How to Mentally Prepare for the Job Market

So, you're thinking of becoming a full-time, professional economist. No matter where you want to be an economist (tech company, university, government) you almost certainly need to prepare to brave the economics job market. There are many guides on how to successfully navigate the logistics of the job market-- timeline, how to interview, what to wear, what exactly is JOE--but how do you get through it with your mental health intact? That's where our guide might be helpful.

We are Chase Eck, Kelli Marquardt, and Dana Shaat. We were on the 2020-2021 first-fully-remote-pandemic-job market. Even though our job market was entirely virtual, we learned many lessons (and read many online guides) that we wanted to share in case they are helpful to you.

Chase Eck

Hey! I am a health economist at the Baylor College of Medicine/the VA in Houston. I graduated with my Ph.D. in Economics from the University of Arizona in May 2021.

Kelli Marquardt

Kelli here! I am a (health) Economist at the Chicago Fed. I graduated from the University of Arizona in May 2021 with a Ph.D. in Economics.

Dana Shaat

Hi! I'm Dana, I am an economics researcher at the American Institute for Research in Chicago. I received my Ph.D. in Economics in May 2021 from the University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign.

Disclaimer: The views expressed in this guide are our own and do not represent the views of our current employers or graduate school institutions.

If you have any suggestions, comments, or specific tips you would like to share, we'd love to include them! You can fill out this form, or email us at jmpguide21@gmail.com