Sociology '17, working with Professor Devah Pager

Working as a research assistant for Professor Devah Pager was one of the best experiences I have had so far at Harvard and a position I highly recommend to any student seeking in-depth research experience. The project I worked on with Professor Pager evaluates the effects of “Ban-the-Box” policies on employers’ hiring practices. My role in the project was to recruit and interview local hiring managers in the Boston Area. Each week I would carry out fieldwork in a different Boston neighborhood, usually one I had not visited before. Exposure to the less touristy parts of Boston was, in fact, an unexpected bonus of my work. Every week I looked forward to my field visits to diverse parts of Boston and the opportunity to get out of the “Harvard Bubble.”

In each neighborhood I would pop into local businesses and solicit on-the-spot interviews with the hiring manager on duty. At the beginning of the semester I was very nervous about this “cold-call” aspect of my work, but by the end of the semester I had built up an incredible amount of confidence in my ability to hold conversations and conduct interviews with perfect strangers. This ability to speak confidently and articulately to strangers is just one of many valuable skills that I developed over the course of the semester. I also improved my data collection and analysis skills, particularly through my weekly write-ups for Professor Pager. These write-ups required distilling the most important parts of each interview and noting any general trends in the interviews, both of which are skills that will be essential as I turn to write a senior thesis.

Getting to work with Professor Pager, a preeminent figure in the field of sociology, was not only a privilege but also an incredible learning experience. I developed many valuable skills over the course of the semester that will serve me well in the future. I strongly encourage any student that has the opportunity to work as a research assistant to seize it!