Which internship would be the better one to go for in my first summer of my 3-year MA program starting next fall: Central Intelligence Agency (Economic Analysis) or Council of Economic Advisers (summer only internship)? Both have strong future implications for me, the CIA I'd like to work for a few years between finishing my PhD and starting an academic position, and the CEA I'd love to work as a Senior Economist during my academic career for 1-2 years. I actually am now seeing the CIA as a much more competitive position, it requires a writing sample and more than a few skills, while the CEA just requires experience in Stata and good grades. The CIA summer internship is paid fairly competitively while the CEA internship is unpaid. I'm interested in health & development policy analysis as one of my research areas... are there any accepted guidelines out there or does anyone have any advice as to which I could lean towards?