Pre-Doctoral Fellowships (Closed)

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Pre-Doctoral Fellowships



Applications are currently closed.

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Overview of Previous Openings

    • The Shift Project hires full-time pre-doctoral research fellows to support and collaborate on survey data collection from service-sector workers, assist with data cleaning and analysis, and contribute to research reports and papers.
    • Positions are based at the Harvard Kennedy School in Cambridge, MA, with an initial appointment term of one year, and the possibility of a second-year renewal.
    • The role is hybrid, requiring at least four days per week on-campus presence in Cambridge, MA, during the academic year.
    • We value a diverse research team and encourage applications from women, people of color, and other historically underrepresented groups in sociology and labor studies.
    • Fellows receive mentoring from faculty within a tight-knit research community at the Wiener Center and access to a broad range of activities at Harvard.
    • Prior Shift Fellows at have gone on to attend top PhD programs.
    • Bachelor’s or Master’s degree in Sociology, Public Policy, Economics, or related field
    • Outstanding organizational and time management skills
    • Prior experience as a research assistant or fellow in sociology, labor studies, public policy, or economics
    • Proficiency programming in Stata and R (programming in Python is a plus)
    • Distinguished academic record
    • Significant interest in labor studies, public policy, and sociological research
    • Strong written and oral communication skills
    • Pre-doctoral fellows receive a competitive salary and are eligible for Harvard University’s partially subsidized healthcare options, including medical, dental, and vision insurance plans.
    • Additional benefits include life insurance, long-term disability coverage, and access to a tuition assistance program after becoming eligible through service at Harvard.
    • Fellows can also participate in academic seminars, forums, networking opportunities, and special events.
    • Applicants advancing in the recruitment process may be required to complete a technical exercise and participate in multiple interviews.
    • Currently, we have 3 pre-doctoral fellows working with us. To learn more about their profiles and research interests, visit the “Staff & Fellows” section on our Team.