The Careers in the Common Good Pathway provides programs, resources, and group and one-on-one advising for students considering internships, job, and careers in Climate and the Environment, Government (Federal, State, and Local), Education (K-12), Fundraising and Foundations, Labor and Grassroots Organizing, Community Development, Human Rights & International Development, Public Policy and Advocacy and Non-profit and Impact Consulting
Center for Career Exploration
Careers in the Common Good
Each year, about 15% of Brown graduates immediately begin full-time positions in government agencies, nonprofits and community-based organizations, as well as social ventures and for-profit positions focused on social impact.
Careers in the Common Good
Each year, about 15% of Brown graduates immediately begin full-time positions in government agencies, nonprofits and community-based organizations, as well as social ventures and for-profit positions focused on social impact.
Visit the Career Exploration Library
An amazing online resource for CCG internship, job, and fellowship opportunities, industry insights, campus connections, networks, and other resources.
Key Things to Know about Employers in Careers in the Common Good
The vast majority of employers who hire for positions in the common good have a few things in common:
- They don't send recruiters to college campuses. Many civic, nonprofit, government, and social impact organizations don’t participate in career fairs or other campus visits. Big-name national employers in education and policy work, such as Teach for America and the U.S. State Department, are notable exceptions.
- They hire students in the late spring or after graduation. The vast majority of Brown students who accept first jobs in nonprofit or government work are hired in the spring or in the summer following graduation.
- They offer unpaid or low-paid internship opportunities. Because many service organizations don’t have large budgets for internships, students may want to seek funding elsewhere, such as through Brown’s SPRINT program
Chart your Path and Develop a Strategy
Because of the unique nature of jobs working in social impact or government, you will need a different job and internship search strategy than students pursuing careers in other industries that have employers recruiting on campus.
Partner with the Brown Center for Career Exploration:
- Schedule a meeting with a Career Counselor: They are experts at helping you make a plan and get started. Read more about Career Counselors and how they can help and make an appointment
- Attend Peer Career Advisor or Grad Student Fellow Open Hours: Receive help from your peers with application materials and navigating the Career Center’s resources.
- Handshake: Find Careers in the Common Good workshops, open hours with the Assistant Dean of the College for Careers in the Common Good, or opportunities for internships and jobs.
- BrownConnect+: Use this tool to engage with Brown alumni working to have a positive social impact in the nonprofit, government and for-profit sectors, through conversations, coaching and mentoring.
- Explore Brown’s Signature Internship opportunities: including the iProv Summer Fellowship, Careers in the Common Good Winternships, and Careers in the Common Good Summer in New York City.
Get updates on employers, programs, and workshops
Interested in exploring Careers in the Common Good, or any other Professional Pathways programs? Log in to Handshake, Brown’s main jobs board, and click your initials in the upper right corner. Select the Common Good and other industries and job or job functions that you’re interested in under “My Career Interests” to receive relevant information throughout the year regarding events, information and resources.
Additional resources
Search by concentration or field and industry to see what recent graduates chose as their first experience after Brown.
Get information and insights about a variety of career fields and industries with free access to Vault Guides.
Connect with Brown alumni and search for internship opportunities — many reserved exclusively for Brown students.
Access funding to support unpaid and low-paid internships, research and curricular development opportunities and domestic and international internship programs in select fields.
An amazing online resource for CCG internship, job, and fellowship opportunities, industry insights, campus connections, networks, and other resources.