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Internships, Student Workers, and Volunteering

We encourage you to join the thousands of San Diegans working, interning, and volunteering to support a healthy, safe, and thriving region. By getting involved, you can put your personal values into action and receive valuable work experience. Below you can learn more about the programs that the County of San Diego offers.

Student Workers/Interns 

A student worker is a high school, undergraduate, or graduate student who works with the County to gain experience and employment. Student Workers receive an hourly salary, and some universities may qualify for academic credit.  To learn more and/or to apply, please refer to the below link for the Student Worker Application.

The County offers many Student Worker opportunities.  To express interest in opportunities in specific departments, please refer to the below Student Worker and Internship Department Contacts list.

Volunteers

A volunteer is anyone interested in serving the County of San Diego, including students, community members, and more. A volunteer serves with the County of San Diego to gain experience and/or for personal fulfillment. Volunteers do not receive academic credit or monetary compensation. 

 

Frequently Asked Questions 

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  • How do I find an opportunity and apply?

    Volunteer:

    Internship and Student Worker:

    • Identify an opportunity through your school, flyers and recruitment postings, on the County of San Diego website, or by contacting a department contact.  

  • Are internships paid or unpaid?

    An intern is a student who works with the County of San Diego to gain experience and academic credit. Internships can be paid or unpaid, and the time commitment will vary by department. 

  • How much are student workers paid?

    Students are hired on a temporary basis and are paid at an hourly rate. Hourly rates are based on the level of education completed. For specific hourly pay rate information, please refer to the student worker job posting.

  • Are Student Workers eligible for benefits?

    Medical Benefits:

    Student Workers are temporary, hourly employees and are emailed benefit enrollment instructions within 60 days of their hire date.  The County will provide two High Deductible Health Plans (HDHP) to choose from.  Temporary Employees may select either the Kaiser Permanente HDHP or United Healthcare Harmony HDHP.  Eligibility for coverage is contingent upon continued employment with the County of San Diego.

    Sick Time Accruals:

    Student Workers may earn sick leave credit at the rate of one hour of sick leave for each 30 hours of paid time in the eligible temporary classification. Sick leave is credited in units of one-tenth (1/10) of one hour.  

    They may earn a maximum of forty (40) hours of sick leave per year of County employment. If unused, an eligible employee's earned sick leave shall carry over to the following year of County employment, as long as the employee’s earned sick leave balance does not exceed eighty (80) hours.  

  • How can Student Workers apply for permanent positions?

    Current County jobs that we are accepting applications for will be listed on the Job Postings page of our website. Our website is updated daily, and we encourage you to apply for jobs you are interested in. If a position you are interested in is not currently accepting applications, you may click on the Job Descriptions and Salaries page and submit an interest card for that job. Once the recruitment opens and the job is posted, the system will send you an email notification to apply. If you need further assistance, please contact the Department of Human Resources at 619-236-2191 or Jobs@sdcounty.ca.gov.

  • If offered a student worker position, what documents will I need to provide during the hiring process?
    • Social Security Number
    • Valid government-issued photo ID
    • School Unit Load Verification
    • Original work permit with expiration date (students under 18 only)