This is the first in a series about summer jobs globe-trotting MIT economics students have held.  I am a senior in economics and math, and last summer I worked at Cornerstone Research, an economic consulting firm in Back Bay in Boston.  Cornerstone does mostly legal consulting, meaning they support or provide expert witness for court cases involving complicated economic issues.  For example, in antitrust law, definitions of monopoly power and collusion are often under dispute, and even if collusion is admitted, the amount of monetary damage to the consumer is unclear.  Cornerstone does work to quantify these kinds of issues.

As an intern, I worked on a bunch of cases on everything from healthcare to aluminum, and did a lot of odd tasks.  I worked on some profit models for companies, did calculations on excess profits in the prescription drug market, and got an intimate knowledge of obscure functions in Excel.  The company is small enough that the analysts are assigned to managers from a big pool, according to need and expertise, so I got to work with a variety of managers, who are mostly PhD economists themselves.  The work was a bit unpredictable but interesting (and sometimes cases ended up in the news the week after we finished), and the people were always ready to help even a lowly intern.

This was my last college internship, and was also probably the best.  I’m finally feeling like a useful economics major.  Now, it’s time for grad school apps, and of course, more blogging will be forthcoming.