Research Experience Q!

[SoulSearchingEconomist]

Research experience is an obvious must when applying for a phd, it is the essence of being a graduate student to research and to be constantly searching for the answer (or at least, an answer) to some self-imposed question or situation.

How does one convery research associated with work experience (say, for an economic consulting firm) in an application? The outcome is less structured than when publishing in a journal and often the work-product is sealed under court or DOJ order. Can some explain to me how this works, whether it's counted as 'research experience' in the eyes of an adcom and how to show in on an app?

Thanks

[jbs02002]

I'm in the process of applying, and since i have some other research experience from from college, I'm focusing on trying to convey the practical research skills I've gained in econ consulting. I'd assume you've got some experience working with SAS (or something similar) to manipulate data and do some statistics stuff.

I don't believe work experience really counts as research experience in adcoms' eyes, but I think you can make it clear that you have gained some practical skills that are very applicable to doing research, especially empirical stuff.

[SoulSearchingEconomist]

Thats a good point about SAS/Stata and general practical skills that comes with work/research experience. Good luck wtih the applications, I feel like anyone that is going into a phd program is a brave soul.

[Golden Rule]

Originally Posted by SoulSearchingEconomist

How does one convery research associated with work experience (say, for an economic consulting firm) in an application?

I'd say if you've worked for a PhD Economist at your firm, and they can attest to your research abilities, then an LOR would be somewhat helpful. If not, I don't think there's a whole lot you can do other than mention briefly in your SOP how your work experience influenced your research abilities.