Career

Join Putney Student Travel for summer career exploration, and pursue your passion around the globe, working alongside practicing professionals who have turned their passions into a career. With a group of like-minded peers, learn what it takes to be successful and gain insight into the perks and challenges of a particular career path. Explore your interests in a global context and find inspiration for your future.

Explore Career Pathways in a Relevant Location

Travel abroad to where your interests come alive. Work alongside chefs and culinary experts in Italy, where food culture is central to national identity. Push your boundaries as a creative writer in Ireland, a UNESCO City of Literature and inspiration for many of the literary greats. Dig into the business of sports in Barcelona, home to the F.C. Barcelona soccer club and the largest stadium in Europe. Explore the techniques and craft of photography through hands-on lessons taught by talented instructors in Yellowstone National Park.

Learn Through Hands-On Experiences and Be Inspired

Take your career aspirations beyond what you learned in the high school classroom, and shadow professionals—from writers to biologists to coaches to wildlife experts—to gain insight into their daily lives and the skills needed to succeed in their fields:

• Meet with engineers in Sweden who designed Volvo’s first self-driving cars
• Expand and refine your literary skills as you write your way through Dublin
• Visit CERN, home of the Large Hadron Collider particle accelerator
• Engage with public health and development issues in Peruvian communities
• Meet Italian chefs and restaurateurs, and prepare a feast for your new Italian friends
• Volunteer at the Belize Zoo and work alongside the staff
• Photograph towering waterfalls, spouting geysers, and bubbling mud pots
• Witness geologic wonders and effects of climate with Icelandic scientists
• Help identify and examine species with marine biologists in Baja

Draw inspiration from the people you meet on a Putney Career program—hear about the myriad paths they took to where they are today, and return home ready to blaze your own.

Career Options to Explore

• Sports Management
• The Auto Industry
• Science & Technology
• Writing
• Public Health
• Farming, Food Production, and Cuisine
• Wildlife and Environmental Conservation
• Climate Science
• Photography
• Marine & Tropical Biology

Learn More Through an Independent Project

A career-focused summer program with Putney Student Travel helps refine potential career pathways through an independent project that enables students to delve deeper into a particular topic that interests them.

Examples of Independent Projects

• Design a sports marketing campaign
• Become an expert on the state of autonomous cars, or design a mockup of your own vehicle
• Apprentice with a gelato maker in Italy, or create a food criticism blog
• Explore the ethical implications of artificial intelligence research
• Create a sketchbook featuring Peru’s traditional medicinal plants and their uses
• Curate a gallery of your original photography and invite local friends to attend

Putney Career Program Leaders

Our highly credentialed and accomplished leaders hold degrees that have prepared them to guide our Career programs, including Creative Writing, English Literature, Business, Public Health, Environmental Science, Robotics, Marine Biology, and other relevant areas of study. Our leaders reside in the group’s housing accommodations with the students, and a low leader-to-student ratio allows for individual attention and an optimal travel experience. All of our leaders are seasoned international travelers, poised to help you glean the most from your career-focused summer travel.

Career Barcelona   Business of Sports

Travel to Barcelona this summer and gain insights into the business of sport and the modern media landscape. Work with seasoned professionals and learn about career paths and professional opportunities in this exciting field. Take daily classes in sports management and sports business, step onto the pitch at FC Barcelona’s Camp Nou stadium, attend professional sports matches, and delve into the worlds of sponsorship and brand management.

July 8, 2023  –  July 22, 2023

Grades: 9–12

20-24 students, 3 leaders

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Career Belize   Wildlife Conservation

Travel to Belize this summer and learn how the country’s wildlife conservation efforts have become a model for the rest of the world. Shadow professionals and explore a potential career path in zoology and marine biology. Interact with veterinarians at The Belize Zoo, talk to conservationists at animal sanctuaries, and study marine life alongside scientists as you explore Belize’s barrier reef.

June 25, 2023  –  July 12, 2023

July 22, 2023  –  Aug 8, 2023

Grades: 9–12

14-16 students, 2 leaders

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Career Germany & Sweden   Future of Cars

Travel to Germany and Sweden this summer and dive into the history of the automobile industry in these two influential countries, and witness how tech and automotive companies are propelling us into the future. Learn about automation and design with visits to BMW and Volvo factory headquarters. Explore careers relating to engineering, automotive design, and urban planning as you meet and learn from professionals in this exciting field.

June 21, 2023  –  July 8, 2023

Grades: 9–12

14-18 students, 2 leaders

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Career Ireland   Writing

Explore the Emerald Isle during your student travel in Ireland as you expand and refine your writing skills with a select group of passionate, like-minded peers. Under the guidance of published and acclaimed writers, write in historic taverns, medieval ruins, and overlooking the low-lying beaches of the mythical Irish Sea. Participate in Ireland’s lively storytelling tradition at readings, concerts, plays, city parks, and village taverns.

July 7, 2023  –  July 19, 2023

Grades: 9–12

25-32 students, 3-5 leaders

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Career Italy   Farm to Table

From the farms, fields, and olive groves to the dinner table, food traditions are the beautiful beating heart of Italian identity. During this student travel program in Italy, get a firsthand look at how inspiring individuals have built careers out of a passion for food. Together with fellow food lovers, immerse yourself in Italian life and the country’s storied food culture. Expand your understanding of sustainable food systems as you sow, harvest, cook, and savor your way through Italy.

June 24, 2023  –  July 8, 2023

July 9, 2023  –  July 23, 2023

Grades: 9–12

14-16 students, 2 leaders

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Career Peru   Public Health

Travel to the Sacred Valley of the Peruvian Andes and explore how traditional and modern approaches are incorporated into medicine and public health. Meet with NGOs and government leaders to learn about the roles that government and international health groups play in providing rural community-based health care. Join health practitioners in the field, connect with local people in the communities you visit, and experience the dynamic intersections of history, tradition, and contemporary culture from Lima to Cusco to the iconic ruins of Machu Picchu.

July 11, 2023  –  July 31, 2023

Grades: 9–12

14-16 students, 2 leaders

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Career Switzerland   Science Innovation

Immerse yourself in diverse and cutting-edge scientific research this summer in three distinct regions of Switzerland, a country renowned for its cultural offerings, dramatic landscapes, and leading laboratories. On this high school travel program, meet with researchers in physics, biotechnology, astronomy, and climate science. See firsthand how their work is addressing some of the world’s most pressing challenges, expand your understanding of scientific advances, and explore possible career paths in science and technology.

July 1, 2023  –  July 14, 2023

July 15, 2023  –  July 28, 2023

Grades: 9–12

14-16 students, 2 leaders

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