What’s It Like to Work for NASA as a Design Engineer?
在NASA做一個機械工程師是怎樣的體驗？
By Mark Benson
All members of the NASA team play a role in successful missions creating a level of job satisfaction literally “out of this world”.
If money is your prime motivation then perhaps a career with NASA is not for you.
It takes years of planning, designing, testing and retesting to reach the glamorous “for television” NASA celebrations we all love to watch. 7 e8 J, m# ?( n* ]' l1 h
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At first glance, to work for NASA seems very glamorous, very satisfying but ultimately something for the “nerdy” types who like to work on their own. However, in reality life as a NASA mechanical design engineer is very different to the impression you get when you watch rocket launches from Cape Canaveral!
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Finding a job with NASA
When you bear in mind the billions of dollars spent by the US government funding NASA you might expect the authorities to formally invite applications from those looking for employment. The idea that the authorities could pick and choose the best from the world of mechanical design engineering makes perfect sense to such a prestigious operation. However, finding a job with NASA is not as simple or straightforward as you might presume!
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Some individuals are lucky enough to apply directly to NASA highlighting their experience, qualifications and perhaps more importantly their passion for the industry. Passion and knowledge will get you a long way but the vast majority of those who work for NASA have gained experience elsewhere and joined the NASA community via third-party project management companies. It is more likely you will find your way to a career with NASA via these third parties.
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Salary expectations and career progression
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Anyone joining a NASA engineering position would be expected to have a master’s degree or at the very least a bachelor’s degree in a specific area of engineering. The qualifications required will depend upon how you gain entry to the NASA funded projects but in reality the very least you would need is a bachelor’s degree. The level of salary you can expect will vary between the different levels of expertise but we are looking at $75,000 upwards and the ability to achieve upwards of $100,000 within five years. You will find that there are more lucrative opportunities outside of the world of NASA but how do you put a price on landing a probe on Mars, discovering a new Galaxy or perhaps the ultimate goal of creating a new human colony outside of Earth?
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It is well documented that there are two real pathways to increased salary which are management or technical expertise. In reality those looking to take the management path will have some technical expertise and those looking to take the technical expertise path will have some management experience. For those with a passion for space travel and the connected array of engineering challenges there will be many opportunities to climb up the career ladder with NASA. The vast majority of NASA employees will have standard office hours but, depending upon their position and their role, there may be additional requirements outside of these hours.
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Passion, passion, passion
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Those who work for NASA live and breathe the various challenges which the organisation is presented with. While you will obviously need to have expertise and experience to develop your career, a genuine passion for the industry should not be underestimated. The idea that so-called “nerdy” types walk around NASA offices in a world of their own is so far from the truth it is unreal.
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The engineering community at NASA work extremely closely documenting, testing and retesting ideas and projects to ensure that they work perfectly when required. In recent times some employees of NASA have complained about excessive documentation and report writing but in reality we are dealing with very thin margins of error and ground breaking technology. It is a waste of time, money and effort if different project teams revisit and recalculate the same procedures. Therefore accurate report writing is vital to the long-term success of NASA because this gives a pool of invaluable information for all concerned.
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There is also scope for individual creativity and “out-of-the-box thinking” which could prompt the creation of a new technology, improve an existing system or allow project teams to look at problems from a whole different angle. For those looking for a career in design engineering with NASA this will be music to their ears.
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Job satisfaction
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The vast majority of those who work for NASA will tell you that you need to have a passion for the industry above and beyond a financial motivation. Experience in a specific field of engineering, whatever niche area you choose, is vital when attempting to open doors and secure employment. What makes you different from the next applicant? Are you able to work on your own and as a member of a close-knit team? What drives you when faced with challenging situations?
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Whether you are involved in the design of a rocket engine, the design of the crew’s control systems or you are charged with eliminating electronic interference between gadgets, everybody has a role to play. It can take years of research, planning, testing and building before your project actually comes to fruition – indeed many do not even get this far! The satisfaction of working for NASA is evident through successful launches, pushing the boundaries of space travel and ultimately returning probes, rockets and astronauts to earth safely.
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We see the glamorous side on the television after successful missions but these few days or hours are preceded by years of testing, planning and the unglamorous elements of the job which go unnoticed by the general public.
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我竟然看懂了····It's impossible if you're not an American to be a NASA engineer.0 i: d9 A* N0 y4 P! {% c 作者: 海慕之 時間: 2016-9-22 14:45
creating a new human colony outside of Earth，wowww作者: 海慕之 時間: 2016-9-22 14:46
在米國，五年年薪才10萬，的確不高作者: 我走更遠 時間: 2016-9-22 15:24
4 u9 {) y0 ]. V; C0 E! f不可能吧！在美國的宇航局做工程師的工資五年才10萬美元？普通工人都幾萬美元一年了。 4 t% x! w$ ` {( T. {作者: 淡然 時間: 2016-9-22 16:42
Thangk you！The artical is sample. it is very nice to learn English by this way fou our Mechanical Engineers,but The artical is too long to bear！# Q3 Q0 Y2 y# Z$ U% W" x O2 i
表述不好，請指教！9 O W& j/ S/ \ 作者: 海慕之 時間: 2016-9-22 17:29 本帖最后由 海慕之 于 2016-9-22 17:32 編輯 + R! f0 z& M. f- [
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諾The level of salary you can expect will vary between the different levels of expertise but we are looking at $75,000 upwards and the ability to achieve upwards of $100,000 within five years.工作經(jīng)驗五年內(nèi)，薪資可達10萬. p5 n2 Y4 t" Q6 h
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海慕之 發(fā)表于 2016-9-22 17:298 U; ~" G( g U* Z( k
諾The level of salary you can expect will vary between the different levels of expertise but we ar ...
1 @" l2 X- x9 l) R�。」ぷ鳚M五年，年薪可達十萬美元，應(yīng)該還有上升空間，還可以。0 x5 e6 c, P+ m" \
美國總統(tǒng)好像才一百多萬美元，那些上市公司的CEO的年薪就高得可怕了。2 P9 G, W' k' |7 x 作者: albert.tang 時間: 2016-9-22 21:20
Passion, passion, passion . c' ]. u4 I5 h9 o; f, _5 {重要的事情說三遍。老外工作起來是很有激情。作者: 小師妹_c937B 時間: 2016-9-24 16:46
All members of the NASA team play a role in successful missions creating a level of job satisfaction literally “out of this world”. 5 J5 j# r- L- e. u所有NASA的成員盡情投入工作獲得“舉世矚目”的工作成就感 7 ^: a* G$ k& }) x+ e* YIf money is your prime motivation then perhaps a career with NASA is not for you./ k p$ G" D, z
如果錢是你的終極目標，那么NASA的工作并不適合你。 9 Z4 ]8 T( _7 ]0 J4 ~It takes years of planning, designing, testing and retesting to reach the glamorous “for television” NASA celebrations we all love to watch. 5 l4 Z, p) K% o' N3 v% C! d成年累月的籌劃、設(shè)計、測試、反復(fù)測試才能達到NASA人喜聞樂見的“上電視”榮耀。作者: 小師妹_c937B 時間: 2016-9-24 16:47 At first glance, to work for NASA seems very glamorous, very satisfying but ultimately something for the “nerdy” types who like to work on their own. However, in reality life as a NASA mechanical design engineer is very different to the impression you get when you watch rocket launches from Cape Canaveral!% f' K' E3 [# S
對于在NASA工作，第一印象一定是狂拽酷炫吊炸天，成就感爆棚，不然怎么吸引這群技術(shù)宅如此投入地工作。然而，NASA機械工程師的真實工作狀態(tài)完全不同于你在電視上看到的卡納維拉爾角火箭發(fā)射臺上的他們。作者: 小師妹_c937B 時間: 2016-9-24 16:48
Finding a job with NASA在NASA謀得一個職位
1 a1 |" }+ x$ F9 b4 g; [When you bear in mind the billions of dollars spent by the US government funding NASA you might expect the authorities to formally invite applications from those looking for employment. The idea that the authorities could pick and choose the best from the world of mechanical design engineering makes perfect sense to such a prestigious operation. However, finding a job with NASA is not as simple or straightforward as you might presume! 3 M1 b, r8 G9 R. \6 `5 V每年美國政府向NASA投入數(shù)十億美元，可想而知，當(dāng)局對于招聘人才的需求非常大。NASA會依照流程挑選世界上最厲害的機械設(shè)計工程師的想法看起來完美無缺。然而在NASA就職并沒有想象的那么簡單直接。作者: 小師妹_c937B 時間: 2016-9-24 16:48
Some individuals are lucky enough to apply directly to NASA highlighting their experience, qualifications and perhaps more importantly their passion for the industry. Passion and knowledge will get you a long way but the vast majority of those who work for NASA have gained experience elsewhere and joined the NASA community via third-party project management companies. It is more likely you will find your way to a career with NASA via these third parties.
& V i% h! `8 t+ c; z作者: 小師妹_c937B 時間: 2016-9-24 16:49 Salary expectations and career progression薪資待遇職業(yè)前景
Anyone joining a NASA engineering position would be expected to have a master’s degree or at the very least a bachelor’s degree in a specific area of engineering. The qualifications required will depend upon how you gain entry to the NASA funded projects but in reality the very least you would need is a bachelor’s degree. The level of salary you can expect will vary between the different levels of expertise but we are looking at $75,000 upwards and the ability to achieve upwards of $100,000 within five years. You will find that there are more lucrative opportunities outside of the world of NASA but how do you put a price on landing a probe on Mars, discovering a new Galaxy or perhaps the ultimate goal of creating a new human colony outside of Earth?
8 x! \" J. r: r* j1 I作者: 吃飽吃好 時間: 2016-10-10 16:50
It is well documented that there are two real pathways to increased salary which are management or technical expertise. In reality those looking to take the management path will have some technical expertise and those looking to take the technical expertise path will have some management experience. For those with a passion for space travel and the connected array of engineering challenges there will be many opportunities to climb up the career ladder with NASA. The vast majority of NASA employees will have standard office hours but, depending upon their position and their role, there may be additional requirements outside of these hours. ( h. d% R: s8 D: s9 a0 t明文規(guī)定的有兩條漲工資途徑即成為管理專家或技術(shù)專家。實際上，想走管理專家路線的需要一些技術(shù)專長，想走技術(shù)專家路線的也需要一些管理經(jīng)驗。在NASA,那些對太空旅行和其相關(guān)技術(shù)挑戰(zhàn)有熱情的人會有很多職業(yè)晉升機會，大多數(shù)NASA員工是標準工作時間，但也會根據(jù)他們的職位和角色，可能會有一些額外的加班需求。作者: 西區(qū)TSTS 時間: 2016-11-8 15:26
還是看得懂一部分 2 O! J/ A" l$ |2 B" d9 c' D: k+ k作者: 拖拉機2012 時間: 2016-11-17 23:03
厲害了我的各作者: 隨風(fēng)227 時間: 2016-12-24 17:42
感覺年薪是不是應(yīng)該翻譯成 追求在五年內(nèi) 年薪10w呢？基本是75000，在五年內(nèi)升值到10w？作者: 眾要機械 時間: 2016-12-26 16:17
跟中國人的工作態(tài)度和狀態(tài)不一樣。
