Careers in the Research Division

Under the leadership of Research Director Christopher J. Waller, the Division's research economists expand the frontier of economic knowledge by producing high-quality original research in the areas of macroeconomics, money and banking, and applied microeconomics. They contribute to monetary policy discussions by advising Bank president James Bullard on a range of topics, especially in preparation for Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) meetings.

Learn more about opportunities for

Working in the Research Division

Economists in the Research Division have a primary responsibility to conduct research. Our economists publish in numerous refereed journals and present at conferences all over the world. Economists develop their own research topics; then, in a collegial environment, they are challenged to move their ideas even further. All the necessary supports are in place to allow them to focus on what they do best—research.



Through the presentation of their ideas, interaction with peers, or exchanges with seasoned scholars, the professional development of our staff economists is necessary and ongoing. Further, our mission clearly states we are to "expand the frontier of economic knowledge around the globe." To those ends, our economists travel throughout the United States and the world.

Economists in the Research Division are supported by professionals with expertise in a wide variety of services. Our Research Automation Group, dedicated to meeting the IT needs of the Research Division manages the hardware and software. The librarians in our Homer Jones Memorial Library facilitate access to numerous economic and business databases, data services, subscriptions to major news publications, and our specialized research collection. Our Publications team of staff editors is available to assist all of our economists in improving their papers, book reviews, letters, conference presentations, and more.



Beyond the Fed, St. Louis's local universities will help you maintain valuable ties with academia. The St. Louis Fed partners with Saint Louis University, Washington University in St. Louis, and the University of Missouri—St. Louis (as well as regional universities and organizations) to present seminars and organize conferences. Research Division economists collaborate with local faculty on research projects and also serve as visiting professors at these universities from time to time.



St. Louis offers a wide variety of social, cultural, and recreational amenities. Learn more about our home city in this 2019 New York Times article.

Job Opportunities

Junior Research Economists

The Research Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis is seeking junior research economists (those with less than 5 years of post-PhD experience). The primary responsibilities include publishing in leading professional journals, maintaining an active research agenda, and providing analysis on monetary and other policy issues.



A Ph.D. in Economics is required by the end of 2020. Candidates must demonstrate a potential for outstanding scholarly achievement. Applications must be submitted online at https://econjobmarket.org. All applicants should submit their curriculum vitae and samples of research and should also arrange for three letters of recommendation to be submitted online. We will begin reviewing applicants immediately and continuously until the positions are filled.

Senior Research Economists

The Research Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis is seeking experienced research economists. The primary responsibilities include publishing in leading professional journals, maintaining an active research agenda, and providing advice on monetary and other policy issues.



A Ph.D. in Economics is required. Candidates must have an outstanding record of scholarly achievement and at least 5 years of post-Ph.D. experience. All applicants should send their curriculum vitae and samples of research to Senior.Recruiting@stls.frb.org. We will begin reviewing applicants immediately and continuously until the positions are filled.

Ph.D. Dissertation Interns

The Research Division of the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis offers dissertation internships to Ph.D. students in economics. The internship targets students with strong research interest. The purpose of the internship program is to increase the students’ experience and exposure to scholarly research.

Students are expected to make progress on their dissertation while at the Bank and are expected to make one formal presentation during their stay at the Dissertation Interns’ Workshop. The students will interact with the research economists at the Bank as well as visiting Washington University faculty, various other visiting scholars, and other dissertation interns.

Students are expected to be in residence for 3 to 5 weeks.

The internships carry a stipend that should cover most of the student's living expenses for their time in St. Louis; but the interns will directly pay their own living expenses.

Qualifications/Skills

Applications are open to Ph.D. students from all Ph.D.-granting colleges and universities.

Applicants must have passed their qualifying examinations and must be at the dissertation stage of their program.

Students that expect to finish their Ph.D. in 20xx are preferred.

To apply, applicants must complete both of the following steps:

1) Complete the online application for the dissertation intern position at https://www.stlouisfed.org/careers/yourcareer/search-jobs

To this application, the following documents must be uploaded in PDF or Word format:

Cover letter

Curriculum Vitae

Dissertation Proposal

2) A letter from the principal academic advisor commenting on the applicant's potential for producing a high-quality dissertation, the importance of the topic to the profession, and the progress that has been made to date must be emailed to Dissertation.Intern.Recruiting@stls.frb.org

We have completed our recruiting process for positions in 2020. Recruiting for positions starting in 2021 will begin in January 2021.



Research associates (RAs) at the St. Louis Fed are full-time professionals with degrees in economics who work with the Division’s economists on producing and communicating economic research. The St. Louis Fed hires several Research Associates each year. Learn about our current RAs here.

We are not accepting applications for RAs at this time. We will begin accepting applications for Spring/Summer 2020 start dates in August 2019. We will hold interviews in October and November, and extend offers on a rolling basis. To learn more about the position and apply visit https://research.stlouisfed.org/RAjobs

Research associates (RAs) at the St. Louis Fed are full-time professionals with degrees in economics who work with the Division’s economists on producing and communicating economic research. The St. Louis Fed hires several Research Associates each year. Learn about our current RAs here. We are currently accepting applications for Spring/Summer 2021 dates and will hold interviews in March and April, and extend offers on a rolling basis. Visit research.stlouisfed.org/RAjobs/ for a detailed overview of the RA position.

How To Apply

Interested applicants must submit the documents requested below using this link: https://econjobmarket.org/positions/6576

• Cover letter

• Resume

• Copy of unofficial transcripts from all colleges and universities attended

• Writing sample

• Completed applicant summary file RA_Applicant_Summary_File.docx





Applications will not be considered without all of these materials.

For questions or concerns, please contact: ra.recruiting@stls.frb.org.

Research Interns

The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis has a Summer Internship Program that allows you the opportunity to learn about economics in the United States through the perspective of the Federal Reserve System. Internships are available in multiple areas within the Research Division: Economic Education; Research Analysts; Historical Online Collection/FRASER and Library; and FRED.

We are currently accepting applications for Summer 2021 positions.







To apply:

Complete the online application for the Research Intern position at Careers St Louis Fed

In addition to this application, the following documents must be uploaded in PDF or Word format and e-mailed to: research.internship@stls.frb.org Please use the following as the subject line, Summer 2021 Research Intern: Last Name, First Name

Cover Letter

Resume

Unofficial Transcript

Brief Writing Sample

Completed Summary File. Available for download here.

For questions or concerns, contact: research.internship@stls.frb.org





The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis has a summer internship program that allows you the opportunity to learn about economics in the United States through the perspective of the Federal Reserve System. We begin accepting applications for the following summer in September, hold interviews in October and November, and extend offers on a rolling basis. About the program The program consists of: Direct exposure to bank operations

Valuable work experience in public service

Developmental workshops

Q&A sessions with senior leaders

Departmental information and networking sessions

Mentoring program

Structured capstone experience There are opportunities for undergraduate students who possess strong interpersonal, analytical, communication, and organizational skills with a solid work ethic and strong motivation to learn. Available positions Internships are available in multiple areas within the Research Division. ECONOMIC EDUCATION Review online learning modules for ease of use and relevance to audience.

Work with video closed captioning and website tagging processes.

Work with staff to produce economic education content.

Assist staff with summer programs and email outreach for educators.

Support various website development initiatives.

Click here for more information about this group. PUBLICATIONS Expand categorization scheme for our published content: Identify common themes and propose logical connections between our published work and related (FRED) data series and other Research content.

Tag published economic content to aid content management.

Craft summaries of our published work, including possible mini-abstracts for the newsletter and compilations of various content that analyze common topics/themes.

Give feedback on online content related to ease of use, ease of reading, and relevance to audience.

Support some steps in the pre-press editorial/production process, especially proofreading.

Click here for more information about this group. RESEARCH Research data sources and methodologies of macroeconomic data series.

Compile anecdotal information from business contacts in the 8th district.

Create charts and tables of economic indicators.

Conduct statistical and econometric data analysis in programs such as STATA, Matlab, and R.

Write summary reports on methodology and results.

Click here for more information about this group. HISTORICAL ONLINE COLLECTION Process a digitization project, including scanning, image editing, and metadata creation.

Complete an internal project to add to FRASER’s efficient and effective operations. Potential projects include:

Investigate FRASER collection for images to use for visual marketing.

Evaluate and make suggestions to FRASER’s existing education page.

Identify historical legislation relating to the Federal Reserve, banking, and economics to be added to FRASER.

Create a timeline of resources for a topic relevant to FRASER materials.

Write short articles for Inside FRASER and FRED Blog highlighting FRASER content.

Click here for more information about this group. FRED Develop Python scripts to automate the FRED data and metadata updates.

Evaluate existing series against the source website documentation for further metadata clarification.

Document metadata changes and process.

Learn agile development best practices.

Click here for more information about this group. INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT Work with Scrum master in our agile environment.

Attend sprint planning sessions.

Attend SCRUMs, assist in removing impediments for team.

Facilitate backlog grooming sessions.

Assist in automation of various processes.

Work with SharePoint and Nintex workflow.

Support various website development initiatives. Qualifications Must have a 3.5+ overall GPA

Rising college junior or senior

Candidate for Bachelor’s degree in Economics, Business (finance or information systems emphasis), or related field.

Candidates with a demonstrated interest and strong proficiency in (a) English/journalism/creative writing, (b) computer science, or (c) math/statistics are strongly preferred.

All positions require excellent Excel, Word, and Adobe Acrobat skills. Other software requirements are noted within the descriptions above.

Interest in monetary policy, macroeconomics, and macroeconomic and banking data is a must. How to Apply Interested applicants must email all of the following documents to research.internship@stls.frb.org cover letter

unofficial transcript

resume

brief writing sample

completed summary file: Intern_Applicant_Summary_File.docx Please use the following as the subject line: Summer 2018 Research Intern: Last Name, First Name For questions or concerns, contact research.internship@stls.frb.org

The Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis is an Equal Opportunity Employer.