Daniel Kaplan '10 wrote in 2010:
Econ 154 (Economics of Discrimination seminar) netted me a job at the
US Department of Labor. The specific organization I'll be working for
is the Organization for Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP),
an organization that conducts random audits of companies to see if they
discriminate on the basis of gender, race, etc. I am very excited to
transition from the study of economic discrimination to the
implementation of policies aimed at changing the work environment. Let
your future students know that they can always find jobs in what would
otherwise seem to be a very abstract, specialized field!
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Tony Troy '00 wrote in 2004:
Working as a junior economist at the Bureau of Economic Analysis within
the
U.S. Department of Commerce, I am primarily responsible for estimating
a
major component of gross private domestic investment, which is one of
the
components of the U.S. gross domestic product (GDP). The work involves
preparing
monthly estimates, investigating new sources of data, conducting
research
and analysis, and developing new estimating procedures and methods.
LAN-based
computer systems and statistical programming are used intensively in
carrying
out all of these activities. In general, working on the GDP -- one of
the
best known national economic accounts -- is a challenging but exciting
experience. |
Kevin Lam '00 wrote in 2004:
I am now in Law School at Harvard. Nowadays, an Economics degree
is
one of the most helpful degrees to have for an entering law
student. In my experience, it is the only academic non-legal
subject that every substantive
introductory law class teaches; every class thereafter assumes one has
an
understanding of economics. Furthermore, the field of Law and
Economics
is in a stage of growth, evidenced by top law schools' shoring their
ranks
with professors who have graduate degrees in Economics. Finally,
a
firm understanding of economic theory is invaluable in common post-law
school
careers: Macroeconomics is the language of those who make public policy
in
legislatures, executive offices, etc., and Microeconomics is the
language
of corporate lawyers who are working for large law firms or as in-house
counsel. |
Molly Fifer McIntosh '01 wrote in 2004:
I work for the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC, as a research
assistant
in the Economics Studies program. While the title may not sound that
intriguing,
the work is. I do research for two scholars in two areas of labor
economics:
income inequality and welfare. I do mostly quantitative analysis, ie.
manipulating
data, basic conometrics. This is well balanced by the fact that all of
my
work is motivated by current socioeconomic problems, such as the
increasing
proportion of black children who are raised in poor single-parent
families
or the effect of increases in the national unemployment rate on the
poverty
population. If I had to pick, I would say the best parts about my job
are
that:
1. I get to directly apply the knowledge I gained in undergrad.
2. I work with roughly 20 other research assistants who are also recent
graduates
of other top-tier universities, not to mention bright and fun to be
around.
3. Through Brookings public events, I have the chance to meet and
discuss current issues with interesting and reknown economists and
other social scientists.
If you would like to know more about being a research assistant at
Brookings,
please feel free to ask Prof. Olney for my email address. Best of luck
and GO
BEARS!
(Update: Molly left Brookings after 2 years, earned her Ph.D. in
economics from Princeton, and is now an economist at Center for Naval
Analyses)
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Carolina Krawiec '01 wrote in 2004:
I've been working as a research assistant in the Labor and Social
Policy (LSP)
Center of The Urban Institute in Washington, DC for about four months.
The
Urban Institute is public policy think tank, and in addition to LSP
there
are centers focusing on topics including health policy, education
policy,
and population studies. I've worked on projects dealing with family
structure
and economic outcomes, school-to-work and youth apprenticeship
programs,
evaluating victim services and criminal justice programs for victims of
domestic
abuse, and developing weighting procedures for non-telephone households
in
telephone surveys. My job involves a lot of programming in SAS
and
STATA, but there are also research assistants who do work that's more
quantative
in nature, and as you gain experience, most people get opportunities to
be
involved in writing reports and papers, and presenting them. The level
of
involvement and responsibility research assistants are able to attain
here
is one of the main things that makes Urban stand out as a great first
job.
It's also a great place to go if you are still deciding what you'd like
to
eventually do. Through working with researchers and attending the
many
conferences and events we have access to here in D.C., I've learned
about
many topics economists research, as well as how researchers from other
fields
like public policy and sociology approach similar problems.
Seeing
what other people do with their graduate degrees and work experience is
helping
me evaluate my options.
(Update: Carolina earned her J.D. from Hastings, and is now an
attorney in Southern California)
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Latika Chaudhary ' 00 wrote in 2004:
I am a graduate student in Economics at UCLA and hope to finish my PhD
in
the next three to four years. At the moment I am finishing up my
class
requirements and working as a research assistant on a project that
deals
with accident rates among children and the various welfare and
socio-economics
factors that might be linked to that. Labor Economics and Econometrics
are
my main fields. A graduate program in economics is quite demanding, but
is
also very satisfying if research is the end goal. Most programs
help
students acquire strong quantitive and statistical skills that can be
helpful
in both private sector and academic jobs. If anyone is interested in
going
to grad school in econ, feel free to email me.
(Update: Latika changed her field to economic history, finished
her Ph.D. in economics at UCLA and is now an Assistant Professor of
Economics at Scripps College.)
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Michael Simidjian '01 wrote in 2004:
I work at the corporate headquarters of Mervyn's as a financial analyst
and
internal auditor. None of my work relates to the material I studied as
an
undergrad, but that does not imply that my economics degree provides
little
value. As I have found from my own recruiting experience, an economics
degree
enjoys a great deal of respect because of exposure to issues related to
the
economy and thus business, as well as the analytical thinking that
underlies
economics. My responsibilities include the collection of data and
creation
of reports about inventory and sales and analysis of the company's
sales
from regional, store, divisional, and departmental levels. The work I
do
gives me exposure to the operations of a major retailer and the ability
to
work closely with executives to assess what factors will increase
future sales
and revenue.
(Update: Michael earned his J.D. from Loyola Law School, and is
now a labor & employment law attorney in Southern California)
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John Samia UMass '92 wrote in 2004:
I am an attorney practicing corporate law in Massachusetts. I
found
that my course studies in economics served as a natural transition into
the
study of law. Throughout my four years at UMASS, my economics
professors
consistently challenged me to understand and articulate arguments for
and
against differing economic policies (i.e., Gintis versus Vickers,
supply-siders
versus Keynesian). The study of law is very similar to
economics.
My law school professors prepared examinations in a manner that drew
upon
my understanding of the subject matter through my ability to identify
legal
issues and to articulate various legal arguments that can be made in
favor
of and in defense against such legal issues (or claims). I felt
that
as an economics major, I already had been trained to understand and
articulate
differing viewpoints. I found it natural to transfer such
training
to a law school exam. I also have found it natural to transfer
such
training to a legal career. |
Jay Liao '99 wrote in 2004:
Currently, I work as a Senior Consultant working in the Economics and
Transfer
Pricing group at Ernst & Young. In a nutshell, I help
companies
maximize their after-tax net income by advising them on appropriate
economic
terms for their cross-border (intercompany) transactions. This
task
is often tricky as it sometimes involves placing a value on intangible
assets
for which there are no clear market benchmarks, and being able to
achieve
a result that is acceptable by multiple tax jurisdictions. To be
effective
in doing this work, a solid understanding of accounting (i.e., being
able
to understand a company's financial statements), economics (i.e.,
industrial
organization, basic econometrics) and basic finance (e.g., cost of
capital)
is good to have. I would say that the primary drawbacks of this
job
are the hours can be demanding at times, and that exposure to the
really
interesting stuff is somewhat limited when you first start work.
Overall,
I find it a highly interesting and mentally challenging field. |
Alvin Kuriniawan BA '99, MIMS '01 wrote in 2004:
After my economics graduation, I continued my graduate studies and
earned a Masters degree in Information Management Systems from UC
Berkeley School of Information Management and Systems. With both
Economics and Technical skills, I was able to gain many job interviews
with Silicon Valley companies. I started as an analyst intern at
CommerceOne.Com, followed by working as system analyst at Lucent
Technologies, ResExpress.com, and Lebensart Technologies. An economics
degree provides me not only with analytical skill, but also a broad
knowledge and understanding of market characteristics and behaviors.
Although I was working as a full-time System Engineer, many times I was
presented by my Boss with opportunities to help them with consulting
works in other areas such as; marketing research, data gathering &
analysis, product & consumer behavior, business and strategic
development. Soon enough, being knowledgeable in business areas, I was
quick to gain promotion to a Supervisor position. Technical skill is
essential for Silicon Valey business. However, the higher my job
position gets, the more I actually rely on my economics skills,
especially when making multivariable analysis, future projections, and
most of all, when making critical decisions. In the past, I had
successfully generated fundings from SV Venture Capitalists for our
XML-based GUI software projects, holds managerial position in Market
Analyst, System Engineering, Database Management, Quality Assurance
(QA), and was offered a senior consultant position at
PriceWaterhouseCoopers. But, in 2003, I chose to incorporate my own
manufacturing company (more challenging and more fun!). Economics
classes in Berkeley provide students with valuable assets that will be
very, very useful once you get into the real business world.
My advice: do well in both Econ 100A/101A and 100B/101B, and take at
least one econometric class (Econ 140). While at graduate school, I was
a Graduate Research Assistant and had helped Prof. Glenn Woroch to
create and maintain Econ 100A Website. Most Importantly, Berkeley
students have access to many intelligent, famous, Nobel-winner, and
passionate Economics Professors. Don't miss your once-in-a-lifetime
chance to talk, network, get advice, get to know, and learn from them.
Go Bears!!!
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