<p>Hello, I am a student at the University of Michigan, currently a sophomore. I am very interested in Macroeconomics and have a great interest in one day working for the Federal Reserve. Looking at the positions, and the salaries, I would assume that getting a job would be extremely difficult to even get an interview with them. Is this an accurate assumption? Should I not get my hopes up for such a job? And finally what are things that government financial positions look for? Answers, advice, and experiences would greatly be appreciated.</p>
<p>Any government position is hard to obtain, especially federal. With many federal government jobs it's not what you know, but who you know. They are given to family members and friends (even though it is ILLEGAL). It can take a year just to do the background check. But if and once you get in there...you are pretty much set for life. I applied to the CIA and NSA for summer IT internships and will be applying to others. Do you plan on getting a PhD?</p>
<p>blamar01,</p>
<p>getting a job with the fed is competitive but definitely not impossible. you already have an advantage over a large majority because the university you attend is prestigious. determine the sub-categories of macroeconomics that are of interest, and see if they align with any of the professor's research -this can be done through the econ. website. contact professor to see if they would be interested in having a research assistant, if they say no, request a suggestion for one who may. conducting research during your undergrad underlines the passion, desire, and work ethic that grad. schools or federal reserve would desire. (there is hardly any distinction between an economics professor and a federal reserve scholar) knowing your professors first hand is also pivotal -they are likely to have connections throughout the academic community or even in the federal reserve. an assistant researcher, which is a short term 1-2 position at the fed, is available after undergrad -to do the serious research, a ph.d is required. however, if you can get the assistant position, it is not a matter of whether you can get into graduate school, but from which top 10 institution do you want to go.</p>