enheduanna, the Morgan is hosting a creative writing contest for teens.
Entries accepted in Prose and Poetry, for Middle School and High School. Four winners total will be selected and will be awarded a $100 MasterCard gift card. Get more details here and submit your entry here by February 24, 2023.

ArtsConnection: Free (some with stipends) arts programming!

• Arts-Making TRaC: Collaborate with other creative teens that represent a cross-section of the talent and artistry from NYC public schools. This is an in-depth hybrid (in-person and Zoom) program meeting twice weekly across 7-weeks. You will get a $100 Blick gift card at the start and $140 stipend for completing the workshop series. Arts-Making TRaC meets weekly on Tuesdays and Thursdays starting March 21st.
• Teen Reviewers and Critics (TRaC): is a FREE program for NYC teens to explore the arts. Participants spend ten weeks attending cutting-edge theater, dance, and music performances; visiting artist studios, galleries, and museums; mastering NYC’s subway system; learning the art of discussion and critical writing; producing media content; and so much more! TRaC meets weekly beginning the week of March 6 and runs through May. 
• Student Art Program: Exhibit your artwork, build your portfolio, each exhibiting artist gets a $100 Blick gift card. We curate from original artwork, take care of, and return work if unselected. If your work is selected, it is framed and installed in a group show of teen artists across NYC. Your artwork will be in our permanent online gallery This spring’s theme is “My NYC”. Deadline to submit: March 28 
• Pizza and a Movie (PaaM): Pizza and a Movie (PaaM) Night is a free monthly movie night, hosted at the 53rd Street branch New York Public Library. Teens (ages 14-19) can enjoy free pizza, meet students from all over NYC and watch a movie that they vote on from a themed three movie menu. Post movie, we talk about the winning film.

PEN American Free Expression Essay Competition
PEN America is inviting submissions for a national student essay competition about the role of free expression in today’s world. The top three college-level essayists will receive $2,000, $1,500, and $1,000 respectively; and the top three high school-level essayists will receive $1,500, $1,000, and $500 respectively. Read the details here and submit your entry here by March 1, 2023.

Brooklyn Children's Museum: Teen Curators Program
The Teen Curators Program at Brooklyn Children’s Museum explores the museum process through a historical lens and positions participants as active agents of change, power and influence in the process of museum curation. Through readings, in-class discussions, museum visits, art making, remote work, and a culminating end-of-semester exhibit and curator talk, teens will leave the program having gained insight and knowledge in museums, museum work, and their own curatorial practice. DATES: Program starts Tuesday April 11th and ends on Tuesday June 13th. PAY: $750, before taxes. Apply here by March 12, 2023. 

WCS Education Jobs (ages 18+)
The Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) Education Department is recruiting for seasonal job opportunities at its five zoos and aquarium.
Click here for more info, including position descriptions and links to applications. Application deadline: accepted on a rolling basis until positions are filled.

Project TRUE (Teens Researching Urban Ecology) Internship (current 11th Grade Students)
Calling all Bronx high school juniors! Spend your summer conducting field research in NYC with a team of college students and scientists from Fordham University and the Wildlife Conservation Society. Contribute to ongoing research projects that improve our understanding of NYC wildlife.
For more information and to apply, visit: https://bronxzoo.com/teens/project-true
Application deadline: March 15, 2023

Jewish Museum: Teen Internship 
In this year-long program, students entering grades 9 through 12 work with Museum educators to facilitate Family Programs and special projects while exploring art and culture through the Museum’s collections. After participating in a training program in the spring of 2023, interns will begin working at the Museum during the 2023-24 school year. Interns will receive a stipend for their participation. Apply here by March 17, 2023. 

DoSomething.org: Scholarship Opportunity
You could earn a $1,000 scholarship by reading a banned book by a Black author and sharing your personal reflections. By discussing your experience reading the book and the value it adds to society, you’re helping to ensure all books remain uncensored. Details here. Deadline is March 31, 2023.

Teen Transmitters @ Paley Internship
Teen Transmitters at The Paley Museum is a paid 100-hour summer internship for rising 11th and 12th grade students who attend New York City public high schools and who want to explore the impact media has on society. Interns will take a deep dive on media literacy and produce a podcast. Apply here by April 16, 2023.

NPR Student Podcast Challenge
NPR’s competition for middle and high school students is running through April 28, 2023. Student podcast challenge judges will pick winners in two categories: grades five through eight and grades nine through 12. Podcasts can be in any format, about any topic, but must not exceed eight minutes in length. Winners will have the chance to have their podcasts played on NPR, and to be interviewed by our hosts on the radio.
Read more about the competition and its prizes here.