Internships With the Council of Economic Advisers
The President's Council of Economic Advisers is exactly what you'd expect it to be, a group of economists who advise the President on economic matters and drive the policy that the President pursues. The current Chairman is Edward Lazear (he wrote one of the more interesting economics textbooks that I encountered in college), and former Chairs include Ben Bernanke (current Chairman of the Fed) and N. Gregory Mankiw (a Harvard professor and one of my favorite bloggers). You can see that the council is a collection of the finest minds in economics; hence, an internship with the CEA is just what any budding economist needs to get started. Whether you're looking to go into finance, government, or academia, there are few better opportunities.
Interns with the Council of Economic Advisers typically assist the CEA staff in researching a wide range of macroeconomic, microeconomic, and international issues; provide assistance in making charts and analyzing data; and take on administrative duties to support the work of the Council. The description makes it sound like interning at the CEA might include some of the less desirable tasks associated with an internship such as making copies, filing folders, and getting coffee. That's what "administrative duties" means to us. To put it in economic terms, it's a tradeoff. You might be bored some days, but you'll get to work with great economic minds, network with important people, and have a prestigious name to put on your resume.
Internships are offered at the CEA in Spring, Summer, and Fall. If you'd like to intern this summer, you need to get your application together by March 31st. Those looking for a fall internship have until May 31st to apply. Applicants are expected to send a resume, transcript, and cover letter to rrogers@cea.eop.gov. The CEA only accepts interns who are full time college students, U.S. citizens, and at least 18 years old. Lastly, we noticed that even the White House website gets it confused about whether it's the Council of Economic Advisers or Advisors. Advisers seems more prevalent, but you may want to try both if you're doing Google searches for your research.
Article by Willy Franzen and courtesy of One Day, One Internship | A blog about internships for college students.
Leave a comment