For the Love of Lists

Engineering life one step at a time

How Failure Can Make Me an Astronaut

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How Failure Can Make Me an Astronaut

In celebration of National Engineer’s Week, I’d like to share a recent story with you about my first application to the astronaut program.

For those who don’t know, astronaut applications typically open up every four years or so and accept between 8-14 candidates. This year had a record number of 18,300 applicants (the previous record was 8,100 in 1978). This puts my chances for selection around 0.08%. And yet, even knowing I just meet the minimum qualifications, I applied because 0.08% is still higher than 0%.

I’ve wanted to apply to be an astronaut since I was eight years old. I always had this dream of filling out the “perfect” application, repeating as necessary until I finally got my chance. But when it came time to submit my first application I froze, realizing I didn’t know what I really had to offer. Sure I have the necessary degree, but what makes me stand out over those other 18,299 people?

I started to let myself get so discouraged that I nearly didn’t submit anything at all. Here was a job I had always wanted, and I felt like I had nothing to show for it. If it weren’t for my husband’s gentle nudging (who, as it happens, also applied for the program), I may have let that first opportunity I had longed for pass by. I managed to put together the best application I could muster at the moment, and now I’ll play the waiting game with everyone else over the next few months.

I’ve been going over this process again and again in my head the past week, and I realized that I have two ways to look at it: I can either let myself be discouraged or I can use this as an opportunity for growth. Every time I’ve submitted an application, interviewed, or even started a new job, I’ve been filled with anxiety over the qualifications and skills I’ve felt I lacked. And it’s all too easy to start focusing on others and letting envy creep in over their success. But why? Sitting before me now is a list of recommended traits and qualifications, along with a 50+ year history of examples who have been accepted by the program. In fact, I know that most likely four years from now the same position will open up again. So what can I change in the next four years to feel more confident in my application?

This is a challenge before me, one with objectives already laid out, ready to be met. I started by considering skills that most of the current astronauts possess. While they are no guarantee of future success, they are a great stepping stone to pursue a wider variety of abilities. Here is what I came up with:

* Advanced Degree(s)
* Subject Matter Expertise
* Published Works
* Hands-On Mechnical Experience
* Leadership/Project Management Experience
* Multiple Languages (Russian, Japanese, etc)
* Public Speaking/STEM Outreach
* General Health & Fitness
* Swimming/SCUBA Skills
* Flying Experience

Each of these translates in a series of attainable goals to pursue, with a timeline in which to complete them. Now it’s up to me to create cohesive strategies for personal development. There’s nothing stopping me from learning new foreign vocabulary each day or spending time reading up on upcoming aerospace research. And yet the biggest piece of this career puzzle isn’t even on this list: the set of skills that will set me apart from the other applicants. I need to set aside some time to brainstorm what it is that I can uniquely offer. Therein lies the confidence that I need to put forth a successful application. So, while I may not be there yet, I have a plan set in motion for the next four years that will bring me closer to my dream job.

I realize that not everyone reading this has had the lifelong goal of traveling into orbit (or perhaps you have and you’ve just never taken action on it). But this lack of confidence affects nearly anyone who’s ever applied for a job. When we read those job postings and the list of qualifications, we’re provided with a template for success. We may not have everything we need just now, but those skills are worth taking note of because they’re the ones that will get us further in the future. The best way we can approach failure is to use it as feedback on what we can do to improve ourselves.

I wish you the best of luck with your current and future endeavors!

“Failure is simply the opportunity to begin again, this time more intelligently.” – Henry Ford

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10 Phrases Girls Face in STEM Careers

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While it’s common knowledge that women are in the minority in most STEM careers, that number has been steadily growing over the past few decades.  For example, in 1970 women represented only 3% of engineering occupations, whereas in 2011 they represented 13%.  The number of bachelor’s degrees awarded to women in engineering rose to 19% in 2012.  However, even with the upward trend, there are still several challenges that women face when starting such careers, some even before they start college.  Here are 10 phrases I’ve heard with regard to my chosen path:

  1. “Engineering is for boys.”
  2. “You’d make a better nurse/teacher.”
  3. “Be careful not to break a nail.”
  4. “Your job is to take notes.”
  5. “You only got in because they needed more girls.”
  6. “Are you from HR?”
  7. “Great, we’ll have to take that harassment training.”
  8. “Now we have to watch our mouths; there’s a girl around.”
  9. “Aren’t you going to leave when you have children?”
  10. “Are you one of those feminists?”

Many of these are heard across the board for women with careers, but it surely makes the challenges of engineering even more difficult.  Young girls are steered away from STEM towards the jobs others feel are “meant” for them.  If I hadn’t been surrounded by the right people throughout my life, I likely would have been scared away 10 years ago.  That being said, here are several ways you can be supportive of girls entering STEM careers:

Interning with NASA
Interning with NASA
  • Demonstrate good role models: Seeing famous, and even local, role models actively participating in STEM careers is a great motivator. Many female astronauts remember seeing Sally Ride fly into orbit on Discovery and thinking “if she can do it, I can do it too.”  Show examples of women who have succeeded in STEM fields, or find local mentors/groups that can match up future engineers with professional counterparts.

 

  • Limit gender-based expectations: We need to encourage children that their path is up to them and their interests, not expectations of what role they should fill. While historically men and women flocked to particular jobs, this should not define people’s choices for the future.  If a girl wants to be an engineer, she should be an engineer (as a recent Twitter conversation discussed).

 

  • Increase gender esteem: How many times have we all heard the phrase “you ____ like a girl”? In fact, a recent commercial highlighted the fact that it’s assumed that “like a girl” is equivalent to “sub-par” or “weak”.  We are almost all guilty of this, but we need to stop relating half our population to inferior skill sets.  Girls need to know that they can be just as strong and intelligent as the boys.

 

  • Avoid pressuring girls to “prove themselves”: This may sound counterintuitive, but I hate when people advise me to go “prove myself” as a woman in engineering. I should be proving myself as an engineer just like the men, but not because I’m female.  We need to focus more on skills than on gender.

 

  • Focus on facts over assumptions: Some of the words that have hurt me most throughout my life were spoken when someone assumed I got a job or scholarship only because I’m a girl. We need to not be skewed by such gender-based views on the world; particularly in STEM it is the facts that matter.  Look at people’s abilities before you attribute their traits to gender.

 

  • Demonstrate all sides of STEM: while not everyone wants to become an electrical engineer, they may be interested in biomedical engineering. STEM fields cover such a broad area of work, that there’s nearly something for all interests.  We need to show off all of the different aspects of technical careers so that aspiring engineers and scientists can understand all that they can achieve.

 

  • Seek out professional groups: The Society of Women Engineers is a good example, but there are a great number of professional STEM groups (both female and mixed) that offer STEM resources and solidarity in dealing with any gender-based prejudices. Plus, it’s always nice to have friends and connections in your field.

 

  • Teach and seek balance: If you ask most people to describe themselves, the first thing they’ll tell you is their job. We are more than our jobs.  Too often I’ve seen or felt that if I participate in any feminine activities then I’m going back on the personality that I’ve established for my career.  So I too need to remind myself that people are multifaceted and can have any number of interests.

I have been fortunate to have highly supportive people in my life, and hopefully these insights will help you to be that person for someone else.  For any girls interested in pursuing a career in engineering or any other STEM field, I have this final piece of advice: no one can tell you what you enjoy doing and no one decides your skills for you; you choose your path with your dedication and passion.