Unpaid DOJ NSD internship worth the cost? Forum

[JayDubya]

I'm interviewing for an unpaid DOJ NSD internship in DC. My school offers scholarships for public service summer internships but I'll still probably spend a considerable amount of money in travel, food, lodging, etc. I'm planning on going DA's office post graduation and maybe trying for USAO down the line. Is this internship opportunity worth the cost that I would incur or would I be better off sticking close to home and doing an internship with a local DA's or USAO office?

Thanks in advance.

[deadpanic]

If you just plan on going to the local DA office, I would say it is much more valuable to intern there.

As for USAO, they usually don't hire until you have a few years practicing. And at that point, I would think an 3 month internship during law school would be pretty worthless. They are going to look at your substantive experience while actually practicing. Maybe it would be good for some potential connections but probably not worth it; better off making those connections at the local DA office.

[Yukos]

It sounds pretty cool but it's not in line with your career goals. If you wanted to get into nat sec law it would definitely be worth it, but you don't, so it's probably not.

[JayDubya]

Thanks for the replies.

Nat sec law would definitely be awesome, preferable to prosecuting domestics and DUIs at a DA's office for sure. But I go to T2 and will probably have average grades so I figure the DA's office is much more realistic.