Research Specialist - Department of Finance

Gies College of Business

The Department of Finance at Gies College of Business at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign is seeking is seeking a Research Specialist to support research on household finance for a period of up to two years. The Research Specialist will work closely with Gies Professor Julia Fonseca and Professor Lu Liu from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. This position is remote, but Research Specialists have the option to be hosted by Wharton. Past candidates have taken advantage of this option and spent most of their time as part of the research community at Wharton, taking courses and attending seminars.

Job responsibilities include conducting empirical analysis; cleaning, visualizing and analyzing data using programs such as Stata/Matlab/Python/R; and conducting background research, writing summaries and research reports. The Research Specialist will support research on projects about housing and mortgage markets, mobility, and labor market decisions using micro-data as well as structural methods.

A successful Research Specialist will work in this position for 1-2 years, possess a strong desire to expand and deepen skills in economic research and quantitative data analysis, and emerge prepared to apply for PhD programs in Economics, Finance and Public Policy. This position is remote, but Research will have the option to be hosted by Wharton and be an active part of the Wharton research community, which can include attending seminars and taking graduate-level classes at Wharton. Professors Fonseca and Liu will provide supervision and mentorship on academic development.

REQUIRED QUALIFICATIONS

• BA/BS in Economics, Finance, Statistics, Mathematics, Computer Science, or a related discipline

• Proficiency in at least one major statistical software such as Stata, R, Python

• Coursework in either statistics, data analysis, or econometrics

• A passionate mindset about economic research and quantitative data analysis, anticipating applying for an economics or finance PhD

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS

• Previous experience as a research assistant or conducting independent research using statistical software such as R or Stata

• Ability to code in Matlab or Python

• Ability to analyze data

• Strong written and verbal communication skills

• Self-directed, intrinsically motivated, and able to work independently to solve problems

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HOW TO APPLY

To submit a complete application, please submit a cover letter explaining your interest in the position, a resume, and an academic transcript.