Nathan Sick is a senior research associate in the Income and Benefits Policy Center at the Urban Institute. He has more than 10 years of experience in workforce development and postsecondary education policy research. He also has extensive experience as an analyst and in the design, implementation, and support of data collection methods, such as surveys and web-based applications.

Sick’s work focuses on the future of health care career pathways, particularly in the sustainability of entry-level direct care work. His work explores ways to close equity gaps and improve job quality for marginalized or disadvantaged workers who are trying to start a career and earn a family-sustaining wage. Sick is also interested in research to make postsecondary education more flexible and accessible to all and more closely connected to high-quality career opportunities, particularly for parenting students, who often balance school with work and child care responsibilities. Finally, Sick pursues novel ways to use data and data systems that lead to better outcomes for people who are struggling to obtain a good, family-sustaining job.

Before joining Urban, Sick was a policy analyst at the Capital Research Corporation and a high school chemistry teacher. He has an MS in chemistry from the University of Chicago.