“In Capital Markets, I work on projects that vary in depth and scope—from assisting in policy work to producing publishable long-term research. What’s truly exciting is that I get to work closely with the economists. So my learning has been varied, in-depth, and profound in the last year.
    For example, I’ve acquired a broad understanding of financial markets through policy-relevant work on pricing mechanisms in mortgage and Treasury markets. I’ve also learned new technical skills, including how to derive, estimate, or calibrate various econometric and financial models, and how to efficiently use programs such as Stata and Matlab for many advanced programming tasks. In addition, and maybe more importantly, I’ve come to understand why my projects represent interesting, cutting-edge research questions to pursue in the first place. The RA position at the New York Fed is an invaluable research experience and without a doubt the best professional preparation a young researcher can hope for.”

“The Financial Intermediation Function has provided a very exciting and rewarding experience. I’ve had the opportunity to work closely with leading economists in examining the increasing structural complexity of bank holding companies, analyzing the role of trust institutions in shadow banking, and developing forecasting models for use in the Fed’s supervisory stress tests. These projects have allowed me to apply my theoretical training in economics and mathematics to critical real-world issues, particularly those pertaining to the financial crisis.
    The Research Group also provides a collegial atmosphere in which RAs are encouraged to collaborate with economists to answer research questions and form regulatory policy. The skills and relationships that I’ve developed along with my exposure to a range of academic and policy topics, set in an environment of intrinsic curiosity and high intellect, have given me an experience that will prove invaluable throughout my career.”

“My two years in the International Research Function have given me the opportunity to collaborate with economists as either a research assistant or coauthor on more than a dozen research projects, in which we studied a number of interesting questions in international finance/macroeconomics and international trade.
    Through hands-on learning, I’ve developed a strong set of research skills, from forming ideas to developing propositions, from building rigorous models to analyzing empirical results, as well an awareness of the ongoing academic and policy debates in the international field. These experiences are invaluable assets in preparing me for graduate studies and an academic research career. I’ve also learned a great deal from working with colleagues who are among the most intelligent and intellectually curious individuals I know, in an environment where there’s a constant drive to advance the frontier of knowledge.”

“Coming out of college, I was almost certain that I knew the career path I wanted to follow. I was convinced that I wanted to pursue a Ph.D., and it seemed almost silly to do anything but go straight back to school. Luckily, instead of jumping into a program I wasn’t ready for, I chose to come learn about the research process at the New York Fed.
    I couldn’t have made a better decision. These last two years have been an incredible opportunity. Working in Macroeconomic and Monetary Studies has exposed me to areas of economics I had never considered working on, given me the opportunity to develop a set of analytical skills that are essential to the research process, and introduced me to a group of economists and RAs from whom I’m constantly learning. Working here has taught me that I knew very little about real research before I came to the Fed, and although I still want to get my Ph.D., at least now I know what I’m getting into. ”

“Working as an RA in the Microeconomic Studies Function has been a transformational experience for me. I’ve had the unique opportunity to study a broad range of economic topics with both the intellectual rigor of academia and the real-world pragmatism of policy formation. We not only get the opportunity to work on policy memos and research papers, but also are involved in the process of transferring ideas between the two.
    The intellectual curiosity here is infectious. Whether through attending seminars, taking classes in the evening, investigating data puzzles, or contributing to policy discussions, we’re encouraged to ask questions and think for ourselves.”

“A great aspect of working in Money and Payments Studies is the high degree of trust and respect that the economists have for us. We’re expected to formulate our own approach to open-ended research questions, which in turn trains us to think independently and really understand the research process.
    The economists study a wealth of interesting research topics, and I’ve been fortunate to be able to help them from both theoretical and empirical viewpoints. I’ve become fluent in several statistical programming languages, and I’ve come to understand the interbank markets that played an important role during the crisis. Finally, the work environment in Research is amazing. Everyone’s incredibly bright and friendly, and it’s a pleasure to work with them.”

“As an RA in the Regional Analysis Function, I work on a variety of research topics with many talented economists. I’m involved not only with projects that focus on the Second District, but also with issues of national, or even international, relevance. Many of these projects have immediate policy relevance as well as long-term research potential. For example, I’ve used loan-level data to quantify the impact of the Obama Administration’s housing initiatives on foreclosure rates, and Current Population Survey data to track how demographics affect unemployment flows over the business cycle.
    I’ve also learned a lot of economics in my time here. On the policy side, I really enjoy being up to date on the economy’s developments. It’s very informative to see how the Fed’s leaders decipher and interpret new data and ongoing trends. On the research side, I’ve been exposed to many new techniques for working with data and seen how a topic moves from question to analysis to final product. ”