What it does: Overseeing the Federal Reserve Banks and governing monetary policy implementation in the United States
Mission: Provides the nation with a safe, flexible, and stable monetary and financial system.
Size and presence: 3.000 employees.
Best known for: The main governing body in The Federal Reserve System.
The good bits: Exposure to tons of learning and career development opportunities, fast promotion, generous benefits package deal. It will open doors to opportunities for you in the future.
The not-so-good bits: high-pressure workload and high-pressure sense of responsibility.
The Federal Reserve System was born in December 1913 at the hand of President Woodrow Wilson, although the monetary system was already developed and widely used in America long before that. The Fed was acting as the decentralized central bank that would balance the competing interests of private banks nationwide and public interest. The bank continued its operation normally even when World War I broke out in 1914. And then in 1920, The Fed started to use open market operations as monetary policy tools. Shortly after, the great depression came, and almost 10.000 banks failed from 1930-1933, it was all due to the crashing of the stock market in 1929. Many people blamed The Fed for failing to control the stock speculation which led to the crash.
Afterwards, The Fed had gone several changes in its policy, responding to the economy's current situation. Financial modernization began to set in 1980 when The Fed was required to set its financial service price competitively. On the 11th of September terror attack, The Fed played a big role to mitigate the effect by lowering interest rates and loaning more than $45 billion to the financial institutions to stabilize the economy.
The Federal Reserve System is now governed by a board of governors who are appointed directly by the president and it has 12 Reserve Banks. Along with The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee, they are the Federal Reserve's main key entities.
As the agency consistently promotes diversity in its work culture, you will meet colleagues from different backgrounds. Some current employees said that the agency is family-oriented, and has an ideal balance of work and personal life. Coworkers even encourage their colleagues to take a leave in order to keep their mental health in check. Another current employee said that The Board has a very academic ambience since its job involved a lot of research. They also have an alumni group which is very informative and will give you a benefit at some point. You can get tremendous personal growth if you’re willing to take the initiative.
For interns, each summer the agency will open 100 positions, and the internship will take approximately 12 weeks. You will get the opening information in September. If you’re a shortlisted candidate, you will receive a phone call interview during the fall semester and the offer will be finalized in December. But some former interns claimed to receive an offer later in January. The interview will determine your knowledge and understanding of monetary policy in general, you should also expect to get behavioural and technical questions.
The agency will select the candidate from their scholastic achievement, recommendation, completed coursework in relevant areas of study, and GPA. For intern/undergraduate, candidates must be coming from an accredited university. For Summer Law Clerk, students must be enrolled in an accredited JD program. For recent graduates, specifically for a research assistant (RA), the agency will recruit in two-cycle, that is in the spring and fall. The agency will also require graduates to obtain at least one letter of recommendation, professional or academic. Application outside economist, RA, interns, and any other related areas, should be submitted online and the agency will quickly take a notice of your application if you’re applying for a specific job.
All recruitment process duration varies depending on the position and program, the fastest was finished in weeks and the longest took months.
If you are a student or a graduate studying business, economy, and financials, starting off your future in The Fed will be the best choice. Apart from the interesting perks that you will get if you’re accepted, working in the Federal Reserve System will guarantee you to have the best opportunity to enhance your capability. There are categories of jobs in the agency you may want to consider; Economist, Research Analyst, Financial Analyst, Attorneys, and IT professional.
While interns will get the opportunity to have valuable experience with The Board’s Internship Program, which is designed specifically to provide invaluable experience for undergraduate and graduate students who are considering pursuing careers in economics, finance, accounting, information system, and data analysis.
Salary payscale in the federal agency was divided according to grade. The grade itself was categorized into various occupancies. Generally, recent graduates or new hires will start at grade 1 of the General Schedule pay grade where they’re getting hired. Once they are settled, they may request a salary increase, the agency has the authority to offer pay comparability. In The Federal Reserve Board, the pay grade started with FR-15 ($32.000 minimum and $38.000 maximum) and WE-41 ($35.200 minimum, $57.900 maximum), and the number will increase as the grade gets higher.
The agency also paid interns in relatively fair share, ranging from $40.000 up to $75.000 annually, depending on roles and programs. For example, a graduate intern may receive $75.733, while a data governance intern will receive $56.000-$60.000 annually.
As a federal agency that governs the banking system and manages the economy in general, The Fed’s tasks are purposed driven, aiming for the nation’s economic stability, their work will touch a lot of areas where the citizen’s financial stability shall be prioritized. However, the agency is still committed to contributing directly apart from its monetary official task through its branch of Federal Banks across the nation.
For example, the Boston Federal Bank is committed to supporting diversity and inclusivity in its workforce and their supplier. The bank also held a series of free classes, designed to help the community to manage their finances better. On many occasions, the bank staff members also committed to volunteering to help a group of individuals in need.
As the main governing body that oversees the work of Federal Reserve Banks, harsh critics aimed at the board and the Federal Reserve System, in general, are expected since their work will eventually create an impact—good or bad—on the nation’s economy, even worldwide at some points. The most recent controversy happened in September 2021. Journalists disclosed shocking news that Fed officials, Robert Kaplan and Eric Rosengren, had actively traded individual stocks and financial assets a year earlier in 2020. The scandal resulted in the resignation of the three senior officials. Later in October, Fed Chair Jerome Powell announced a new policy that is policymakers and senior staff members aren’t allowed to own individual stocks and bonds transacting in derivatives.