First - Understand Your Timelines
OVERVIEW
The SkillBridge and Career Skills Program allows you to participate in an internship in the last six months before your end of service, depending on your branch of service.
PREPARE
My experience: I wanted to start my internship on 1 July, but I had to attend the mandatory initial SkillBridge brief and submit my paperwork. It had to go to my command for signature first, just for approval to participate; that took one month. Then, because the internship was beyond a certain length of time, it required the signature of the installation commander, which took another month. My SkillBridge paperwork was signed and returned the day before my SkillBridge was supposed to start. The company I had agreed to intern with had no idea if I was going to get approved, and neither did I. Do not wait to take that initial SkillBridge brief and submit your paperwork. And remember to complete those TAP classes. Had I waited to take my TAP classes, it could have delayed when I could have submitted my internship paperwork, and I could have missed that opportunity completely.
The last thing to mention is that your internship must end on the day before your terminal leave and permissive TDY begins. So, for example, if you have 30 days combined of leave and permissive TDY, instead of starting your SkillBridge internship on July 1st, you would begin it on June 1st. That means you will submit your completed and approved internship paperwork to the SkillBridge office a month early.