Volunteer Economic Mobility Researcher — DFW Economic Mobility Study

The DFW Career Mobility Study is a grassroots research initiative examining what prevents employed adults in the Dallas–Fort Worth area from moving into higher-paying careers.

We are especially interested in understanding the experiences of workers who are currently employed but feel financially or professionally “stuck” including people seeking certifications, licenses, additional education, promotions, career changes, or their first supervisory opportunity.

Rather than assuming we already know what the problem is, this three-week study is designed to hear directly from working adults and identify where meaningful gaps may exist in the current workforce-development system. The findings will help determine whether a future community-based pilot program is warranted and, if so, what problem that program should actually address.

We are seeking Volunteer Economic Mobility Researchers to conduct structured, one-on-one interviews with working adults throughout the DFW area.

What You’ll Do

As a Volunteer Economic Mobility Researcher, you will conduct short, structured interviews using a standardized research guide provided by the project. Researchers will listen objectively, document participants’ experiences, and help us understand the barriers people encounter when attempting to advance professionally.

Responsibilities may include:

• Conducting scheduled one-on-one participant interviews
• Asking standardized questions about career advancement, education, certifications, financial barriers, and experiences with workforce resources
• Listening objectively without leading participants toward a particular response
• Taking clear and accurate interview notes
• Ensuring interviews are recorded or transcribed only when appropriate participant consent has been obtained
• Completing standardized research documentation after each interview
• Identifying noteworthy themes or observations for later analysis
• Participating in brief project training and team check-ins
• Maintaining professionalism and respecting the confidentiality of information shared by participants

This is not a sales, staffing, recruiting, fundraising, or job-placement role. The purpose of this project is research: understanding the problem before attempting to build a solution.

Who We’re Looking For:

• Professional research experience is not required. Training, interview procedures, research materials, and documentation templates will be provided.
• This opportunity may be especially valuable for students, professionals, career changers, retirees, or community members interested in human resources, workforce development, sociology, psychology, business, public policy, nonprofit management, education, community development, economic mobility, or qualitative research.
• Strong volunteers will be comfortable speaking with people from different professional and socioeconomic backgrounds, able to listen without judgment, dependable with scheduling and follow-through, comfortable following a standardized interview process, and capable of documenting information clearly and accurately.
• Curiosity matters more than having all the answers. We are looking for researchers who are interested in understanding why people become stuck professionally rather than immediately trying to solve their situation.

Time Commitment:

1. This is a 3-week volunteer research project requiring approximately 5 hours per week, for a total commitment of about 15 hours.
2. Time may include participant interviews, interview preparation, completing research notes and forms, and brief training or team check-ins.
3. Scheduling will be flexible, and interview times can generally be arranged around each volunteer’s availability. Because this is a short, intensive research period, we are looking for volunteers who can reliably participate for the full three weeks.

Why This Study Matters

DFW has a large network of workforce-development organizations, colleges, training providers, nonprofits, and public agencies. Many already provide job-search assistance, career coaching, training, and employment services.

This study is exploring a narrower question:

What happens to people who already have jobs but still cannot reach the next level?

We want to understand what actually prevents working adults from increasing their income or advancing professionally. That barrier may be financial, educational, structural, informational, personal — or something we have not identified yet.

The goal of the DFW Career Mobility Study is to collect enough direct evidence from working adults to determine which barriers appear repeatedly, which needs are already being addressed by existing organizations, and whether there is an underserved problem worth pursuing further.

At the conclusion of the three-week study, interview findings will be compiled and analyzed to identify recurring patterns and inform a decision about whether a future pilot initiative should move forward.

Volunteers who are especially interested in the work may also have opportunities to participate in later phases involving qualitative data analysis, follow-up research, preparation of study findings, or development of a future pilot program.

Volunteer Status

This is a completely unpaid, volunteer-based opportunity. It is intended for individuals interested in community research, workforce development, economic mobility, or gaining hands-on experience conducting structured qualitative interviews.

Volunteers who successfully complete the project will have contributed directly to a real-world community research study examining career mobility in the Dallas–Fort Worth workforce.