Professor Lee Branstetter is seeking applicants for a full-time Pre-Doctoral Research Fellow position in Pittsburgh, PA, starting in late August 2024.

The research fellow will assist with, manage, and develop a variety of research projects focused on the impacts of new educational and transportation technologies on the socioeconomic mobility of low-income students and workers. Professor Branstetter's prior work on the economic and social impact of new technology has published in top journals such as the American Economic Review, the Review of Economics and Statistics, the Quarterly Journal of Economics, Management Science, and the RAND Journal of Economics. The fellows will work closely with Professor Branstetter, collaborators at CMU and other institutions, Ph.D. students, and other research assistants. The research will utilize large-scale datasets including surveys, administrative data on low-income workers and students, measures of student learning and skill formation, GPS data, and other data sources. If interested, the fellow will also have the opportunity to interact with students by advising student research projects and working as a teaching assistant in one or more classes.

Salary will be competitive with other research assistant positions.

Applicants who experience financial hardship, are first generation college students, or who come from an educational, cultural, or geographic background that is under-represented in related doctoral programs and meet the following qualifications are encouraged to apply. Applicants must also have authorization to work in the U.S.

The ideal candidate will have the following qualifications:

* Strong interest in pursuing empirical research in public policy, economics, management, or related fields, ideally with plans to pursue a Ph.D.

* Completed a Bachelors or Masters degree in one of these fields by summer 2024.

* Strong quantitative and computer programming skills, particularly in Stata, Matlab, R, or closely related packages, or the willingness to develop these skills.

* Flexible, self-motivated, able to manage multiple tasks simultaneously, and comfortable in a team environment.

* Strong written and verbal communication skills in English.

* Applicants for this position must be currently legally authorized to work for CMU in the United States. CMU will not sponsor or take over sponsorship of an employment visa for this opportunity.

Preference will be given to applicants who are available to work for two years.

Please submit separate files for each application item requirement through the application page: