Sarah
what career options would lead to working with NASA?
since childhood I always wanted to work at NASA and earn big bucks disregarding the job I get.....now I completed my 10 n am confused what to choose either IT , comp eng , electronics and telecom or electrical eng which will lead the way to my dream. I aslo want to know its difficulty levels and chnces of getting..would be grateful to u if u help. #electrical-engineering #information-technology #electronics #telecommunications
9 answers
Jim Robertson
Jim’s Answer
Hi Sarah,
I would recommend any of those fields of study, with Electrical Engineering probably being the best choice.
As for the difficulty, I would say it is extremely difficult if you are not an American citizen. I think every single job application I've filled out related to NASA had asked about my citizenship and required that I be American. This is because NASA owns a lot of sensitive technical information and there has been a history of foreign governments trying to steal this information.
Even if you are American it is competitive. The best way to get involved with working for NASA directly is to apply for their Co-op program. Typically, you do that during your first or second university years. This will get you in the door. Then if you do good work during your time as a Co-op student, you can probably get a full-time offer after you graduate. If you aren't able to get a co-op with NASA directly, it is possible to work for one of their contractors in an internship position. If you get neither a co-op or an internship, it will be very difficult to find work in the NASA environment unless you happen to have a very specific skill AND no one else has that skill AND that skill is desperately needed by NASA.
Hope this helps!
This is on point from my experience, too.
M. A. Rafe Biswas
Grant Rennie
Grant’s Answer
Hello Sarah, getting into NASA is very competitive and they are part of a government scheme where they have to bring in American employees first, you'll need a tier 1 visa to apply to enter the USA.
The best subjects to study for this career path would be chemistry or mechanical engineering and materials science, also software development.
I have a friend that works for NASA in the US and designs atmosphere purification systems, air supply units and has an involvement in the nutrition selection for the space station, I can ask her if you would like?
Grant, Scotland.
Jeff Brayer
Jeff’s Answer
I want to be candid for a moment. Is your dream to work for NASA? Be an Astronaut? Work on the aircraft? Or is it to make copious amounts of money? A dream job does not always equate to big bucks, but can be one of the most satisfying things you do in your life. First, you should be clear about what your dreams and aspirations are. If you really do want to pursue a career in space exploration, the advice that everyone is giving is quite helpful. Anything in STEM applies to this field of work. But before you can get true advice, you may want to further research or clarify your goal.
There is a level of pride and glory that comes from this work. Its an amazing thing to see the human race pursue space exploration. I too, dreamt of flying in the space shuttle. As I grew older, I started to realize some of my true passions and that was to help people through my ability to develop professional skills. I feel tremendously rewarded from my job. I am no where close to getting to NASA, but I am happy and am financially secure.
Overall, a career at NASA is absolutely possible. But dont limit your perspective on the career path in front of you. As you may know, NASA isnt the only space exploration company. There are more opportunities in this line of work than ever before and people are definitely making great incomes. This industry is competing for the top minds to build the most efficient and effective launch systems. To truly get a job in these businesses, you will need to commit yourself to education, sciences and always be curious about the world/universe...for the rest of your life. Not a bad thing, I think its a great way to ensure your mind stays sharp as you grow older. This work could give you all you desire, but focus on the point of the job and not making the "big bucks". I hope to see your name in a space program in the near future.
Best of luck to you.
Jeff
Ashwath Kannan
Ashwath’s Answer
Build your core astrophysics fundamentals. Check out courses with autonomous institutes like TIFR, Mumbai. They offer a wide range of courses. You may also opt for making a career with ISRO. Space agencies use pretty much every field of science and engineering. Robotics, fabrications, nanotechnology , cryogenics, image processing, radar and communications, instrumentation, miniature designing, satellite as rocket technologies etc.
Wish you all the very best.
Laura Hyter
Laura’s Answer
The best chance or career choice are going to be thing in the engineering field (Electrical, chemical, etc). Taking these course are pretty much land you some time of opportunity to snag a good career opportunity with them. Also it is good to check into which college recruit allow of graduate into NASA. This could help you as well to look in to their programs a possibly attend to better your chances of getting the job.
Elisabeth Equilbey
Elisabeth’s Answer
Have a read at Stephen Baxter's novel "Voyage" (it's in English, no worries) - it'll give you some ideas
karthik M
karthik’s Answer
Sammy Yang
Sammy’s Answer
Sammy Yang
Sammy’s Answer
That is a great and broad question. There are two parts to it. NASA’s research could solve many issues in our daily lives. If you are focusing on business issues, you may start career in business analysis area. If you are more interested in research, start in STEM field might be a good choice. Hope this answers your question.