Pre-doctoral Researcher – Technical Associate (Lawrence Schmidt, Taha Choukhmane)

Description

Professors Lawrence Schmidt and Taha Choukhmane are looking for one or more highly skilled and motivated individuals to work as our full-time research assistant for a period of at least one year, ideally two. The appointment will start ideally in June or July 2023, though we are open to later start dates as well. The job will entail close collaboration at all stages of the research process on new and ongoing empirical projects which utilize large, rich microeconomic datasets to address questions in the fields of asset pricing, household and consumer finance, behavioral economics, macroeconomics, and micro-econometrics.

This position offers the opportunity to gain exposure to and training in a broad set of economic research topics and statistical methodologies before pursuing a PhD in economics or finance. The chosen candidate will also gain valuable experience analyzing large and unique datasets (including restricted-use government administrative records on individual incomes and firm operating activity, textual analysis of patents, and proprietary company data), and working with programs such as Stata, R, Python, and GIS. The chosen candidate will also make connections with faculty at several other institutions involved in the research projects, and will have the opportunity to take courses and attend seminars at MIT.

Qualifications

The ideal candidate should have (i) completed a 4-year undergraduate degree and/or Master’s degree in Economics or related fields (for instance, the position may be of interest to those with a background in Statistics, Computer Science, or Engineering) from a top ranked college or university; (ii) have a very strong quantitative background; (iii) have exceptional programming skills and experience, especially in Stata, R, or Python (experience with a low level language such as C or Fortran is also a plus but not a requirement for the position); (iv) be able to work independently to solve problems. The position is ideal for students who are planning to pursue a PhD or advanced Master’s program in Economics, Finance or a related field. Visa sponsoring will not be available for this position. Candidates should have authorization to work in the US for the duration of the appointment. Please also indicate in your cover letter whether or not, as of June 30, 2023, you will have been a resident in the US for at least 3 years (this is a requirement for working with Census restricted-use data).

Application Instructions

If you are interested, please provide the following documents:

• A one page cover letter briefly describing your academic career and future study goals.
• A CV
• A transcript
• A writing sample. This could be any research paper or term paper that you think best reflects your abilities
• A sample of code(s) which you have written, along with a summary of the outputs it generates (logs/graphs) in a single document

We will be accepting and reviewing applications on a rolling basis until the position is filled.

Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Massachusetts Institute of Technology is an equal employment opportunity employer. All qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment and will not be discriminated against on the basis of race, color, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, disability, age, genetic information, veteran status, ancestry, or national or ethnic origin. MIT’s full policy on Nondiscrimination can be found here.

Background Check Policy
Employment is contingent upon the completion of a satisfactory background check, including possible verification of any findings of misconduct (or pending investigations) from prior employers.