Finding NABE as Student, Bernstein Values Her Involvement

Elizabeth Bernstein’s introduction to NABE was an unexpected one.  And once the then 19-year-old college student took part in her first Professional Development Seminar, she knew she had found a connection that she expects will span her career as an economist.

Her career has just begun, or is about to begin in an official sense, as Bernstein is graduating in December 2008 with a Masters of Arts in Economic Policy from Boston University.  Contacts made through NABE’s networking opportunities, including the 50th Annual Meeting in early October, have been extremely valuable to her in finding out about summer internships and recently in her job search, she said.

“At the annual meeting, I met Chris Varvares and other officers,” Bernstein said, adding that she also renewed acquaintances with several other NABE members. Plus, she joined Get Connected and plans to be active in the program launched this past spring for early and mid-career professionals.

Seminars, Get Connected Add Value

In many ways, Bernstein’s introduction to NABE and her involvement in Get Connected illustrate how the organization’s recently developed programs can appeal to students and newcomers to the profession.  It’s clear from her enthusiasm about NABE that she not only values what the organization has already offered her, but also that she plans to remain involved and contribute her time and energy to various activities and programs.

NABE was not on her radar screen in May of 2004, when Bernstein was talking with one of her economics professors at the University of Central Florida (UCF) about her interest in going beyond theories and measurement concepts.

“I was an undergraduate studying economics and had read about NABE online and was planning on joining,” she said in a Nov. 26 phone interview.  So when her professor encouraged her to join “that solidified my plans,” she said. The May 2004 program was NABE’s first Professional Development Seminar (PDS) and it was held in Kissimmee, near Orlando, where UCF is located.

 “The seminar was great and I felt that I had just learned more about BEA and BLS data than I would ever learn in the classroom,” she said.  Bernstein said she was “sold” on NABE at that point with her new knowledge of federal statistics and the contacts she had made during the sessions and receptions.

Seminar Contacts Lead to Internship

One of the organizers and speakers at the seminar was former NABE President Rosemary Marcuss, deputy director of the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA).  Bernstein stayed in contact with Marcuss and a few months later, in the summer of 2005, she worked as an intern in BEA’s main office in Washington, D.C.

In the BEA’s compensation branch, regional income division, Bernstein had the opportunity to research methodologies, edit articles using gross domestic product (GDP) data, and work on a program involving industry statistics. 

Her work experience also includes an internship with Global Insight in the summer of 2008, where she was part of a staff that compiled forecasts of demand in North America and internationally, among other assignments.  From 2005 to 2007, she was a senior researcher at UCF’s Institute for Economic Competitiveness.

Policy Conferences During Spring Breaks

Bernstein managed to work out her schedule so that she could attend each of NABE’s March Policy Conferences since 2005, as many of them took place during her spring breaks.  Her parents supported this new educational endeavor by helping her pay fees and travel expenses, she said, adding that she was encouraged to see that this year, NABE began to offer scholarships to students for attending the policy conference and the annual meeting.

Her interest in economics developed as she grew up in a household with a father who took an avid interest in financial markets and economic news.  Then in her freshman year at UCF, she switched from majoring in political science to economics, finding it more concrete and more interesting, especially in the areas of economic policy and cost/benefit analysis, she explained.

As a new member of the Get Connected team, Bernstein is looking forward to working with other NABE members to build on various aspects of the program.  “I want to help in any way I can,” she said.  “NABE does a great job in reaching out to people.”

Meanwhile, her job search continues and, as of early December, she was still in the process of interviewing and considering different locations and types of jobs.  She feels that her understanding of economic data programs and experience in summer jobs serves her well.  “To a great extent, that is due to NABE’s conferences—from skills seminars, to the annual meeting, and policy conferences,” she said. 

As far as advice to students and others interested in economics and a career, Bernstein urges them to get involved early and make the connections to NABE and its members.  “When I first came to the seminar and to meetings, I was often the only person in my early 20s.  Now there are several others close to my age, and I can see myself being an active member 20 years from now,” she said.