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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.