Economist Trainee (Virtual) ERS FED Summer 2023
Workplace Culture
At USDA, we are recommitting ourselves to the values of equity and inclusion rooted in justice and equal opportunity for our employees and those we serve.
Job Description
Intern will organize food purchase data for the National School Lunch Program by food type and year and then summarize them.
Duties include:
- Identify foods by product
- Group food by type, e.g., red/orange vegetables
- Sum the food types by States and year
- Contrast differences in food type acquisitions across States and years
- Summarize findings in a brief summary report.
Location: Virtual
Hours per week: 40
Preferred majors:
- Economics
- Agricultural Economics
- Data Science
- Public Policy
Desired Skills:
- Knowledge of data analysis methods and basic statistics.
- Good knowledge of Excel
- Ability to communicate clearly.
- Nice to have but not necessary:
-Familiarity with STATA and SAS
Supervision:
- Interns will report to the Economic Research Service Food Economics Division
- Interns will receive guidance and feedback from supervisor daily, weekly, or as needed.
- Interns formal evaluation are completed at the following segments of the internship session, Mid-term and Final Performance Evaluation.
Requirements Conditions of Employment
- You must be a US Citizen or US National.
- Must be in good academic standing as defined by their academic institution.
- Satisfactory Background investigation and/or fingerprint check.
- The position is renewable, based upon effective performance, availability of funds, and program needs, with the possibility of a multiple-year appointment.
General Information
About USDA and HACU
For the past 27 years, USDA has partnered with HACU to provide internship opportunities for hundreds of undergraduate and graduate students. These internships provide valuable professional experience for students while also exposing students to the important work that is done at USDA. The students also make significant contributions to the sub-agencies.
This partnership with HACU represents a larger USDA strategy aimed at ensuring a diverse, prepared, and competitive workforce that is vital to establishing a sustainable agricultural future. As a result of their positive internship experiences and supportive and inclusive culture at USDA, many former HACU students are now members of the USDA permanent workforce.