Paid Opportunities and More for Teens

Get the details about BPL's Teen Writing Contest, Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP), 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. 

Brooklyn Public Library: Teen Writing Contest
Entries are accepted in two categories: Poetry (up to 500 words); Prose (up to 2,500 words). Awards will be given in two age groups: Middle School (grades 6 – 8) and High School (grades 9 – 12). Top winners in each category will receive the Ned Vizzini Teen Writing Prize with cash awards, and have their pieces published in the Teen Writing Journal distributed by the Library.
Find more info here. Enter here by March 31, 2023.

Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP)
The Summer Youth Employment Program (SYEP) is the nation’s largest youth employment program, connecting NYC youth between the ages of 14 and 24 with career exploration opportunities and paid work experience each summer.  Get info here and apply here by March 31, 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.