World Bank, Fed, and Other Pre-PhD Research Jobs

[Adamah]

So I've recently come to accept that there's a very small chance I'll be accepted to a top 10 Econ PhD program this application year. I have a solid academic background (Math/CS major, Econ minor, 3.95 GPA, 800Q GRE) but I have absolutely 0 research experience. It's gonna be tough to get good LORs too. I'm pretty confident I can get into a top 20, maybe even a top 15, but top 10 looks like it will be a stretch. I'm still going to apply this Fall, but I'm starting to look at backups.

One thing I'm considering is doing a 1 or 2 year RA job. A friend of mine is an RA at the Fed and he recommended it. I was wondering if anyone would advise for/against doing this, and any programs in particular.

My other option is to maybe work as an RA for a professor. Would this be a better option, and if so where could I look to find these sorts of jobs?

Aside from just getting LORs, I would really like to get exposure to different fields in economic research. I'm not sure what sub-field of Economics I want to study in grad school yet, and to be honest I don't even know if I want to get a PhD at all. I feel like those are both things I should know before I start grad school, so any program that helps me decide on that would be very helpful.

[bsolow]

While I'm relatively new to TM, I have worked at a Fed and as a professor's RA. My experience at the Fed was extremely positive, and RAs tend to get lots of hands-on research training. My experience working with a professor was less successful, as it tended to be more data assembly rather than doing anything particularly interesting. With that being said, I'm sure it depends on which professor and/or Fed economist you're paired with.

One thing I might suggest is that at a Fed you know going in that you're fairly limited in what you're going to end up working on. It's pretty likely that you're going to do empirical macro of some variety, although each of the regional Feds have some local specialties that vary a little bit. If you don't want to do empirical macro, then you should shop around to see which Feds have people doing something you might be interested in. I would imagine that it might be easier to find a more diverse selection of topics to work on in a reasonably sized econ department.

That being said, I loved working at the Fed. Plus, the resources available at the Fed banks are pretty cool.

[moneyandcredit]

Has anyone worked at a Fed branch, and does anyone know how a school would look upon experience at one of these lesser offices? I ask only because I live in the LA area, which has only a branch. It would be awesome to be able to work there while finishing up my Econ MA.

[Golden Rule]

Originally Posted by moneyandcredit

Has anyone worked at a Fed branch, and does anyone know how a school would look upon experience at one of these lesser offices? I ask only because I live in the LA area, which has only a branch. It would be awesome to be able to work there while finishing up my Econ MA.

I think the usual advice applies -- what matters is whether your works leads to get a letter of reference from someone an ad com finds credible, whether your work leads to a better statement of purpose, whether you made the most of Fed tuition reimbursement and took some courses that make you a better candidate. I don't there's a "prestige" factor between parts of the Fed. So it totally depends on who is at this Fed branch and how good a fit you are with them.

[moneyandcredit]

That's about what I figured; thanks for confirming it.

[untitled]

@Adamah: Lack of research experience isn't fatal. See Ockam (Profiles and Results 2007) in 2007 and Cricketer (Profiles and Results 2009) this year. Talk to your professors about research opportunities. I don't know if the FED or WB would help if your interest (Getting Into a Top 10 School) is in development/international relations/game theory.

However, with your GPA, scores, and math-cs background I would try hard to get into top 10/top 20 programs this year, as waiting is no fun, and your profile is very strong. I have a lot of respect for the people who commented on your profile earlier, and though there was some discouragement, asquare's comments (Getting Into a Top 10 School) did not seem unreasonable.

[nobigdeal]

I work at a Fed. I think it's a great place to get first hand experience with research. And it isn't all macro stuff either. Research departments have a number of micro economists for regional research on labor markets and local industry performance and other local indicators. These days on NPR and in senate testimonies you are likely to hear about recent research by fed economists on housing and other pertinent matters.

Like someone said above, I would check out the profiles of the economists at the feds you are thinking about applying to. Each fed has a website where they have profiles and also working papers for download.

One more thing: if you are thinking about taking more classes to prepare for grad apps, a fed can be especially great. They have generous tuition reimbusement programs and allow RAs to have flexible schedules to take classes during the day at nearby universities.