What does a daily work schedule look like for budget analysts?

Hi Amanda!

Dividing your question into two parts: (1) life of a budget analyst, and (2) internships/career:

(1) Why did you narrow your subject line to just "budget analysts"? Are you specifically interested in budget analysis, or are you interested in all types of finance analysis?

If you're just interested in budget analysis, I would suggest reading this link:
1) http://oureverydaylife.com/attributes-budget-analyst-28614.html

If you're just interested in general finance analysis, I would suggest reading these links:
1) http://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/0213/a-day-in-the-life-of-a-financial-analyst.aspx
2) http://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/day-in-life-corporate-finance-analyst/
3) Exploring all the areas of finance detailed here: http://www.mergersandinquisitions.com/articles/

(2) On internships and "Career" ...

I think it's awesome your school mandates internship during junior year - one definitely learns a lot from academic classes, classroom situations, and reading research, but the best type of exposure is real life experience (either internships or just honest conversations with people working in the industry).

When I was a sophomore, I thought I had my whole life figured out, I was going to intern in X and Y, and then get a job in Z - but I only liked X,Y, and Z in theory... the actual experiences I got in my first internship made me realize I DEFINITELY did not actually want X, and so then I pivoted to XX, and then interned in XX. After my internship, I thought I liked XX enough to do it full time, so I got a job in XX. But then I realized I didn't actually like the full time work in XX, despite liking the internship, so I got a job in XXX, and now I'm super happy in my third attempt at a company and at an industry. I've friends who are on their fifth or sixth attempts and still not happy, and they keep trying more things to figure out what DOES make them happy :)

I think the point I'm trying to make is: you can't go wrong with picking an internship this summer. Any type of experience is beneficial, and it'll help you narrow down what you want do next (which may not be finance at all!) The important thing is to keep putting yourself out there, and raising your hand and signing up for as many experiences (be they internships or any other types of experiences) as you can, so you can figure out what it is you want out of a career (and out of life!)

Hope that helps!