What attracted you to IFS in the first place?

The main attraction to me was the fact that the IFS straddled two worlds: the public policy one and the academic one. Both of these interested me, so a work environment that combined the two seemed ideal.

Which projects are you working on at the moment?

I'm working on two projects at the moment: one that uses a number of different data sources to look at how much households in the UK are saving, and another that looks at whether elderly people face significantly different inflation rates from the rest of the population.

What kind of things do you do during a typical day at work?

My day-to-day research primarily involves using statistical packages to analyse datasets and writing up results either by myself or with colleagues. In addition to this there are seminars given by internal and external speakers. These are a handy way of getting to know about research agendas in areas other than those which I'm working in, and also of learning new analytical techniques. There have also been a number of other interesting things to do such as going to the BBC on Budget day to help the production team with the coverage.

What do you particularly enjoy about the job?

I enjoy the challenge. In the case of a lot of the research we do, there is no straightforward, 'straight from a textbook' method of doing it, so a certain amount of independent thinking is required. However, there are invariably a number of more senior economists who can provide help at roadblocks.

What have you learned from working here?

In the year since I joined, my skills in using data and econometric software have improved significantly. I have also learnt a lot about the various datasets that are available.

How would you describe the working environment?

The working environment is laid-back and friendly. Everyone is always extremely willing and able to field questions, which is important, especially in the first couple of months in a new job.

How has your career progressed, so far, at IFS?

I have decided to start a part-time PhD at UCL while continuing working at IFS. While this will provide new challenges in terms of managing my time (and returning to doing exams), it will also provide an opportunity to develop my technical skills.