I applied for the NSA summer cyber internship last night. I've got a couple questions for those of you with experience specific to this. How long roughly should I expect before my applications begin entering the review stage, and what types of things would I more or less be required to have/know to even make me competitive? I'm a college senior with a 3.1 college GPA studying cybersecurity, I'm a 2LT in the National Guard so I've got my secret clearance along with military/leadership experience, but I know no foreign languages and I've only been focusing on cyber/cs courses for around 2 years now. I also currently have no certifications but I'm working toward obtaining CompTIA A+, Network+, and Security+ by the end of next year. My ultimate goal is to secure a civilian job in cyber with the DoD/NSA, so this internship would be an amazing stepping stone to reach that. Thanks in advance!
I’m a student right now and I want to work for a government agency like cia and nsa after college. Are there any extracurricular activities or things I should do to increase my chances? (I’m studying for sec+ currently and planning to take cysa and making a github repo with my projects)
I'm wanting to get the NSA internship for high schoolers but I'm not sure how to stand out from the other applicants. I'm top 1000 in Tryhackme and I've completed over 100 boxes on Hackthebox. What should I do to get the internship? Any certifications you recommend? Any tips would be very much appreciated.
I applied for the NSA summer cyber internship last night. I've got a couple questions for those of you with experience specific to this. How long roughly should I expect before my applications begin entering the review stage, and what types of things would I more or less be required to have/know to even make me competitive? I'm a college senior with a 3.1 college GPA studying cybersecurity, I'm a 2LT in the National Guard so I've got my secret clearance along with military/leadership experience, but I know no foreign languages and I've only been focusing on cyber/cs courses for around 2 years now. I also currently have no certifications but I'm working toward obtaining CompTIA A+, Network+, and Security+ by the end of next year. My ultimate goal is to secure a civilian job in cyber with the DoD/NSA, so this internship would be an amazing stepping stone to reach that. Thanks in advance!
Has anyone received a Hirevue Interview or is just waiting for an answer?
Hi! So I've made it to the next round of interviews for the summer language internship and I have a few questions. I know because NSA is a government agency that the whole process will take a lot longer compared to the average internship so my first question is, what does that process look like? I already have my 3.5 hour language exam scheduled but what after that? Also for the language exam something about DLAB was mentioned, is this something I should study for beforehand? Also I am going to be tested for Chinese, what does that test typically look like? Also, when I do go into the headquarters I'm assuming I will be asked for my ID, I did apply for the internship under my preferred name (looking back ik this isn't the smartest thing in the world) so should I call beforehand just to make sure everything is cleared up before I go to maryland? Also with the whole process is everything in person? Because I can't keep going back and forth between maryland and pittsburgh. Sorry I know that was a lot, thanks in advance!
Hey guys, So there is this internship offered by the nsa and I am interested in it. The thing that worries me the most is that my parents and more people are undocumented. Do you think anything would happen to them during an investigation of my background? Also I smoked weed two years ago and was wondering if that's a hindrance. Other than that, I'm a great student and a clean record. Thank you in advance!
This is from a few years ago.
THE RELEVANT GUIDELINES AND POLICY VS. LAW To start, applicants should be aware that all security clearance cases – no matter which federal agency – are reviewed under a common set of 13 adjudicative guidelines. In situations involving a clearance holder with illegal immigrant family members, Guidelines “J” (Criminal Conduct), “E” (Personal Conduct), and “B” (Foreign Influence) potentially apply.
A common Guideline “B” case is a situation where the applicant’s parents (with whom the applicant is not living or financially supporting) are undocumented, but the applicant was born in the United States or brought here as a child. Depending upon the identity of the country at issue and the nature of the specific relationship the applicant has with his or her relative(s) from that country, Guideline “B” cases based on an undocumented family member can often be successfully overcome with the right strategy. Part of the reason for this is that foreign governments have less ability to exert leverage over someone not physically on their country’s soil.
CRIME, CONDUCT AND COMPLICATION Guidelines “J” and “E” cases can be more challenging. Typically these cases arise where the security clearance holder has knowingly facilitated violations of the law (e.g. smuggling the family member across the border), is providing financial support for an illegal alien, or is harboring the illegal alien in violation of 8 U.S.C. § 1324 (See, for example, ISCR Case No. 03-08525)*. Security clearance case law shows that the government takes a firm line on harboring or otherwise supporting illegal aliens – even if the individual in question is the applicant’s spouse or child (See, for example, ISCR Case No. 07-07645). Applicants need to understand that recent Obama Administration policy changes (e.g. Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals or “DACA”) are different than actual changes to federal law. No security clearance case law of which I am aware has yet addressed the recent Administration policy changes, and it is doubtful that the family member’s qualification under a provision like “DACA” would change the legal analysis. After all, even under such circumstances the applicant’s prior support for an undocumented family member was still illegal at the time it was occurring.
So it's going to depend on the specific nature of your relationship with your parents.
Also I smoked weed two years ago
User name checks out lol.
Hi, guys! I don't usually post on Reddit, but I wanted to reach out to a community who could give me some good advice about a tough decision that I have to make immediately. A couple of months ago, I received a conditional job offer for a cybersecurity internship with the NSA. The nature of this internship would include working with a group of other interns. AFTER receiving the offer and beginning security processing for the past month, I recently learned that I still have an upcoming phone interview. I have no idea how many applicants will be cut. Well, the other day, I received another job offer from a division within CISA. I would be working directly with a team of about a dozen staff members. This job is absolutely guaranteed upon security processing and a drug test. However, I have to accept or decline the offer by tomorrow. I am terrified of rejecting the offer, then subsequently being cut by the NSA. Should I play it safe and go with CISA? Or take the risk? In general, does anyone have any idea or opinion about which agency is more suitable for an aspiring cybersecurity professional? This is such a noobish, stupid question, but in my defense, I have only found vague information about the agencies' cyber missions and their past internships online. Any past interns out there?
TL;DR: I have to pick between an internship with the NSA and CISA. Which should I go with? Why?
Has anybody previously participated in this internship and if so, how was it and what should I expect?
Hi all,
I am a junior college student who just went through an application season for computer science internship positions at numerous companies. I am lucky to say it was successful; All but one company gave me an offer. I have already accepted a position at a large tech hub in my state and I'm very happy with it. However, this morning I was given an internship offer from the NSA and it looks very promising. I know they work on a lot of data science and digital signal processing projects and that alone is a big deal to me. I'm unsure of what to do. Even though the job I have already accepted is an internship, it seems really unprofessional to back out from the position after you have accepted. Any advice or word on this would be really appreciated!
For those who have done the NSA's computer science internship program or know about it, here are some simple questions I have;
My current accepted internship position has a 5k signing bonus and a $25/hr wage. This is the highest any internship I've seen pay. How does the NSA compare to this?
The cost of living in the surrounding area for my accepted position is also relatively low for any given metro area in the US. How are the costs of living in Fort Meade and Maryland in general? Is it hard to find a good space out there?
Lastly, does the NSA hire interns from the CSIP program?
I'd like to know if anyone has had previous internship experience at the NSA, and would like to know if it's a lot of competition to get into?
hi has anyone heard back for the STEM 2026 Summer Internships/ tech-related dev programs?
Edit: still haven't heard back yet : (
I'm curious if anyone has done any of the summer internships or had a part time job at NSA. I know you probably can't say much about it, but any advice on how to get into that program and whether or not it was worth it would be cool!
Hello!
I was just wondering if anyone in the past who's applied to internships can verify this information but after doing brief research on reddit I saw that hiring managers have till December 1st to determine whose going to the next round of stuff and I was wondering, is this true? Also do a lot of people make it to the next round or are a good portion cut?
Thanks!
I'm going through the process to do the NSA's Cooperative Education Program. I'm a CMPE student and I'm currently part of another internship. If I wasn't the option to work for the NSA would be easier, but with my situation working for the NSA will be a pain in the butt to figure out. And with all the negative press going around about the top employees leaving for better work, I don't know if it's worth it to even worry about. Their background check process is finally coming to and end but it's been very annoying and stupid in my opinion and even that makes me want to end the process all together. The only thing that's keeping me going through the process is the fact that working for the NSA seems like an amazing opportunity. Has anyone here had experience working for the NSA as an intern or co-op? Was it a good experience?
This was posted by a temp account, it could be someone trying to identify NSA interns.
If you work for someone like the NSA, consider not answering questions like this.
Consider that it is only a intern/co-op position.
It is as you said an amazing opportunity to learn a lot, and get security clearance which can probably be used to pursue other opportunities. At the same time, it is a limited timeframe so you are not committed like you would be in a regular position. I had opportunities to intern/work at Sandia and Los Alamos, the fact that I did not is one of my greatest regrets. I would definitely recommend you take the opportunity to see and learn what you can, because the chance doesn't always come around later.
Has anybody received anything back for Cybersecurity or CSIP? I applied both on the website and by email like they said to, but I haven't received a thing back besides a confirmation of my email application.