High School Work Study Program - Baltimore/Washington

About the Program

The National Security Agency's (NSA) High School Work Study (HSWS) Program is a highly competitive, paid part-time internship for high school seniors. It offers hands-on work experience in fields such as business, computers, engineering, manufacturing, construction, intelligence analysis, and Chinese language. The program runs from September through August, with a schedule of 4 hours per day, 20 hours per week, Monday through Friday. Participants receive a security clearance, a part-time salary, paid leave, and may have the opportunity for permanent employment upon successful completion.

Program is subject to change.

Qualifications

• Must be 16 years of age by 31 December 2026.
• Must be eligible to be granted a Security Clearance.
• Must be a U.S. Citizen.
• Unweighted GPA of 2.5 or higher is preferred.
• Must be a High School Junior.
• Must have reliable transportation.
• Must complete at least two courses in desired field of study prior to the completion of the junior year.
• Students interested in the HSWS Program at Fort Meade, Maryland must reside within commuting distance of this location.

Available Positions (Fort Meade, MD Only)

Office Assistant: Type, file, maintain records, answer phones and operate business equipment such as word processors and personal computers. Applicant must complete a minimum of one business or non-technical computer course (such as Microsoft Applications, Keyboarding, Software Applications, Advanced Applications, Computer Skills for Academic Success, etc.) prior to the completion of their junior year of high school, or they will not be considered for a position in the HSWS Program. This will be verified on the transcript at the end of the junior year.

Computer Aide: Operate data processing equipment, often the most sophisticated equipment on the market. These positions are geared towards students who are in STEM focused courses or have completed a minimum of two technical computer courses (such as Computer Science, Visual Basic, Java, Web Page Design, Intro to Engineering and Programming C++, etc.) by the end of their junior year of high school. This will be verified on the transcript at the end of the junior year.

Engineering Specialist: Looking for students that are mechanically inclined. Install and maintain building architectural systems by building standard and executive style systems and repairing, altering or constructing replacement items from materials such as wood, plastic, or metal. Apply surface finish treatments such as painting or staining. They could also perform sanitization, declassification, excess or destruction. Sanitize, declassify or destroy the material using common hand tools or devices such as hammermills, pulverizers, incinerators, degaussers, or paper pulping equipment. Dispose of material through donation, recycling, reutilization, or resale. Designed for high school students who are enrolled in Construction, Engineering, Project Management or Manufacturing at a technical high school.

Chinese: Students who are currently enrolled in advanced Chinese courses (Chinese 5 or higher). They will be required to use their Chinese language skills to perform daily duties. Students need to be excelling in their Chinese reading, writing and listening skills. In addition, students should be recommended by the school's lead Chinese language instructors.

Intelligence Analysis (IA) Aide: This work role uses writing and critical thinking skills to transform foreign intelligence and cybersecurity information into critical reports that will be used to understand high priority intelligence issues. Must be enrolled in at least one advanced English course and at least one advanced humanities course (Government, History, etc.), and completed at least two business or technical computer courses.

Attention: Applicants are not guaranteed to be placed in the position/area they select. The HSWS Program Manager will review the application materials (to include resume and transcript) and will make the final determination as to which position best utilizes the applicant's skills.

Pay, Benefits, & Work Schedule

• Students will be on a Grade and Step Scale. All work studies are a Grade 01 Step 01.
• High School Work Study students are on a part-time schedule and make approximately $15.00 per hour (in Maryland).
• Students will earn Annual Leave and Sick Leave at a rate of one hour of Annual Leave and one hour of Sick Leave for every twenty hours worked.
• Students are to work a Monday - Friday work schedule. All students must work a minimum of 4 hours each day, 5 days a week, Monday through Friday. Report times are between the hours of 10:30 am and 12:30 pm with core work hours from 12:30 pm to 2:30 pm.
• The maximum number of hours a student may work per week is 32 hours.

Application Information

To apply, students must check with their High School Work Experience Coordinator to determine the school's application process as well as specific course requirements for their school. Online applications must be submitted by 11:59PM EST on September 30, 2026. Applications received after the deadline, as well as incomplete packets, will not be considered.

Students must also submit the following material via email to HSWS@uwe.nsa.gov by 11:59PM EST September 30, 2026:

• One Student Evaluation form (please email HSWS@uwe.nsa.gov to request form or contact your guidance counselor)
• Official transcript from High School, which MUST include their junior year work in progress courses for both first and second semester.
• Resume - Must include the relevant courses completed or in progress as well as the position (Office Assistant, Computer Aide, Vo-Tech/Printing, Model Shop, Facilities and Logistics, Chinese Language, or Intelligence Analysis Aide) to which you are applying.

Students must submit all required documents (resume, official transcript, student evaluation) in one email to HSWS@uwe.nsa.gov. Please do not submit as Google doc links.

Early Acceptance Incentive

Applications are accepted 1 September - 30 September 2026, however, selections for this program are made on a rolling basis and applicants are encouraged to apply as soon as practical to allow sufficient time for review and security clearance processing. You may call NSA Washington's HSWS Office at (410) 854-4592 for specific questions regarding the program.