Best Most Exciting Jobs For the Future
You, too, can use space telescopes, thanks to timesharing.
HubPages Q & A
- A Hubber asked a very interesting question: If you could go back to school and pick a new career what would it be? -- asked by SpriggsB
Fast Growing Industries In America
I'm to review the space exploration film Gravity with Sandra Bullock and George Clooney soon. It reminds me that if I were beginning a career today, it would be in the new Aerospace Industries that are growing magnificently in America.
Proliferation of Space Related Jobs
Over a dozen space ports are already open and working in our country. One-quarter of my state, Ohio, is designated as the Space Corridor for business and jobs. Other states began growing private aerospace jobs before the last NASA Space Shuttle lifted off. These states include Florida, Texas, California, and sveral others. During summer 2013, NASA itself began training a new class of eight astronauts for missions to the Moon and Mars. In addition, NASA operates in partnership with at least 63 private companies designated as the NASA Commerical Crew. The space agency also partners with other countries, like Japan, in the manufacture and testing and space vehicles and equipment.
A Private Leader in Aerospace Exploration and Mining
Planetary Resources is a new company that has already crowdsourced enoungh money in just two days to put 100 new ARKYD space telescopes into the heavens to provide time-sharing to K-12 schools as well as colleges and universities.
At this time, Planetary Resources is looking for a Community Manager/Engineer. You can see the advertisement at the following link, along with an opportunity to sign up for their informative and fun newsletter that I enjoy. Backed by leaders from Google and the famous James Cameron, this company is fun and forward looking.
It is even more fun since the tradition of Star Trek actors as spokespeople continues: Brent Spiner (Data from ST:TNG) and Robert Picardo (Doc from ST:Voyager) represent Planetary Resources' work as Nichelle Nichols (Uhuru from ST:TOS) represented NASA and recuited dozens of top astronauts.
Visit Planetary Resources -- During September 2013, Sir Richard Branson joined the company's core investor group. This brings him to work with Google VIPs and James Cameron, among other luminaries. The posibilities of space become more exciting every day!
Space Google
Google operated the LunarX Prize in order to attract talent from academia and the private sector that would build lunar landers ready to go to the moon by 2015.
Far ahead of schedule, Google had its set of landers by early 2013!
Aerospace Industries Advance 2010 - 2040
- A Review of Aerospace Careers to 2040 AD
Space Tourism has the potential to become of the largest Aerospace Industries of the 21st century. Spurred by science fiction as early as the 1800s, sci-fi fan clubs of the 1930s, the Space Race, and Homer Hickam, jobs in Aerospace are blossoming. - ARKYD: US Space History: Exploration Opens to Teachers, Students
Brent Spiner, Lt. Commander Data from the popular Star Trek saga, and others have joined a leading Space Mining company to guide the American public into participation in space exploration. - Google, The Asteroid Mining Company
New controversy & competition - while pundits and some scientists say asteroids are too far away to mine, a new Asteroid Mining Company in 2013 plans to compete with Google backed Planetary Resources. - NASA's Commercial Crew
Space exploration, space mining, and space tourism are all part of NASA's system of over 63 private areospace companies at this writing.
- NASA's 2013 Astronaut Class Background, Education and Related Jobs
From 2012 - 2013, these four men and four women were recuited and selected for a Mission to Mars. They will first fly to a near-Earth asteroid, followed by a flight to the Red Planet. Godspeed! - Privatized Space Travel - Companies and Spaceship Designs
NASA chose 7 top companies for commerical aerospace transport manufacture as part of the larger Commercial Crew. - Prospecting Satellites In Asteroid Mining
Near Earth Asteroid Mining begins with prospecting. This pioneering work will begin with the Arkyd-100, 200, and 300 series of prospecting satellite telescopes.
Who Would I Want to Be In the Future?
I want to be the Gary Sinese character from Apollo 13, the astronaut/engineer that, from the ground, could help the space capsule crew in trouble and could also explore space when he had the opportunity. That character is Astronaut Ken Mattingly (born in 1936).
If I could combine a third skill, I would also design space vehicles. That means I would study electrical, mechanical, and design engineering, probably ening with a PhD in electrical engineering.
Early Exposure to Outer Space
At pre-school age, I saw reruns of the old black and white Space Patrol series on a local childrens' show. Even though the space ship in the opening credits was a paper cone on a empty toilet paper roll, the show was fun to watch.
In elementary school, field trips included a yearly visit to the local observatory north of town and these trips were fun. We learned about constellations, early space flight, and watched plenetarium shows. Today, young students can pull data from the ARKYD telescopes onto computers in their classrooms.
Former astronaut John Glenn is about 94 years old and still teaching at The Ohio State University. He was ever-present in my childhood, a hero better than the X-Men to us.
Do you remember The Day the Earth Stood Still? That film was shown every year in Junior High during lunch periods, a few scenes every day for week. I loved that movie and dreamed about meeting people from other planets.
Star Trek®. How many people entered the astronaut corps because of Nichlle Nichols? - A lot. Martin Luther King, Jr. talked her out of quitting the show, because she was such a good role model of striving toward success. I was fortunate to meet her at a science fiction convention and she is one of my favorite people.
Technicians
You don't have to stuiy for years and years to work in Aerospace Industries. Engineering Technicians and technicians in related fields make good salaries as well. They work in rocketry, guidance systems, space vehicle construction and repair, communciations, and many other areas that can be quite exciting.
What If?
I had a chance to become an engineer and apply to the NASA astronaut program, but I did not do so. I had an overwhelming premonition that kept me from doing either. A few years later. the Space Shuttle Challenger exploded with a woman astronaut from Ohio on board; she had the PhD in electrical engineering. I was quite shaken.
Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated with a crew full of good people dying as well. I was less shaken, but saddened. I am still sad about that.
Today, I would go to space. I've helped steer thousands of people into GEDS, college dredges, and jobs; and helped others through my healthcare and sports coaching work, so I would choose to do something different in the future.
If I were a high school student today, I'd concentrate on the STEM Courses (Sciences, Technologies, Engineering, and Mathematics) and pursue the degrees in electrical engineering (EE). As it is, I was able to concentrate on the SEM, since we had more limited technologies before the Internet and IT were popular. However, author Sir Arthur C Clarke had already invented the ComSat.
As it is today, I could pick up the EE courses since I already have the math and sciences needed. I will seriously think about it, but I encourage high school and college students to do it, if they have any interest in aerospace and engineering.
