2006–2016: Research staff member, Hamburg Institute for Social Research
January 2003–December 2005: Fellow in the Research Unit: The Society of the Federal Republic of Germany, Hamburg Institute for Social Research
2009: Habilitation in sociology, Department of Social Sciences, University of Kassel
1989–2005: Researcher and project head at the Soziologisches Forschungsinstitut e.V. (SOFI), Georg August University Göttingen
1998: Completion of doctoral degree (Dr. disc. pol.), Department of Social Sciences, Georg August University Göttingen
1988–1989: Student assistant, Department of Sociology, Georg August University Göttingen
1989: Completion of degree in social sciences (Diplom)
1983–1989: Student at Georg August University Göttingen; major in sociology, minor in political science, economics, labor law, and education