I see a lot of unanswered requests for job advice and it's flattering to see so much interest in working for NASA and space exploration so here we go:
Personally, I came from the commercial aerospace industry, and left to join JPL mainly because I wanted to be devoted towards space exploration and remove myself from commercial and defense funding motivations. It is extremely humbling to work with people who design and send spacecraft to every planet in the solar system and be along for the ride.
With that said, JPL does hire some of the best and brightest. Are we hiring? Yes. Are we selective? You betcha! So here is what I would recommend:
Be diligent in your studies - Although there is no real minimum GPA required, when you're competing with others, the higher the number, the better.
Be passionate about your interests - If there is a specific field of expertise, highlight it in your resume* (school projects & side projects), and in your interview. If your resume still has "babysitting" or "worked at my local japanese restaurant", it's time to get more experience (related to your field of work). When we are hiring, the worst thing we hear or read is that you're "good at everything" or "willing to do whatever work". That is a lie and we both know it. Be specific and tell us exactly what you want to do and if we can't provide it, we'll refer to someone who can.
Be promiscuous - http://findyourplace.jpl.nasa.gov - There are hundreds of groups at JPL and elsewhere at NASA. Find the groups that interest you and apply to all of them. There is a job here for almost everyone.
Be persistant - Don't give up after one group turns you down (see above). If you don't get a summer internship this year, get more experience, and try again next year.
A few notes about the work environment:
The HR department (specifically compensation) has an extremely challenging job of not only offering competitive salaries (compared to others in the aerospace industry), but abiding by the limitations of our NASA publicly funded budget. I think it's safe to say that with a healthier budget (currently $0.005 on the dollar), we could not only fund way cooler missions, but compete (compensation-wise) comfortably in the public domain as well (Google, Facebook, Microsoft, etc.). In short, working here will get you paid, but we don't do it for the money.
So why do we do it? The relaxing work environment, the talented individuals, and the out of the world missions of course. But there's something more. We are not (that much) smarter than the rest of the working force, but I believe that we have a brilliant goal. We're making dreams come true. Someone asked what the coolest thing we've seen working here. I've seen shuttle launches and landings, worked on missions to Mars and beyond, and saw images beamed down to our operations centers in real time (minus time delay). But the greatest thing is to see the inspiration in the eyes of people like you. And that's what keeps me coming back to work every single day.
* I work in a fantastic advanced R&D software team at JPL focused on HCI work and we are always seeking talented individuals. If you have experience working in a software team in any of the major languages and platforms, send me a PM with your resume and we'll see if there's a fit.
jplatwork64 karma
I see a lot of unanswered requests for job advice and it's flattering to see so much interest in working for NASA and space exploration so here we go:
Personally, I came from the commercial aerospace industry, and left to join JPL mainly because I wanted to be devoted towards space exploration and remove myself from commercial and defense funding motivations. It is extremely humbling to work with people who design and send spacecraft to every planet in the solar system and be along for the ride.
With that said, JPL does hire some of the best and brightest. Are we hiring? Yes. Are we selective? You betcha! So here is what I would recommend:
A few notes about the work environment:
The HR department (specifically compensation) has an extremely challenging job of not only offering competitive salaries (compared to others in the aerospace industry), but abiding by the limitations of our NASA publicly funded budget. I think it's safe to say that with a healthier budget (currently $0.005 on the dollar), we could not only fund way cooler missions, but compete (compensation-wise) comfortably in the public domain as well (Google, Facebook, Microsoft, etc.). In short, working here will get you paid, but we don't do it for the money.
So why do we do it? The relaxing work environment, the talented individuals, and the out of the world missions of course. But there's something more. We are not (that much) smarter than the rest of the working force, but I believe that we have a brilliant goal. We're making dreams come true. Someone asked what the coolest thing we've seen working here. I've seen shuttle launches and landings, worked on missions to Mars and beyond, and saw images beamed down to our operations centers in real time (minus time delay). But the greatest thing is to see the inspiration in the eyes of people like you. And that's what keeps me coming back to work every single day.
* I work in a fantastic advanced R&D software team at JPL focused on HCI work and we are always seeking talented individuals. If you have experience working in a software team in any of the major languages and platforms, send me a PM with your resume and we'll see if there's a fit.
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