Chasing Economic Horizons: A Journey from Classroom to the Federal Reserve
James Hamlette has always been fascinated by the intricate workings of economics and dreamed one day of contributing to shaping economic policies that could positively impact many people. So, it was a natural step for him to pursue both undergraduate and graduate degrees in economics.
- published: 2023/08/23
James Hamlette has always been fascinated by the intricate workings of economics and dreamed one day of contributing to shaping economic policies that could positively impact many people. So, it was a natural step for him to pursue both undergraduate and graduate degrees in economics. “After graduating with my bachelor's degree I knew I wanted to pursue my graduate degree in economics and so I chose UNO CBA. The flexibility and versatility of options made it an obvious choice for me,” Hamlette said.
Students in the Master of Economics degree program have the ability to take part in an internship, and when an opportunity arose for him to intern at the Federal Reserve, he knew it was the chance of a lifetime. “When I saw the internship at the Federal Reserve, I knew I had to apply,” James Hamlette said. The graduate student, working on his Master of Economics degree says he ‘cold applied’ for it, without any prompting or prodding from his professors.
“The way economics pushes you to think about the world is different than how other fields ask you to think about the world. The questions that are asked in economics are things like, ‘How do we as a nation solve a massive problem like poverty?’ There are just so many options when you pursue a master's degree in economics,” he said.
There are just so many options when you pursue a master's degree in economics,” he said.
Hamlette spent his summer doing research for economists who work at the Fed, with the goal of helping them in their projects. “My internship is assisting in policy chart making for economists to help inform in terms of employment gains to communicate with other economists. I analyzed data and presented to the team things that I found insightful about the Nebraska economy and region. We started to see the effects of Covid, what jobs were growing, salaries, etc. Post-Covid we saw that only certain categories have seen salary growth and it was dominated by low earners,” he said.
He is also a graduate assistant for the Economics Department where he assists faculty members with their research. In doing so, Hamlette has been able to be a part of many different projects stemming from a wide range of subjects in economics. This role enabled him to bring some research experience to the Fed over the summer. Hamlette is also involved in other organizations outside of the classroom. He is the incoming President of Students for Microenterprise Development. The purpose of the club is to promote the development of microenterprises around the world. Since 2017, SMD has been helping four groups of ethnic minority women in Cao Bang, Viet Nam, grow their microenterprise. Each year, they hold several sales events on campus to sell handcrafted items made by the women using traditional methods. All sales proceeds go back to the women in the form of working capital to grow their business. This helps provide for the women's children's education and other family needs. Supporting the women also ensures that traditional methods of making hemp fabric and dyeing techniques using plants are not lost.
When he graduates in the spring, Hamlette will either continue his education and get his Ph.D., or he will pursue other research-related roles, perhaps even with the Federal Reserve! “My next step would be to work as a Research Associate at the Federal Reserve in Kansas City. I loved the experience I had with them this summer and I would love to make that my career path,” he said.