Students often ask me about work as a UROP*. As a rule, my colleagues and I look for students who are enthusiastic about Economics and have mastered the basics. The skills and interests that my colleagues and I look for in UROPs are mostly developed in our courses. The path to a UROP match with me usually runs through 14.64 (Labor Economics) or 14.32 (Econometrics). If you haven't yet started your journey, learn more about these courses here.
*MIT's Undergraduate Research Opportunities Program