Job Title: Research Professional – Political Economics Initiative (Full-Time, Benefits Eligible)
Location: Chicago, IL – Hyde Park Campus, Saieh Hall
Expected Start Date: July 1, 2025
For questions about this position, please email [email protected]
Job Summary:
The Becker Friedman Institute for Economics (BFI) is seeking to hire a full-time Research Professional to work with Professor Leonardo Bursztyn as part of BFI’s Political Economics Initiative and BFI’s Predoctoral Research in Economics Program (PREP). Successful applicants will collaborate on new and ongoing research.
Applicants must have completed a Bachelor's degree by June 2025 and have strong quantitative and programming skills. Candidates with research experience are strongly preferred, especially those with experience in Stata, R, Python or Matlab. The ideal candidate would begin on July 1, 2025 and work for BFI for one to two years before applying to graduate school in Economics or another quantitative social science. BFI offers competitive salary and employee benefits.
Unit-specific Responsibilities:
Write programs in Stata or R to analyze large datasets
Help design, launch, and analyze field experiments and online experiments.
Construct maps, figures, and tables for economics papers
Identify new data sources
Editing tasks
Other duties as assigned.
Unit-preferred Competencies:
Desired (but not required) skills include advanced familiarity with numerical optimization and package development in R and/or Python, and the ability to use Stata to manage and analyze large datasets. Although previous experience with any specific language is not essential, familiarity with at least one scripting language is encouraged.
Ability to work independently and manage multiple projects simultaneously
Excellent organizational skills
Attention to detail
Strong academic writing/communication skills
Preferred Qualifications:
Education
Bachelor's degree in economics, computer sciences, engineering, or related STEM fields is highly desirable.
Experience
Relevant research experience as a research assistant.
Technical Knowledge/Skills
Knowledge of Matlab, Stata, R and/or Python required.
Required Documents:
Resume/CV
Writing sample
Transcripts (unofficial is ok)
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