Your Career’s Changing Flight Path
A flight path is the prescribed route a moving object, like a spacecraft, follows as time passes. Sometimes, a trajectory maneuver is needed to correct the course and achieve the intended destination. This job-roundup newsletter, Trajectory Maneuvers, is a collection of resources to help you adjust your career path to achieve your intended place in the space industry as a science communicator (or similar fields).
Below is my list of tips for finding science communications jobs and a list of contractors and organizations that partner with NASA. This article was originally published on SciComm Space in March 2024. Feel free to crawl through these websites, or wait for Monday when the next Trajectory Maneuvers publishes.
Ad astra!
Andrea Lloyd
P.S. You can view past editions of the newsletter here:
Praise for Trajectory Maneuvers
“Thank you for keeping this series going. It’s been tough as someone who wants to do SciComm full time!”
“This is my most looked forward to newsletter by the way. I’m looking for the right fit in the space industry as a science communicator and I just wanted to say how much I appreciate this effort!”
"Legitimately, this feels almost like cheating. I’ve never had this ability to go for a space SciComm job through contracting with other companies. I’ve never had those connections or general understanding of the business to track such jobs down.”
General Tips for Job Searching:
Know your skillset. There’s a wide range of communications skills including writing, editing, and social media. Other skills could be relevant too depending like photography, podcasting, and videography.
Know common phrases. There is a wide array of communications roles. Varying the terms used in searching for potential jobs. Frequently I look for communications specialist, public relations specialist, digital content specialist, and strategic communications specialist. Some companies simply call communications roles technical specialist or brand marketers.
Read the full job description. Since there are so many kinds of roles, always read the job description and cross-reference your skillset list. If you feel like you can perform most of the duties (and you’re interested), apply!
Experience is as important as Education. Focus on the duties over the education requirements. If you have experience writing but don’t have a communications education, there is nothing wrong with that. Plenty of highly successful people enter science communications without traditional degrees. Start a blog, test social media ideas, gain the experience you want.
Submit that resume if you meet most of the qualifications (and you’re interested). Before hitting the job market for the first time, I read a Harvard Business Review article that most women don’t apply unless they are 100% qualified. Men, by contrast, generally apply if they meet 60% of the skillsets. My personal rule became if I met 80% of the skills required, I’d apply. I could always learn additional skills, like software, on the job.
Agencies, Contractors, and Other Space Organizations
Job Boards and Blasts
We Work in Space (Primarily International)
Federal Agencies with Space Connections
Civil servants, or federal positions, will be listed on USAjobs.gov. Here are some centers and programs that work with space.
NOAA: Office of Low Earth Orbit Observations, Office of Space Weather Observations, Office of Space Commerce, GOES Program
NASA: Ames Research Center, Armstrong Flight Research Center, Glenn Research Center, Goddard Space Flight Center, Katherine Johnson IV and V Facility, Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Johnson Space Center, Kennedy Space Center, Langley Research Center, Marshall Space Flight Center, Mary W. Jackson NASA Headquarters, NASA Stennis Space Center, Wallops Flight Facility
USGS: EROS Center, Landsat Program
Military: Space Command, Air Force
Other: Federal Administrative Service, Los Alamos National Laboratory, National Air and Space Museum
Contractors to Federal Agencies
Contract positions will be listed on these sites or aggregate sites.
Multi-Agency Contractors: KBR Technologies, C2G Inc, SSAI, Jacobs, Booz Allen Hamilton, Summit Technologies & Solutions, VeriCon Technical Services, COLSA, AS&M, AMA, HX5,
Communications Focus: Media Fusion, Barrios Technology, ARES Corporation, MORI Associates,
Education Focus: LMI Solutions, USRA,
Health Focus: Jes Tech,
More Contractors: MRI Technologies, SAIC, ASRC Federal, Alutiiq, Delaware North, Leidos, Odyssey Space Research, Rothe Development, Cactus Communications, CGI,
Space Organizations
Multi-interest Companies: Honeywell, Northrop Grumman, Lockheed Martin, Ball Aerospace, Boeing, RTX (Raytheon), RocketLab, Collins Aerospace, Airbus, The Aerospace Corporation, Sierra Nevada Corporation, Oliver Wyman, Mercury Systems, BAE Systems, GE Aerospace, Aerojet Rocketdyne, Axiom Space, Relativity, Amentum, The Exploration Company,
Rocket Companies: SpaceX, Blue Origin, Virgin Galactic, United Launch Alliance, Firefly Aerospace, Astra, Vaya Space
Lunar Missions: Astrobotic, Lunar Outpost, Intuitive Machines,
Satellite and Geospatial Companies: Planet Labs, Vantor (formerly Maxar), Lanteris (formerly Maxar), Astranis, Muon Space, Spire, PlanetIQ, Star Catcher, Spin Launch, Descartes Labs,
Aerospace Companies: Hermeus, Sierra Space
Manufacturing Companies: Redwire,
Startups: OrbitFab, Star Catcher
Space Medicine: OSMED,
Planetary and Telescope: Subaru Telescope, STSci,
Academia
Space Grant Universities: Texas A&M University, Engineering Department at Texas A&M University, Johns Hopkins University, California Institute of Technology
Universities: Oklahoma State University, University of Texas, International Space University
Research Institutes: Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics, EarthScope Consortium, AmericaView, ISS National Lab, International Institute for Astronautical Sciences
Organizations with Space Connections
Advertising and Public Relations: Griffins Communications Group, The Aviation Agency, Imagine Milk,
Advocacy Groups: DarkSky, The Planetary Society, X Prize Foundation, National Space Society, Space Foundation, The Mars Society, Project Possum
Reporting: Space.com, SpaceNews, Stories of Space Project
Museums: Space Center Houston, U.S. Space & Rocket Center (AL), Wings Over the Rockies, National Air & Space Museum (Smithsonian), Cradle of Aviation Museum.
Other: The Astronauts Memorial Foundation