Henry Bernal

“No way to please everyone” but they’re doing a great job of pissing everyone off it seems

Imagine doubling down on being this spineless.

Congratulations! I’ve only heard great things about Boulder.

It just dawned on me I have more followers here on Bluesky than on X… and it’s not even close either.

Hello #EconSky: I am still seeking new opportunities, and I am open to local/municipal government, postdocs, and industry jobs that could help me expand my experience researching urban transportation. Feel free to share to colleagues and check out my website:
www.henrybernal.com

Since the hiring freeze was announced, I received dozens of emails of job listings I applied to being canceled and a hire not being made. It’s been hard to take. If anyone knows of policy-related opportunities or any postdocs or research jobs that might suit me, feel free to reach out or DM. (3/3)

And part of my strategy this year was to search for more policy-focused roles. All my interviews to date had been for positions with the federal government. I work mostly with urban transportation, so it seemed like a sensible strategy to pursue. (2/3)

#EconSky Thanks for your support on my post yesterday. It’s been a difficult last year and a half since starting my search. I lost a relative and I feel like I’ve lost interest in my hobbies and gained tons of weight since I started submitting applications. (1/3)

Thank you for your words of encouragement. I do think of those who had to face the job market at the height of the Great Recession. My mental health and sanity has fallen off a cliff in the last 18 months, and more markedly so after losing my a family member last Thanksgiving.

That and I’m not eligible to renew my lease with graduate housing past June 30th, meaning I’ll be on my own. I’ve been looking for jobs in government, postdocs, industry and I’m at 125 apps submitted so far. I have another 20-30 I’ll be sending out this week. But I’m frightened.

To other #EconSky job market candidates: anyone else still unplaced and just worried sick about these federal purges?

Everywhere I look, the market is just getting harder and I feel like I’m only growing more despondent about my search, in part because this is my 2nd try in as many years.

Happy to announce that I’m going to be a speaker at the Pacific Southwest Region’s UTC Congress at UC Berkeley next month! I’ll be giving a brief presentation of my job market paper there.

its.berkeley.edu/PSRCongress2...

Update: now over 100, at 102 apps. I did also get 3 rejections this morning…

So. Close. To. 100. Applications. Submitted.

8 more job applications in today. It’s really been a grind after the hiring freeze paralyzed all the federal job applications I had submitted… #EconSky

Yesterday:
-Sent out 7 job applications
-Spent time coding and testing a multivariate probit model for a paper
-Had lunch with a professor to get job market feedback
-Remembered to call my parents back

Today:
-Sent out 8 job applications
-Generated Latex tables from my model results

Small wins.

Congratulations and good luck!

Oh yeah… it’s my birthday today. On Inauguration Day too.

- also PhD job market candidates who didn’t take any gap years to work in industry 😭

It was great to meet many great economists and colleagues at #ASSA2025! And I had a chance to meet and speak to the great John List (@johnlist.bsky.social) twice!

I welcome anyone who met me or wanted to get to know my work better to check out my website at www.henrybernal.com

We are pleased to report that the labor strikes at the main SF hotels have been settled. It is our understanding that it will be business as usual at the Hilton, Parc 55, Marriott Marquis, and other hotels in the Union Square area for the ASSA meetings Jan 3-5. We look forward to seeing you there!

Amplifying my old thread for the #EconJMP feed!

Will there be anything on multiple price lists & other WTP experiment methods? That’d be much appreciated!

This seems quite daunting, and I really wish my fellow job market candidates luck. This is my second time on the market in as many years. We had a tough market last year and it looks like this year’s market won’t relent.

MAGA Account 'Libs Of TikTok' Banned From Bluesky After Just 9 Days—And People Are Cheering Take your hate somewhere else.

I absolutely LOVE that this notorious anti-LGBTQ account was suspended after just nine days on Bluesky, thanks to the platform’s kick-ass content moderation.

2nd job interview of the job market season! Already I’m having more callbacks this year than last. That’s highly encouraging!

I’m so sorry about your dad and yes, my committee is aware. I greatly appreciate the word of advice.

Of course, I’m still dealing with a lot of grief, as is my family. I miss him a lot and there were so many great childhood memories of my uncle. I’m doing what I can to find the strength to keep going, but I’m also aware that the job search must go on.

To #EconSky: I need some advice. The day after posting my #JMP, my uncle passed away and I needed to leave urgently to go to Colombia for the funeral. I returned yesterday, but I missed the 11/30 and 12/1 application deadlines. I know it’s not all over, but I also have to find a job.

How life changes so quickly: just as I celebrating making the big push to get out my #JMP, I learn that my uncle is gravely ill in Colombia and I will now need to make the long trek from California to see him and my family. To my fellow JMCs on #EconSky, don’t forget to take care of yourselves.