15 Finance Internships in California for High School Students
Breaking into finance early can make a meaningful difference for you if you’re in high school and interested in a career in business, investing, or entrepreneurship.
What do finance internships in California for high school students look like?
Finance internships offer hands-on exposure to how money, markets, and organizations actually operate, going far beyond what you’ll learn in classrooms or textbooks. Whether it’s analyzing data, supporting operations, or observing decision-making in real financial environments, internships help you understand how theory translates into practice.
Why pursue finance internships in California for high school students?
Internships also build essential professional skills such as analytical thinking, communication, teamwork, and time management skills that are critical in finance-driven roles. Finance internships introduce you to professional networks and workplace expectations at an early stage, helping you use these for your own ventures.
If you’re also looking for finance bootcamps, go here, or check here for corporate finance internship opportunities for high school students.
With that in mind, here’s a list of 15 finance internships in California for high school students, each offering exposure to finance, business, and entrepreneurial thinking across diverse industries and organizations.
Disclaimer: Some items below are finance and business internships that help you develop the skills for pursuing finance internships in the future.
15 Finance Internships in California for High School Students
1. Bank of America Student Leaders Program
Location: Select cities across California and the United States
Stipend: Paid internship; exact amount varies by location
Program Dates: 8-week summer program, including a one-week national summit
Application Deadline: January 15
Eligibility: High school juniors and seniors who live in an eligible location and are authorized to work in the U.S.
The Bank of America Student Leaders Program is a paid summer internship designed for high school students interested in leadership, community impact, and understanding how large financial institutions engage with local economies. You’ll complete an eight-week internship with a nonprofit organization in your community, gaining hands-on experience in project support, operations, and community-focused initiatives. In addition to the internship, you’ll attend a fully funded national leadership summit in Washington, DC, where you'll learn how nonprofits, government agencies, and businesses, including financial institutions, collaborate to address societal challenges.
2. Young Founders Lab
Location: This program is 100% virtual, with live, interactive workshops
Stipend: This is a paid entrepreneurial work-learn experience
Program Dates: Varies by cohort
Application Deadline: Varies by cohort
Eligibility: Open to high school students in grades 9–12.
The Young Founders Lab is an online entrepreneurship incubator built for high school students who want hands-on experience creating a startup from the ground up. The program walks you through each stage of building a venture, from identifying a real problem to shaping a viable business idea and developing an initial product. You’ll work independently or in teams while learning how to design a business model, create a minimum viable product, and prepare an investor-style pitch. The experience is supported by interactive workshops, case-based learning, group collaboration, panel discussions, and live Q&A sessions with entrepreneurs. You’ll also receive regular feedback through mentor guidance and weekly office hours focused on refining product strategy, design choices, and go-to-market planning.
3. CLA High School Internship Program
Location: Select CLA offices across the United States, including California
Stipend: Paid
Program Dates: June 17 – July 19
Application Deadline: Not specified
Eligibility: High school students ages 16–18 who are authorized to work in the U.S. and can attend in person for the full program duration.
The CLA High School Internship Program is a four-week paid summer experience designed to introduce high school students to careers in accounting, finance, and professional services. During the program, you’ll gain hands-on exposure to real client work while learning how accounting and advisory firms support businesses across industries. Through interactive case studies, team-based projects, and professional shadowing opportunities, you’ll see how auditors, consultants, and wealth advisors approach client engagement. The program also emphasizes workplace readiness, helping you build communication skills, understand professional expectations, and explore potential career paths within finance and professional services. By the end of the experience, you’ll leave with a clearer understanding of how business and financial advisory roles operate in real-world settings.
4. Ladder Internship Program
Location: Remote! You can work from anywhere in the world.
Application deadline: Deadlines vary depending on the cohort
Program dates: Multiple cohorts throughout the year
Eligibility: Students who can work for 10-20 hours/week, for 8-12 weeks. Open to high school students, undergraduates, and gap year students!
Ladder Internships is a selective start-up internship program for ambitious high school students! In the program, you work with a high-growth start-up on an internship. Start-ups that offer internships range across a variety of industries, from tech/deep tech, and AI/ML to health tech, marketing, journalism, consulting, and more. Ladder’s start-ups are high-growth companies on average, raising over a million dollars. Past founders have included YCombinator alums, founders raising over 30 million dollars, or founders who previously worked at Microsoft, Google, and Facebook. In the program, you work closely with your managers and a Ladder Coach on real-world projects and present your work to the company. You are offered one-on-one training in communication, time management, and other such valuable skills, and you will also have the opportunity to attend group training sessions with other interns in your cohort. The virtual internship is usually 8 weeks long.
5. Morgan Stanley JumpStart Scholars in Finance
Location: Virtual
Stipend: Not specified
Program Dates: November start; program runs approximately five months and concludes in April
Application Deadline: Applications typically open in early fall.
Eligibility: High school seniors interested in finance and related career pathways.
Morgan Stanley JumpStart Scholars in Finance is a five-month, virtual learning program with a work learn experience designed to introduce high school seniors to foundational concepts in finance and the financial services industry. Delivered through bi-weekly sessions led by Morgan Stanley employees, the program offers structured exposure to how finance operates within a global firm. The curriculum covers core topics such as an introduction to finance, an overview of Morgan Stanley, entrepreneurship, wealth building and financial literacy, career development, emotional intelligence, and leadership. Through guided instruction and interactive learning sessions, you’ll gain insight into financial concepts alongside professional skills that support long-term career readiness. The program concludes with a capstone competition in April, where you’ll apply what you’ve learned to a case study.
6. KP LAUNCH High School Internship Program
Location: In-person at Kaiser Permanente offices
Stipend: $24 per hour
Program Dates: June 15 – July 31
Application Deadline: January 9
Eligibility: High school students ages 16–19 who live in a Northern California Kaiser Permanente service area.
KP LAUNCH offers high school students early exposure to professional careers within one of the largest healthcare organizations in the United States. You’ll work in non-medical, administrative roles, gaining experience in areas such as accounting, finance, actuarial services, insurance operations, auditing, procurement, and corporate planning. Over seven weeks, you’ll work full-time in office-based roles and participate in weekly professional development workshops focused on workplace skills, communication, and career readiness. You’ll also engage with supervisors and mentors, providing insight into how large organizations manage finances, operations, and long-term strategy.
7. Meta Summer Academy
Location: Bay Area, California
Stipend: Paid
Program Dates: Six weeks, typically starting the third Monday of June
Application Deadline: February 14
Eligibility: High school sophomores who are full-year residents of East Palo Alto, Belle Haven, North Fair Oaks, or Redwood City with a minimum 2.0 GPA.
Meta Summer Academy is a six-week paid career exploration program that introduces high school sophomores to a range of professional skills, including financial literacy, coding, creative media, and workplace readiness. Through structured projects and guided instruction, you’ll build financial literacy skills while exploring how money management concepts relate to different career pathways across business and technology. Throughout the program, you’ll participate in hands-on learning, interactive workshops, and collaborative projects while building essential soft skills such as networking, reflection, and professional communication. The experience also includes exposure to Meta employees and guest speakers, offering insight into real career journeys and how different roles contribute to large organizations.
8. JPMorgan Chase Fellowship Program
Location: Select JPMorgan Chase offices, including Los Angeles, CA, and San Francisco, CA
Stipend: Paid full-time summer fellowship
Program Dates: Five-week summer fellowship
Application Deadline: January 12
Eligibility: Sophomores interested in exploring careers in financial services; students from diverse backgrounds are encouraged to apply.
The JPMorgan Chase Fellowship Program is a five-week, paid summer experience designed to introduce students to careers across financial services and business functions within one of the world’s leading financial institutions. The fellowship offers exposure to areas such as commercial and investment banking, Asset and wealth management, and Commercial & Investment Banking- Commercial & Specialized Industries. Throughout the program, you’ll build foundational professional skills through a structured curriculum focused on teamwork, problem-solving, and financial services education. The experience combines hands-on, project-based work with targeted training sessions aimed at strengthening leadership, technical, and workplace skills. By the end of the fellowship, you’ll gain a clearer understanding of potential career pathways within the financial services industry and how large financial institutions operate across different business lines.
9. SFUSD Summer Internships with Industry Partners
Location: San Francisco, California
Stipend: Paid
Program Dates: Six-week summer internship
Application Deadline: Interest form opens in February
Eligibility: SFUSD high school sophomores and juniors, with priority given to rising seniors.
The SFUSD Summer Internships with Industry Partners program offers paid, hands-on work experiences for San Francisco public high school students interested in exploring real-world career pathways. Through partnerships with local organizations, you’ll gain exposure to professional environments while building skills that support long-term academic and career success. Internships are available across multiple industry sectors, including finance, law, marketing, project management, and public leadership. You’ll work alongside industry mentors, develop workplace and communication skills, and participate in weekly work-based learning seminars led by an SFUSD supervisor or mentor. The program emphasizes career exploration, professional growth, and early exposure to industries you may want to pursue after high school, while offering the benefit of paid work experience in a structured and supportive setting.
10. SF YouthWorks
Location: San Francisco, California
Stipend: $19.18 per hour
Program Dates: Summer and school-year internships (varies by cycle)
Application Deadline: Varies by term; Summer applications typically open in spring
Eligibility: San Francisco residents in grades 11–12 with a valid work permit.
SF YouthWorks is a paid internship and workforce development program that places high school students in San Francisco city departments, offering early exposure to public-sector careers. The program provides opportunities to work within departments that involve budgeting, revenue collection, procurement, and administrative support. You may be placed in the Controller’s Office, Treasurer & Tax Collector, Assessor-Recorder, Purchasing and Contract Administration, or housing and planning departments, where you’ll support day-to-day administrative and operational tasks. Through this experience, you’ll gain insight into how public institutions manage resources, oversee financial processes, and support citywide services.
11. JA Job Shadow Program
Location: Varies by local Junior Achievement chapter
Stipend: Unpaid
Program Dates: Varies by chapter and school schedule
Application Deadline: Varies by local JA area
Eligibility: High school students in grades 9–12.
The JA Job Shadow Program is a structured career exploration experience designed to help high school students understand potential career pathways through real-world workplace exposure. The program focuses on guided job shadowing, informational interviews, and career-planning activities that introduce you to professional environments, including finance, business, and related fields, when paired with industry professionals. Through a design-thinking approach, you’ll begin by identifying your interests, strengths, and values using a career interest assessment. You’ll research potential career options, conduct informational interviews with professionals, and participate in a multi-hour job shadow experience that allows you to observe day-to-day responsibilities in a real workplace setting. The program also includes skill-building activities such as creating an elevator pitch, learning professional communication etiquette, and researching employers.
12. The Intern Project (TIP)
Location: Los Angeles County, California
Stipend: Paid internship
Program Dates: During the summer
Application Deadline: Varies by cycle
Eligibility: High school students from across LA County.
The Intern Project (TIP) places high school students from across Los Angeles County with employer partners for hands-on, real-world work experience. Designed to expand access to professional opportunities, TIP focuses on connecting you with industries where you can build workplace skills, grow confidence, and develop long-term career readiness.
Through structured work placements, you’ll gain exposure to professional environments while learning how organizations operate day-to-day. The program emphasizes real-world learning, mentorship, and relationship-building, helping you develop social capital and self-efficacy alongside practical job skills. While internship roles vary by employer, the experience is especially valuable for those interested in business, operations, and finance-adjacent career paths that benefit from early professional exposure.
13. Investments, Financial Planning & You (IFPY)
Location: University of California, Irvine, California
Cost: $1395
Program Dates: One-week summer program
Application Deadline: Applications open in January
Eligibility: Open to incoming high school freshmen through recently graduated seniors; no prior finance or economics experience required
Investments, Financial Planning & You (IFPY) is a week-long, commuter-based summer program designed for high school students interested in building foundational knowledge in finance, investing, and wealth management. The program combines classroom instruction with hands-on learning through case studies, group projects, online simulations, and presentations led by experienced educators and industry professionals. Throughout the week, you’ll explore topics such as wealth creation, investment vehicles, asset allocation, portfolio construction, and personal finance. A major component of the program is the capstone project, where you develop and present a personal wealth management strategy, applying the concepts learned during the program.
14. Berkeley Business Academy for Youth (B-BAY)
Location: University of California, Berkeley
Stipend: Not offered
Program Dates: Varies by program; Summer programs run over two weeks; Academic Year program runs across two semesters.
Application Deadline: Varies by program and track
Eligibility: Open to high school students and gap year students interested in entrepreneurship and business.
The Berkeley Business Academy for Youth (B-BAY) is a selective business and entrepreneurship program designed for high school students who want hands-on exposure to how real ventures are built, validated, and financially structured. You’ll be introduced to core business concepts while emphasizing practical application through team-based projects and venture development. Across its programs, you’ll work on activities such as customer discovery, business model development, and operational and financial planning. The Academic Year program, in particular, guides you through building and validating financial models for scalable ventures, helping students understand how revenue, costs, and growth decisions shape real businesses. While B-BAY is not a traditional finance internship, it offers a strong project-based alternative for those interested in finance, entrepreneurship, and business strategy, allowing you to gain structured, college-level exposure to financial thinking within a startup context.
15. Financial Planning Academy at Cal State Fullerton
Location: California State University, Fullerton
Stipend: Not offered
Program Dates: July 14 – July 18
Application Deadline: Varies by year; check program website for updates
Eligibility: High school sophomores, juniors, and seniors interested in finance or financial planning.
The Financial Planning Academy at California State University, Fullerton is a five-day, finance-focused summer program designed to introduce high school students to careers in personal financial planning. During the program, you’ll work through case studies and interactive activities that explore topics such as investing, retirement planning, insurance, estate planning, and personal money management. Sessions are led by finance faculty and industry practitioners, and you’ll engage in discussions around real-world financial scenarios, market events, and client-style decision-making challenges. The experience culminates in applied exercises that help you understand how financial planners analyze situations, communicate recommendations, and manage complex financial goals.
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