Research Assistant (PhD student)

The Chair of Business Economics, with a focus on Personnel Economics and Economics of (Vocational) Education is part of the Department of Business Administration at the University of Zurich. Prof. Dr. Anne Brenøe (https://sites.google.com/view/aabrenoe/home) is appointed to start as an Associate Professor in the chair on February 1, 2025.
In the chair, we conduct cutting-edge research on topics within Economics of Education and Labor/Personnel Economics. We employ the newest empirical techniques for causal identification. In particular, we are currently conducting and planning field experiments (RCTs) in Switzerland and abroad.
You will be enrolled in the Graduate School of Business with good opportunities to interact with grad students from all departments at the Faculty of Business, Economics, and Informatics. You will be taking graduate courses in the doctoral program on Economics of Education in the Swiss Leading House VPET-ECON (https://www.educationeconomics.uzh.ch/en/international-course-program/courses.html) as well as have the opportunity to take other relevant graduate courses within the Faculty. The expected duration of the PhD is 4-5 years.
The chair is seaking to hire either two PhD students or a PhD student and a Postdoc to start in the first half of 2025. In the chair, we are teaching one course in German, reason for which one of the PhD students/postdoc will need to have good enough language skills to teach in German; the other courses are in English.

Research Assistant (PhD student)

• Developing, managing, and publishing high-quality research projects within the fields of Economics of Education and Labor/Personnel Economics
• Assisting in teaching of BA/MA classes on personnel economics and related topics
• Supervision of Bachelor and Master theses

The candidate must possess (at the time of starting) a master's degree with excellent grades in Economics or a related quantitative field. Training in microeconomics, econometrics, and statistics is required.
Candidates should:

• have a strong motivation for scientific research within applied microeconomics with a focus on Economics of Education and Labor/Personnel Economics,
• have good oraganizational skills,
• have very good oral and written communication skills in English; knowledge of German is a big advantage (but not required),
• have hands-on experience with statistical software, such as Stata, R, or Python (formal post-undergraduate professional experience is not required),
• be a reliable team player, and
• enjoy independent problem-solving.

A willingness to work hard, be self-motivated, and learn will be essential for doing well in this position.

• The opportunity to work on cutting-edge research projects
• Interesting work as part of a dynamic team in a friendly working environment
• The possibility to interact with internationally renowned researchers
• A competitive salary in accordance with the salary guidelines/scale of the canton of Zurich
• A travel budget to present your work at international conferences

E-Mail schreiben