JPL/NASA Anyone want to work there?

[indieFan]

Originally Posted by JVN

But... I hear they are doing incredible things in the shelving world. Maybe I'll become a shelving engineer.

Or cardboard boxes, I hear those are pretty cool also. I could be a box designer!

I mean... everyone needs shelves and boxes!

Don't mock things before you check them out. One of the stories I heard from a professor at my school is that a senior design project involved going to a company that made pallets. There was only this one company anywhere in the Los Angeles vacinity that was making them at the time. One of the students realized this and started his own company making pallets.

Think about how many companies use pallets. Think about how the Port of Los Angeles uses pallets. Think about the fact that each pallet costs $10. Now think about how well that company must be doing.

Just some food for thought,
indieFan

[JVN]

Originally Posted by indieFan

Don't mock things before you check them out.

Who says I'm mocking them?

Lot's of cool stuff out there.

[Katie Reynolds]

Originally Posted by JVN

All this other stuff sounds really exciting.
But... I hear they are doing incredible things in the shelving world. Maybe I'll become a shelving engineer.

Or cardboard boxes, I hear those are pretty cool also. I could be a box designer!

I mean... everyone needs shelves and boxes!

Ohh the possibilities are endless!


engineering isn't just spaceships folks...

I always thought going into packaging engineering would be really cool. (http://www.uwstout.edu/programs/bsp/) And my dad used to work for a company that made correugated boxes ... now he works for a company that makes plastic totes, pallets and the like. It's actually all pretty neat. Unfortunately, I'm not too good with math, and the whole engineering thing wouldn't really work for me.

Anyway, I'd love to work for JPL/NASA. Not as an engineer, but as doing what I'm going to school for (scientific and technical communications)

That would be sweet.

[Stu Bloom]

Originally Posted by Dan Swando

My career choice plans after college (In order):

DEKA engineer
NASA engineer
FANUC engineer
Other robotics field engineer

Hey Dan,

Read "Code Name Ginger" ...

I do love the guy ... but I could NEVER work for Dean.

[Mike AA]

Originally Posted by Stu Bloom

Hey Dan,

Read "Code Name Ginger" ...

I do love the guy ... but I could NEVER work for Dean.

I've still not gotten that book, I want it but not bought it. I guess It attributed to getting info offline and spending my money to make lotsa buttons with mico LEDs. In season 2005 look for the guy/team with buttons with 30 of the small (surface mount) LEDs.

I think I'd like to work for DEKA, I'm kinda having troubles with school and stuff but really good with hands on, I would definatly like to work for NASA in some way shape or form, one of my friends wants to be an astronaut (sp?). I wouldnt mind having to design the new shuttles and wire them, I'm attempting to get an electrical engineering degree in addition to my electrical lisence, heck you think college is hard? try college and 8 years or more of electrical work rewiring houses! the attic I was in last week was 100+ and EXTREMELY dusty, cramped and I had to be careful NOT to fall through the ceiling!

[DougHogg]

Originally Posted by Mike AA

I think I'd like to work for DEKA, I'm kinda having troubles with school and stuff but really good with hands on, I would definatly like to work for NASA in some way shape or form, one of my friends wants to be an astronaut (sp?). I wouldnt mind having to design the new shuttles and wire them, I'm attempting to get an electrical engineering degree in addition to my electrical lisence, heck you think college is hard? try college and 8 years or more of electrical work rewiring houses! the attic I was in last week was 100+ and EXTREMELY dusty, cramped and I had to be careful NOT to fall through the ceiling!

Sounds like you deserve an A+ for persistence. I am willing to bet that your wiring experience will come in handy when you get to engineering. You are ahead of me. I guess it's time for me to go back to school.

[Mike AA]

Originally Posted by DougHogg

Sounds like you deserve an A+ for persistence. I am willing to bet that your wiring experience will come in handy when you get to engineering. You are ahead of me. I guess it's time for me to go back to school.

Thanks, Thats what I'm planning.

[miketwalker]

I personally really want to work for NASA or JPL. I'm interested in working with the manned flight rockets and components (i.e. processing of International Space Station items). I'm also interested in doing work similar to Lavery because automated robots interest me.

However, my long term goals are that I want to become an astronaut. That's my life-long dream, so I'm working towards it... even if I'm a really tall guy, I'll just have to be even better to make them want me more :-P

[Joe Matt]

A good, good, good friend of mine (he's on CD too) wants to get into the aeronautical engineering field, and hopes to work with NASA some day.

As for me, my dream job is with Walt Disney Imagineering. But hey, I'm weird like that. Why just be an astronaut when you could make other people feel like they are? It's the idea of creating a story for other people to marvel and appreciate seems really cool. Also, I've never been a huge fan of going to DEKA. I don't know why, maybe it's just not my style of company.

[jpsaul7usa]

Originally Posted by Erin Rapacki

Already was a:

DEKA Test Technician
NASA subcontractor - Space Suit Quality/Project Intern
JSF F135 Project Intern

Dave, may I work at JPL for next year's coop... pleeeeease?



ByE


erin

p.s. For all of those of whom I consulted... my Mom pounded the most sense into me. No, I'm not switching majors. Thanks to all of you!

What is the F135?

As for me, following college and grad school I dream of working for NASA and Disney. Not sure exactly why Disney will need a biochemist, but I'll find a way.

[ChrisH]

Originally Posted by jpsaul7usa

What is the F135?

I believe that's a mistype of F-35. One of the programs I happen to be working on

[Erin Rapacki]

Originally Posted by jpsaul7usa

What is the F135?

Oh, the F135 is the P&W Jet Engine for the F35... an upcoming American version of the Herrier aircraft. It has the capability to do vertical take-offs & landings.

http://www.airforce-technology.com/projects/jsf/

[phrontist]

If by some miracle I matriculate, China looks like the future hotspot for innovation.

Engineering is high stress though...

I think its more important to be good at what you do then to do what you want and suck at it. Engineers are the only thing preventing the technological meltdown of modern soceity. A minor mistake could kill many, many, people. Remember, with mass manufacturing, your mistake could copied millions of times.

I think I wanna be a highrise apartment engineer, nuclear power-plant engineer, or how about designing assembly lines for slaughterhouses. Yeah, those'd be a low-stress jobs

As if the saftey of the consumer isn't enough to worry about, your throwing around some suit's wad of cash...

Honestly I think it would be hard to have enough confidence to be a professional engineer.

[Erin Rapacki]

Originally Posted by phrontist

If by some miracle I matriculate, China looks like the future hotspot for innovation.

Engineering is high stress though...

I think its more important to be good at what you do then to do what you want and suck at it. Engineers are the only thing preventing the technological meltdown of modern soceity. A minor mistake could kill many, many, people. Remember, with mass manufacturing, your mistake could copied millions of times.

I think I wanna be a highrise apartment engineer, nuclear power-plant engineer, or how about designing assembly lines for slaughterhouses. Yeah, those'd be a low-stress jobs

As if the saftey of the consumer isn't enough to worry about, your throwing around some suit's wad of cash...

Honestly I think it would be hard to have enough confidence to be a professional engineer.

This is the exact reason why we need MORE engineers! Yes, many people who go out and get an engineering degree may not have enough talent to provide a confident design, but at least they are trying to get a degree in something difficult... which means they are capable of learning, which means they could handle tough situations.

Many engineers work in teams to design a part or a product. As engineers grow within a company & get older, they may wish to specialize in an area. One of the areas is called Quality Assurance. This includes making sure all the documentation is in place for test procedures, assembly & manufacturing procedures, getting design changes signed-off, and making sure everyone is trained properly for their specific position.

If more people get engineering degrees, we could have more engineers designing... and equally, more Quality people nagging the engineers about making sure the product works properly.

I've worked on projects for the Air Force, NASA, and I'm very familiar with FDA approval procedures... trust me, everything is checked & rechecked hundreds of times.

The Glitch? At least one engineer may be aware of a problem but doesn't speak up about it. This could be either because the engineer is particularly shy or "low-level," or bad company politics would force them to ignore the problem hoping that nothing becomes of it. This is the real problem... and it's needing of a good solution.

This is where FIRST comes in with "gracious professionalism." Be honest, be caring, and in the workplace... speak up if something bothers your conscience. In FIRST, we are being taught the Ethics necessary to continue to grow as a technological society.


ByE

erin

[ElfMaster]

Well after college and graduate school, I hope to work with NASA. I'm interning at a satellite lab now. Its fun. After that... Pirate for a year!