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Laura Kawano
Hometown:
Kamuela, Hawaii
Class:
2002
Major:
Economics (minor in Mathematics)
Position:
Research Assistant, Federal Reserve Board of Governors (July 2002-July 2005)
Application Process: Applications are due in late January and are available at www.federalreserve.gov. In early March of my senior year, the Board’s recruiter called to schedule a fly-out for interviews. I accepted the position in late-March and began working late July. I held the position for three years.
I assisted and provided support on Federal Reserve Board policy analysis and empirical microeconomic research projects in banking and finance. Responsibilities included constructing data, performing statistical and econometric analysis, editing papers and responding to ad hoc requests. The research was very academic in nature, and resulted in two co-authorships. I learned to program in SAS, Matlab, TSP, and S-Plus and worked in UNIX, Linux, Windows, and mainframe platforms.
Some caveats: There are several types of research assistant positions within the Board. Topics range from monetary policy, international finance, financial markets, micro-banking and macroeconomic forecasting. I selected one that focused on academic research since I was interested in later pursuing a PhD in Economics. There are other positions at the Fed; my experiences were very different than those of people working in production-oriented sections. Typically, positions are held for two years (three years in academic research sections). In general, research assistants go on to grad school in economics or business, law school, or other jobs in the private sector.
Who should apply: This position is directed towards people who are interested in pursuing a PhD in economics. It requires a solid understanding in economic theory; a strong math background is desirable. Prior knowledge of computer programming or the statistical packages is not necessary. While I had learned SPSS working for Mike Tamada, I basically learned most of my programming there. Most research assistants come in without previous computer programming experience. I would recommend that anyone interested in pursuing an Economics PhD consider applying to the Federal Reserve. I think that the exposure that I got to the actual process of conducting research will be extremely useful when I begin my own research.
The best way to prepare for the position while still at Oxy: During my interviews, several economists noted that a desirable feature of my application was the number of math courses that I had taken while at Oxy. Thus, additional math courses (specifically, linear algebra and real analysis) are recommended for anyone interested in a research assistant position at the Federal Reserve or pursuing an economics PhD.
For more information, e-mail Laura at lkawano@umich.edu
November 4, 2005