Why work at IHS? Here is a list of the top five reasons:

1. Mission [4]
2. Ideas [5]
3. People [6]
4. Growth [7]
5. Fun [8]

1. Mission

The people who work for IHS are idealistic; working for a better world. We share a passion for the ideas of liberty, which is exemplified in the IHS mission:

To help achieve a freer society by facilitating the development of talented students, scholars, and other intellectuals who share an interest in liberty and in advancing the principles and practice of freedom.

No one has all the answers, but we believe some ideas—for example, natural rights, private property, and free enterprise—are elements necessary to create and sustain freedom, peace, and prosperity. And we enjoy discussing ideas with others interested in making the world a better place.

2. Ideas

Ideas matter. And they are a primary reason why people enjoy working at IHS. We communicate concepts about liberty to eager audiences and wrestle with issues that help us pursue our mission, such as knowledge sharing and business practices. When we're not working, staff enjoy lunchtime discussions, attending lectures at GMU [9], watching documentary films during lunch, hosting and attending happy hours with allies and IHS alumni, or debating during our after-hours book club.

3. People

An inherent part of our mission is educating and assisting young people interested in liberty. We work with the best and brightest students, professors, and like-minded organizations (such as our sister organization, The Mercatus Center [10]) from around the world.

IHS has been in action since 1961, and we have thousands of alumni [11] who are now established academics, writers, policymakers, journalists, entrepreneurs, and filmmakers. In addition to our scholarship, seminars, and internship programs, we provide opportunities like continuing educational programs and networking events to help them stay in touch.

Here is what some of our alumni are up to:

• Monika Nalepa [12], Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of Notre Dame
• Scott Bullock [13], Senior Attorney, Institute for Justice
• Kristi Kendall, Senior Producer, Fox Business News
• Jeff Giesea [14], Founder, Best Vendor

Working at IHS puts you smack dab in the middle of this network of current and future opinion leaders.

4. Growth

The IHS experience is one of intellectual, social, and professional growth. IHS practices a decentralized management approach that emphasizes autonomy and responsibility. This may be startling to someone used to rigid hierarchy, but the IHS staff has found that it allows them to develop a greater entrepreneurial role regarding their specific responsibilities.

After their IHS experience, many former staff go on to top graduate programs or jobs in academia, business, law, public policy, and other exciting careers. We asked a few former staffers about their experience working at IHS, and here's what they said:

• Steve Sinkula [15], Cargill, Inc.
• John Coleman [16], McKinsey & Company
• Tom Bell [17], Chapman University School of Law

5. Fun

It's fun being around passionate people and ideas in an environment with plenty of opportunities for growth. We asked a few current IHS staff to comment on what they like about working at IHS and here's what they said:

• Dr. Nigel Ashford [18], Senior Program Officer
• Scott Barton [19], Director of Online Education
• Laura Barnett [20], Director of Conference Management

In addition to an exciting, inspiring workplace, IHS offers competitive salaries and generous benefits. Salary is competitive and commensurate with experience. In addition, IHS provides exceptional benefits to all employees, including full health and some dental insurance coverage (which includes paying 100 percent of the health insurance premium and deductible, and paying 100 percent of the dental insurance premium). IHS also provides all employees with flexible spending accounts, long-term disability and life insurance, a 403(b) retirement savings program, a parking permit, and one free course per semester at George Mason University.