At Farm Credit Services of America (FCSAmerica), we see our annual crop of summer interns as an investment in the future of agriculture. Each year, we hire approximately 20 college students who bring a variety of skills to our Association and customer-owners. Many interns aspire to work in agriculture and finance. Others are pursuing careers in human resources, technology, marketing and more. The characteristic that unites them all: An interest in learning how their skills can serve rural America and agribusinesses.
An average of 35,000 college students graduate each year with agricultural-related degree, according to a 2015 study by the USDA and Purdue University. Yet the industry has nearly 60,000 high-skilled job openings each year, with almost half those job opportunities in management and business.
As in the past, FCSAmerica will offer our 2018 interns opportunities to experience the rewards of working with producers as a member of a local lending team. Those assigned to our headquarters in Omaha will work in credit, human resources, application development and technology. All will participate in a group intern project.
We are currently accepting applications for the 12-week, paid internships. Be sure to check on the application deadline for your desired position. Closing dates vary, beginning October 22, 2017, and running through October 31, 2017. Applicants must have completed at least their sophomore year of college by May 2018 and have a minimum GPA of 3.0. Click to learn more about the guidelines and deadlines.
Interested candidates can learn more about the internship from our 2017 interns, many of whom blogged weekly about their experiences at FCSAmerica. A sample of their comments:
- Many of the skills I have learned during this internship aren’t taught in classes and are very valuable to me.
- The entire summer has been one massive learning experience for me. I've been able to take away technical knowledge as well as interpersonal skills that I can apply in my everyday life.
- I'm not sure if one can have a much better internship experience. We were graced with the volunteer opportunities application as our summer project – an experience to build a full product out of nothing. Because this project started as a blank canvas, I was able to touch more technologies than I can count on one hand, and be a part of so many decision-making conversations. In addition, the application is for such a wholesome and valuable cause. I would never change this summer out for any other opportunity. I have been able to discover so much about myself and learn things school would have never taught me. Thank you, Farm Credit Services of America, for investing in me.
- FCSAmerica’s team principles are the most important ideas I have learned in this internship, and one of the first topics we discussed during orientation. The principle I value most is focusing on the problem and not the person. This principle’s value has been demonstrated many times by my team and has allowed us to produce the best product we can while maintaining the self–esteem of our teammates.
Team principles can be applied to every career field and everyday life, using them increases productivity and delivers value to the customer while also building relationships among team members. opportunities every day for each member of a team to demonstrate leadership. Learning about team principles and being encouraged to lead whenever you can greatly impact my life and future career.
- I was told to always ask for more. I've followed that advice by taking on project after project. It will pay off down the road because I know so much more now and have gained valuable experience.
- Excellent customer service is what everyone at FCSAmerica strives for. The key? Care about and understand the customer.
