Read, reblog, and resonate!
Pathways - Blog Posts
Exterior Concrete in Miami Large multicolored two-story concrete house exterior photo with a hip roof and a tile roof
San Diego Landscape Vegetable Garden
Santa Barbara Landscape An example of a huge contemporary drought-tolerant and full sun backyard stone water fountain landscape in summer.
San Diego Mediterranean Landscape
Summertime photograph of a sizable stone vegetable garden in the Mediterranean's full sun.
One Stop Career Advice
Links to career posts by me to help you transform a passion into a profession
Introduction to USAJobs | Score a Career with the US Government Part 1
USAJobs Resume Builder | Score a Career with the US Government Part 2
Pathways Internships | Score a Career with the US Government Part 3
It’s Never Too Early to Intern
Internships – Beyond Your Project
What Can You do with a Computer Science Major?
Make the Most Out of Your Summer Career Experience
What’s a Co-Op & How Do I Get One?
Not a Typical Internship - Alternatives to a Summer Internship
Click for my article “What’s a Co-Op? and How Do I Get One?”!
-Kirsi Kuutti
PATHWAYS INTERNSHIP (Co-Op) postings for NASA Johnson Space Center Houston, TX to open September 12th-16th, 2016! Get your USAJobs.gov resume builder resumes ready because the have changed the website layout! Mine was 20,000 characters and 7 pages long so don't wait until the night before. They are looking for business and technical Co-Ops. It looks like they are accepting COMPUTER SCIENCE students now as long as your college's curriculum meets their new criteria! What is the Pathways Intern Program? The NASA Johnson Space Center (JSC) Pathways Intern Program (formerly known as co-op program) follows a cooperative education model where current undergraduate and graduate students gain valuable work experience on an alternating school/work basis, and serves as a pipeline for our future full-time employees. Each work tour you will rotate into a different functional area at JSC, this allows you to try out different career paths while you are still in school and decide what you want to do after graduation. Each time you come for a work rotation you'll be assigned a mentor who will work side-by-side with you to make sure that you have a meaningful project and the tools/knowledge to complete it. Additionally, Interns are able to receive the same benefits as full-time employees such as bi-weekly pay, insurance, and paid time-off. Will be posted here on the 12th: http://nasajobs.nasa.gov/studentopps/employment/opportunities.htm
Sensing Mars: NASA Co-Op #2 Week Nine
Running trials with the new humidity on my fluid rig showed the fruits of my labor finally ripened. This week I ran three trials to collect data determining if a small business designed Humidity Sensor makes accurate measurements. NASA collaborates with small businesses to solve problems related to upcoming missions. The small business designed this Humidity Sensor so it could measure the humidity on Mars without corroding due to the planet’s chemistry.
Using sensors that NASA is familiar with I ran trial cases to get three different data points and compared those measurements to the new sensor. I created a low humidity environment with a desiccant (drier), created a moderate humidity with ambient air and a high humidity environment with a water bubbler. Using a National Instruments cDAQ (compact data acquisition) I collected data from a thermocouple, pressure gauge and a Vaisala humidity sensor that measures dew point (the temperature at which air can no longer “hold” all of the water vapor which is mixed with it) and mixing ratio (mass of water vapor over the mass of dry air). The new humidity sensor simply gives me the parts per million (ppm) of water using it’s ultrasensitive laser absorption spectroscopy. My other sensors don’t give me a ppm value so I have to calculate it using equations from my mentors “Fundamentals of Engineering Thermodynamics” book.
Building this trial rig was a unique experience because it required knowledge in electronics to interpret the signals sent by the sensors, computer science to write the data acquisition program and VNC (Virtual Network Computing) and chemical engineering to interpret data reported and use correct thermodynamics principles and equations. Next week will be looking at the data and get tangible values about how accurate the new Humidity Sensor is.
WAYS TO GET INVOLVED
Check out the AstrOlympics
See what NASA was up to this week
Apply for a NASA Co-Op
Apply for a NASA Internship
How to Work for NASA: Tips from a NASA Intern
Working for NASA is a life long dream for those who grew up building LEGO space stations, watching Space Shuttle launches and admiring Apollo Era heroes. Transforming this childhood dream into reality is more complicated than handing your resume to the right person but more straightforward than receiving a classified invite from an intelligence agent. I will share the many avenues of becoming a part of interstellar exploration discovered during my time interning at NASA. Ramen to Rockets NASA has two primary avenues for current college students to get involved - OSSI Internships and thePathways Internship program (Co-Op). OSSI (One Stop Shopping Initiative) is the main source for internships, fellowships and scholarship opportunities at various NASA centers. An internship is a semester long program where you work alongside professionals in your discipline, get paid in a stipend and do meaningful work that advances NASA’s mission. Some interns have been invited to join NASA full-time but is not common. A Pathways Internship (Co-Op) is similar to an OSSI Internship except a Co-Op is sworn in as a US Government Civil Servant, paid bi-weekly, receive benefits of a Civil Servant, and flip-flops between semesters studying at college and working at NASA. Some Co-Ops extend their flip-flopping into grad school. NASA’s primary pipelines for full-time Civil Servants is the Pathways Intern (Co-Op) program. I shared in great detail what the Co-Op program is and how to apply in this three part blog series. The phrase “college student” may spur images of a microwavable ramen zapping Millennial but NASA’s college programs are great for every kind of college student! OSSI and Co-Op students are parents, veterans, Millennials, experienced in industry and more. Cold Call Nothing can stop you from simply applying to a full-time position at a NASA center. I call it a “Cold Call” because this isn’t a pipeline program driven process. Go on USAJobs and search “NASA” and pages of positions will appear. Applying in this manner may feel like tossing your resume into a black hole. With stellar related experience in aerospace industry, research, military or start up work this method of applying may just work! I share how to use the USAJobs resume builder in this post. Alternatively, an extreme way to join NASA is to become an astronaut. I shared tips on the astronaut application processhere. Note that becoming an astronaut is the least probable way to work at NASA. Space Contract The majority of individuals working onsite at NASA centers are actually contractors. This means they are employed by private companies that NASA collaborates with on projects. Some of many contractors are Lockheed, Boeing, Jacobs, and System Technologies Group (STG). Projects that contractors work on include Orion, Space Launch System, propulsion testing, and International Space Station maintenance. A private company may have a contract to build a part or system and do so offsite at their respective facility. Contractors that produce a part offsite often come onsite to perform integration tests and are an important part of the NASA team and mission. Keep in mind, if you apply to a private (possibly aerospace related) company you may not have much control over if you are a part of a NASA related project. More recently NASA has been reaching out to small businesses for parts, services and solutions via Small Business Innovation Research. Small businesses can propose projects that can advance NASA’s mission. From Civil Servant on site to a small business working in a small town you can work with NASA and advance space exploration.
NASA Co-Op Week 17: First Co-Op Tour Wrap Up
During my final week at NASA this fall I leave PLUTO with a helpful tool. I am putting together a database of hardware on board the International Space Station that is searchable by part number or name. Sometimes the astronauts ask about something that is hard to explain and visualize so this will ease communication. This may not be the most technical task but I wanted to leave them with a really helpful tool. This week I am also awaiting the opportunity to watch the astronauts use my training.
I have thoroughly enjoyed my semester with PLUTO. My top three experiences would have to be developing the astronaut training, visiting Kennedy Space Center and sitting console in Mission Control. PLUTO's work environment is impressive with friendly people, personal growth opportunities and approachable leaders. The PLUTO team was so gracious to nominate and present to me a Co-Op award for my work this semester. It is such an honor to work with these passionate and talented Mission Control specialists. This summer I return to the Co-Op program with the Propulsion and Power Division turning Moon and Mars regolith into fuel. I am so thankful for my Co-Op opportunity and I hope you all can get involved with NASA too! Please check out ways you can be a part of the NASA mission below.
WAYS TO GET INVOLVED
Apply for a NASA Internship NOW (high school to grad school):
https://intern.nasa.gov/ossi/web/public/main/
Apply for a NASA Co-Op (Pathways Internship):
http://nasajobs.nasa.gov/studentopps/employment/opportunities.htm
Other current NASA opportunities for students:
http://www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/current-opps-index.html
Apply to be a NASA astronaut due Feb 18th:
https://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ViewDetails/423817000
Follow Scott Kelly in his yearlong mission: http://time.com/space-nasa-scott-kelly-mission/
