No Such Thing as a PhD Drop-out

 

I recently had a conversation with a client about discerning a PhD program as a mid-level professional. His major concern was the time commitment. Is it worth dedicating several years, perhaps balancing a full-time job and a family, to gain the credential and title Doctor?

The answer really depends on one's motivations for pursuing a PhD. Do you love the topic or research area? Are you after that prestige? Are you wanting to further your education? Are you needing the credential for a career path such as professorship? Are you just not sure how to move forward and you think a PhD would help, at least for now until your path become clearer?

All of these motivations (and more) are valid reasons for pursuing a PhD. There is popular advice out there that you should not pursue a PhD unless you are truly passionate about the subject matter. This is entirely false. Passion for a certain topic is a great reason for pursuing a PhD. It is not the only reason.

Many (if not most) people are not head-over-heals in love with their PhD topic. That's okay. Most graduate students do not choose their exact area of research and instead are assigned a topic area by their professor, advisor, or funding agency. Telling students they must have passion for a PhD is setting up an ideal that is unattainable for most graduate students and is a form of gatekeeping that signals to prospective students that they don't belong. You do belong, even if you don't love your PhD topic.

Whatever the reason one is considering a PhD, the question remains: is it worth it? Only you can answer this question for yourself. Only you know your dreams, goals, motivations, and level of commitment to continue down this path. No one else can make this decision for you.

There are many benefits and moments of exhilaration pursing a PhD and conducting independent research. There are also many challenges and moments of despair. There are countless stories of the mental health challenges graduate students face. A prospective graduate student needs to consider the potential negatives, challenges, and stressors of the path they are about to embark on to be able to fully assess whether beginning this journey is worth it to them.

Beginning a journey is not a promise to end the journey the same way you intended when you began. Humans are remarkably adaptable. We adjust as we travel along our paths, learning new things about ourselves and the world. New opportunities present themselves. We continually make choices about where and how we spend our time and whether we're better off shifting our journeys based on another path. We evolve.

Is a professor or advisor not working out for you? It's okay to switch. Really, it is. I did it. It was a painful, emotional decision that led to me losing the third year of my NASA fellowship funds, but it's doable.

Is a lab, research group, department, or university not working out for you? It's okay to switch. Again, I did it. I completely changed from pursuing a PhD in astrophysics to a PhD in planetary science, a related field, but different enough to require a university change and extra courses. But it's okay to change your mind and direction.

Once I got over the anxiety and self-doubt about switching programs, I saw the benefits of my new path. I was more sure about myself and what I wanted. My new graduate advisor was a better fit for me than my previous one. My resume and experience was impressive. I was viewed as a more mature graduate students. Changing my mind and my path allowed me to experience something new, something closer to what I wanted to do with my time and labor.

Then came the most unexpected change of path: “dropping out.” I am an all-but-dissertation PhD drop-out twice over, not because I failed or was forced to leave, but because I chose to leave. I chose a different path than the one I embarked on when I began my graduate school journey. And I do not regret it. My path was the correct one for me.

It all ties back to one's motivations. My reasons for pursuing a PhD were met by literally pursuing the PhD, not obtaining it. I was interested in the research areas I pursued. I wanted to learn more. But I never needed the prestige or credential of the PhD title or degree. I never wanted to be a professor. “You'll change your mind,” I was told as a brand new graduate student, already certain I didn't want to become a professor. No, I didn't change my mind.

Because my motivation for pursuing a PhD was to go down that path but not necessarily to complete it, gaining the PhD became a secondary goal. When I unexpectedly received a full-time job offer while I was working on my dissertation, I had a choice to make. Do I complete the PhD or do I take the job? Can I do both? Well, I tried to do both and failed. Some people could combine paths, but I could not. I made a choice: to leave one job to focus on another.

It sounds a bit different framing it that way, doesn't it? Leaving one job for another. Graduate research is a job, and a very underpaid and underappreciated one at that. When we leave a job to pursue another opportunity or direction, do we call it dropping out? No. Why is there a negative connotation leaving a graduate student job but that negative connotation doesn't exist when leaving almost any other job?

Academia is known for its elitism. Many professors (but not all) are convinced that their path is the superior path and all other paths are seen as lessor. I've had professors I know and professors I just met ask me when I'm “returning” to complete my PhD, as if my graduate student labor and knowledge up to that point was discounted because I didn't gain a credential I don't need.

What did I gain? I dived deep into astrophysics and planetary science. I completed the physics comprehensive exam, a multi-day written and oral exam on graduate-level physics, the hardest exam of my life. I gained the knowledge, satisfaction, and confidence that comes from passing such a test. I know I know my stuff! I gained research and lab experience, data analysis, programming, technical writing, public speaking, and many other skills. I worked with colleagues and met new people, networking and maturing in my field. I gained what I wanted from my graduate school experience.

When an experience gives us what we wanted to gain based on our motivations for pursuing that experience, it's okay to look forward to our next steps and shift our path depending on what our motivations are. It's also okay to recognize when an experience is not meeting your expectations and to change your path accordingly. It's okay to leave. It's okay to try something new. It's okay to get a different job than an academic job and reject the stigma of “dropping out” or “leaving academia.”

Back to my client. I gave him the advice I wish I had received years ago when I was just starting out on my PhD path: if this is the path you want to pursue for now, pursue it for now. Don't feel obligated to commit x number of years of your life to it. Don't feel obligated to finish it because of someone else's expectation. This may be the best path for you now. This may not be the best path for you later, and if so, you can change your mind.

I didn't drop out of my PhD. I pursued a better path. And I'm better for it.

Mentoring for a Better Space Career Journey

In lieu of traveling this summer to events where I'd interact with students and young professionals just starting out in their space careers, this spring and summer I opened myself up to speak with as many students one-on-one as I could pro bono, focusing in particular on the Brooke Owens Fellowship and the Matthew Isakowitz Fellowship recipients and finalists. As always, it's been such a rewarding experience to get to know these talented students.

Back to high school and early undergraduate years, I was very curious about what it was really like to work in the space sector. I only had an outsider's perspective based on pop culture. I didn't know anyone who worked in space who could answer my questions or guide me. I was very fortunate to be able to job shadow scientists and engineers at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center for a week when I was 16 which gave me glimpses into what a space career could be.

It wasn't until later in undergrad when I began to meet more space professionals did I begin to start forming a true picture of what space careers look like. I knew very early on I did not want to be a professor, but I was very interested in being a research scientist at NASA. I was fortunate to begin meeting and getting involved in research, initially under professors.

Then my big break came: my first NASA internship when I was 21. Surrounded by space professionals of all kinds and hearing guest lectures all summer, I truly began to see the diversity of career paths and professional experiences. I've been learning from others' experiences ever since.

Speaking with students at any level reminds me of of those times when I was exploring career paths and trying to determine where I belonged. Most of the students I speak with are already very well informed and have their own space-related experiences to draw from. Many of these students are more experienced and knowledgeable than I was at their age. It can be humbling but also inspiring! The future is in good hands.

Many students are uncertain whether they are allowed to reach out to professionals, whether they are too young or inexperienced to begin networking, or whether certain professionals are off-limits for them to communicate with. On all points, I try to reassure students that they can and should politely reach out to and learn from professionals whose work or career paths they're interested in. Not everyone will respond, but many are happy to answer student questions and speak about their work and career paths.

Networking is one of the best things students and young professionals can do to discern their career choices and understand the industry or field they want to join or are in the early stages of navigating. I've recently had the pleasure of chatting with two high school students who were very mature, confident, and well-informed about space already because of the professionals they've already conversed with. The more networking one does, the more comfortable ones becomes networking. The key is to form mutually beneficial relationships with people over time.

How can networking with students be beneficial for professionals? I get inspired by the students I interact with. I see their potential and in some cases are able to follow their progress as they explore opportunities and achieve successes. I admire much of the work they do and can learn from them. I'm thankful for their energy and enthusiasm. I see how they are changing the space sector and, in their own way, changing the world for the better. They give me hope. And I'm so proud they become my peers.

Although I do not have the time I wish I had to mentor every student who reaches out to me, I gladly give the time I'm able to answering emails or having informational interview phone calls. As the summer semester winds down and my maternity slow-down period approaches, I'll have even less time in the coming months. Mentoring doesn't need to take a lot of time. It could be as simple as a few quick messages exchanged over the weeks, months, or years or having a catch-up call every now and again.

I was asked by a student today about finding mentors. Many colleges/universities and professional organizations have formal mentoring programs that pair students with professionals. But mentoring doesn't need to be formal or structured. Informal mentors could be people who you admire and wish to emulate, whether in a career you want or not. They could be people you ask to mentor you or people who have no idea you see them as a mentor.

Every step of my career journey to this day, I've had mentors, mostly informal. It truly helps to find people who inspire you along your career, who can guide you or answer your questions, who can introduce you to others and perhaps even champion you, who you know support you and your dreams. Find these people wherever they are. They are everywhere.

If at any point you want formal space career coaching, I'm here for you, whether through a self-paced coaching course or one-on-one email or phone coaching. If coaching is too much for you, reach out to me anyway and I'll try to help in any way I can.

Pursuing Your Space Career Dream as a Non-US-Citizen

This is part 4 in a 4-part series. Click here for part 1, here for part 2, and here for part 3.

“I want to work in the space industry in the US but I’m not a US citizen. What can I do?”

I get this question a lot from students and professionals from all around the world. I still don’t have the best answer for them. I can sense their eagerness to get involved in an industry we love and their frustration at the barriers. It’s especially heartbreaking to hear from non-citizen students studying in the US who want to find a space job and stay, but can’t.

Two years ago, I was quoted in the Orlando Sentinel saying, “It's really frustrating. These were students who came to the U.S., were trained here. So we spend the resources, the time to train people in highly educated, high in-demand fields, and then they take that and leave.”

In most cases, they don’t want to leave. Without a job, they have no choice.

First, some basics. People around the world dream of working for NASA. As a federal government agency, only US citizens can be employed as civil servants at NASA. I know of many NASA employees who became US citizens at some point in their career journeys and now work for NASA.

NASA employs many more contractors than civil servants. These contractors are small and large businesses, suppliers, service providers, universities, and nonprofits. These contractors work at NASA centers and facilities or on NASA projects at their employer’s facilities. I’ve never been a NASA civil servant but I have worked as a contractor or subcontractor at 3 NASA centers.

Citizenship requirements are set by the contractor. Many require US citizenship, especially engineering positions that are restricted by the International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). But some contractors do not require US citizenship. Universities and research-focused nonprofits are most open to hiring internationally.

Many commercial space companies in the US are restricted by ITAR as to who they can hire. Some of the larger companies with international offices and partnerships may have procedures in place to hire non-US-citizens. Some smaller companies may also hire non-US-citizens if they have no reason to restrict their hiring or if they have ties to another country.

For example, Rocket Lab is an American company with a subsidiary company and significant operations in New Zealand. They have strict citizenship requirements for US-based jobs but more open citizenship requirements for NZ-based jobs.

Consider your home country and surrounding countries. Are there opportunities to get involved in space closer to home which can help you get your foot in the door in the industry? You may find the space career you seek without having to leave your own country or the surrounding region. Or you may find it easier to move around from location to location once you are already working in the industry, building experience, and making connections.

Another option, open to some, is to become a student in the US. This is becoming a more difficult route to take, but if you have the ability to study in a US university with the proper paperwork, you can go down the path of finding a company to help sponsor your green card and give you time to become a citizen. But this brings me full circle back to my quote in the Orlando Sentinel – it’s difficult to find a space job willing to hire a non-citizen student or recent graduate.

Another option, which I generally don’t recommend, is to obtain a non-space job in the US in order to become a US citizen. This would then allow you to more easily find a space job in the future. In part 3 of this series, I describe how to switch from another industry to the space sector.

Please know there may be many places around the world where you can pursue your space career. Some countries have rich histories in space and some newer players have fast-growing space sectors. You may be able to pursue your space career in unexpected places.

As always, please feel free to reach out to me with any questions or if I can assist you. You can learn more about my space career coaching services and the Your Space Career Journey courses at Astralytical.

Students: Tips for Progressing Your Space Career through Online Networking

This is part 2 in a four-part series. Click here for part 1.

Students, I am so sorry this is such a rough time for you. I can’t even imagine what you are going through taking classes online unexpectedly, trying to figure out what’s going on with summer internships or scrambling to find something to do this summer after canceled opportunities, being away from your labs or hands-on work, and distance-graduating while trying to find a job in this economy. The closest experience I had was watching friends lose jobs or fail to find jobs during the 2008 recession, which is not even close to what’s happening right now.

If you are earlier in your studies, you likely have time to ride this out. No one will fault you for not having an internship this summer. No one should fault you for lower grades during this time. If you need to take time off from your studies, this situation is a valid reason. Just do your best in this challenging time. No one can ask more from you than that.

If you’re about to graduate and you’re seeking a job or you were really hoping to gain internship experience this summer to build up your experience, again, I’m so sorry. Although there are relatively few opportunities and a lot of laid off and furloughed employees, I have seen some job postings in the past few weeks. Some of the larger space contractors are hiring all over the US. Some smaller companies are hiring as well, not many, but you may be able to find some opportunities.

A lot the advice I typically give to students doesn’t apply during a global health crisis. I wrote the content for the recently released Your Space Career Journey courses back in September and October before COVID-19 existed. In it, I spend a lot of time discussing in-person networking at events, meetings, and conferences. I also describe the process of setting up an informational interview, which is typically conducted in person. I also typically advise seeking out internships and some good ways of finding job opportunities, a process that may be difficult and painful at the moment as companies pull back.

But a lot of the advice I give in the courses and in my space career coaching applies now more than ever. While we’re all physically isolated from each other, the willingness and ability to network online is more important now than ever. Informational interviews can be conducted over the phone or via video chat. Some open positions are transitioning to remote work. And the space industry is still moving forward. There may be opportunities that are created tomorrow that don’t exist today.

Students are in a unique stage of life in which many professionals are very willing to assist you. If you have a question about their work, if you want to know more about their career path, or if you’re seeking an opportunity to get involved, many professionals are willing to take the time to assist if they can. Not everyone will respond, of course. Not everyone is willing or able to assist you in the way you’d like. But sometimes, messaging can really help.

I get a lot of messages from students that follow this format:

“Hello. I am a student/recent graduate in aerospace engineering. I am seeking a full-time job in aerospace. Do you know of any openings? Thank you.”

I usually ignore messages like this or reply with a short, “It’s nice to connect with you,” because there’s really not much these students are giving me to work with to help them or further the conversation. Students, please let me help you rewrite this message so it’s better received and more useful for the recipient and for you.

First, this message does some things well. It’s brief, it includes an introduction, and it’s polite. Those are key when networking with any acquaintance or new connection.

Keep your message brief

Introduce yourself

Be polite. Conclude by thanking the recipient.

I don’t demonstrate it in these message examples, but it’s also important to use proper titles or honorifics (Dr., Professor, etc.), err on the side of formal, and use gender-neutral language (do not call everyone sir).

But how could this message be rewritten to be even better?

Include more information about you and your goals. “Aerospace engineering” or whatever field you majored in is broad. What specifically interests you? What area or subfield would you like to pursue or learn more about? What kind of job are you seeking or would like to learn more about?

Double-check the background of the person you’re sending a message to. Are they the best person to help you in that pursuit, or are you contacting them for another reason? Target your messages appropriately. If you’re contacting me about nuclear propulsion jobs, I can’t help you much more than Google can.

Read up on the person you’re contacting. This is particularly easy if you’re contacting someone on LinkedIn because you have access to their profile with a click. If they are associated with a university, they likely have a university website or biography. If you can’t find much about them, Google them. You only need to spend a few minutes reading up on their background and expertise, but be sure to take that time. Do not contact someone asking them what they do when you can find that information for yourself in minutes. This also will help you to consider how this person can help you before you compose your message to them.

Ask them for something reasonable. It could be a question about their job, research, company, or field. It could be about their background or career path. It could be for specific advice (more along the lines of, “Do you know of any professional societies I should get involved with?” than a more general, “Do you have any advice for me?”). It could be a request for an informational interview (via phone or video chat for now). By asking them something specific, they immediately know how they can respond to your message.

Whatever you ask them, be reasonable. It shouldn’t be a request for a job in most cases. Most people don’t have the ability to hire, and even if they do, proceed with caution. Don’t ask for something deeply involved or time-intensive. Remember, they don’t owe you anything, not even a response.

Let’s return to our sample message and rewrite it for the better. The following messages are entirely fictional.

“Hello. My name is Alex. I’m about to graduate with a aerospace engineering degree from Georgia Tech with an interest in hypersonics. I completed a senior design project designing a hypersonic engine. I noticed you live in Atlanta. Could you help connect me with companies in the area doing this research? Thank you.”

Even though my background isn’t in hypersonics, I would still immediately know how to help Alex because I know the aerospace companies in my area. I also happen to know the executives in companies that may be a good match for Alex. It would only take me a few seconds to reply to the message with the names of those companies. Or, if I felt it was appropriate, it would only take a few minutes to make introductions to CEOs or relevant employees within those companies.

Or the message could be:

“Hello. My name is Casey. I’m a junior in aerospace engineering with an interest in International Space Station payload design. Given your background working on ISS experiments, would you be able to recommend any companies involved in creating payload designs for experiments? Or do you know who at NASA works on payload design? Thank you.”

Casey read up on my background, took note of one of my previous jobs, and is asking me a very direct question: the name of companies or the name of NASA individuals involved in ISS payload design. I may or may not be able to help, but at least I know exactly how I can help.

Or, it could be this message:

“Hello. My name is Kay. Thank you so much for writing this blog! I’m an English major and I’ve always had an interest in space. Do you know of any resources on science communication and how I could get involved? Thank you.”

In this case, I know a lot of space communicators and I’d refer Kay to a few blogs, websites, and the names of individuals. It might take me a little longer to gather together a good list, but it’s not a lot of effort to encourage someone’s pursuits.

In part 1 of this blog series, I emphasize that anyone can pursue a space career. Scientists, engineers, and yes, even English majors. I know several!

Although now is a challenging time for many students and recent graduates, it can also be a good time to try to build a space network online. We’re all online these days! In addition to direct messaging via email or LinkedIn, there are also great ways to connect and network on social media and space-related websites and forums. You could also ask existing connections (professors and colleagues) for recommendations on who to contact and even ask them to make introductions for you if they’re willing.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you have any questions or if I can be of any assistance to you. You can learn more about my space career coaching services and the Your Space Career Journey for Students and Early Career Professionals course at Astralytical.

This is part 2 of a four-part series. Click here for part 3.

Discovering Your True Space Career Path No Matter Your Background

“You need to be an engineering major to apply for an internship at NASA.”

“You shouldn’t go to grad school because there are too many grad students and not enough jobs for them.”

“You need to go to grad school to become a scientist.”

“You may not think you want to become a professor, but you’ll change your mind.”

“You should drop out of your PhD program and get an MBA instead.”

“You don’t want to be a scientist. You just like the idea of becoming a scientist. You don’t belong here.”

“You don’t have enough experience to start your own consulting company.”

“Why don’t you quit building your own company and return to academia?”

This is some of the bad advice I got over the course of my career in the space sector. I’m sure you’ve gotten bad advice along your way, too. Discouraging advice. Wrong advice for your situation. People who assume they know your goals better than you do. People who only know their own corner of the world and just aren’t aware of the possibilities out there that might be a better fit for you.

Throughout my career as a high school and university student and early career professional, the big questions I kept returning to were, “What’s it really like to do __ job? How do I pursue __ job? Am I on the right track?”

I began mentoring students when I was in graduate school, answering their questions and guiding them as best I could. Over the years, I became more frustrated that I could only spend a short amount of time with each student. A quick conversation or two wasn’t enough to really dive deep into the lives, goals, and struggled of these individuals.

I hired a career coach when I felt stuck in my first full-time job. I felt like a caged bird yearning to soar freely. I knew I was capable of more than my employer was allowing me to do. Although my coach didn’t know anything about the space sector, she helped guide me along me path to becoming a manager in a space startup in my next job.

Curiously, there were no career coaches specializing in the space sector. I could have really used a coach to help me through such a specialized and misunderstood sector! A year into starting my space consulting company, I added space career coaching as a service as a way to give back to the community. A couple of other space-related coaching services have popped up since then, a sign of a growing space sector.

Surprisingly, in the three years I’ve been coaching individuals along their space careers, I’ve learned the greatest demand for my services has been not from students but from established professionals in other industries who want to switch to a career in space. Whether they always wanted to work in space or their interest is a more recent development, these professionals are seeking guidance on how to break into the field. The majority of my coaching clients have been mid-level professionals wanting to pursue their dreams.

I’m so excited to share a project I’ve been working on in the background for the past seven months: two online, self-paced space careers courses. One is tailored for university students and recent graduates and one is tailored for mid-level professionals. In these 50-some page workbooks and 90+ minute videos, I share much of the experience, advice, and questions I’ve worked through with my space career coaching clients. I also ask the individual to work through a number of exercises to focus on introspection, do some research, and take actions to move their space career pursuits forward.

In this blog series, I’ll be sharing some general advice for pursuing a space career. I’ll go over some basics of identifying the type of job you truly want, searching for potential employers and jobs, networking (online!), messaging, and more.

The main message I want to leave you with today: space is for everyone. Are you an aerospace engineer? Great! Are you a scientist? Great! Do you have a technical background? Great! Do you not have any technical background at all? Great! Space is still for you.

The space sector is truly interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary. It touches on so many industries and fields of study. People of all backgrounds and skills are needed.

It would be impossible for me to list all of the fields one could study in university in order to pursue a space career. Take a look at your university’s degree offerings. Do you see all those majors? Every one of them could apply to space. Don’t ever let someone tell you that you can’t pursue a space career because you don’t have a certain degree or background.

Similarly, you do not need a certain skill set to work in the space sector. Love math? Great! Math isn’t your thing? That’s fine too! If everyone had the same skills, important jobs would not be able to be accomplished and the space sector would be weak from the lack of different perspectives and abilities.

As recently as two weeks ago, I had to push back on a science communicator who recommended everyone pursuing a space career should learn computer programming. I was also given this advice when I was an undergraduate astrophysics major. Computer programming is a great skill to learn! It’s also not at all essential. If you love it, great. If you’re like me and run far away from coding, that’s fine too. Honestly, if I had allowed myself to obtain a job that required programming, I’d be miserable and I wouldn’t have the space career I have today. Be true to yourself. Ignore even well-meaning advice that doesn’t feel true to you and your goals.

Return tomorrow for part 2 in which I dive into some specific advice covered in the Astralytical space career courses!

Learn more about Astralytical's space career courses and coaching services.

This is part 1 of a four-part series. Click here for part 2.

Welcome to Adult Life where Everything’s Made Up and Grades Don’t Matter

(Props to you if you're an improv fan and recognize the quote style.)

“Grades are so important.”

How many times was that said to you over the course of your childhood by parents, teachers, and authority figures? You may have even said it yourself, especially if you have kids or have worked with kids.

And it’s a lie.

Oh, it’s true to a certain point. In order to embark upon a decent career, a student needs to earn decent grades. Grades are gatekeepers to the next level. In order to advance and gain certain privileges, a certain threshold must be met.

How important it is to receive straight As? A 4.0 (or higher!) GPA? Top marks in the class? Valedictorian? Not in the slightest. These accomplishments are heralded as so important to students and their parents and are of no significance at all in the adult working world. None.

Grades are a horribly subjective way to measure a student’s ability to memorize, repeat, conform, and obey authority. A student’s marks bear little resemblance to their intelligence, interest, effort, attitude, enthusiasm, work ethic, creativity, and true learning of subject matter. The latter traits matter far more in a person’s career.

I was always a good student. But I was never a straight-A student, usually As and Bs with the rare C. I have a poor memory. Some lucky people have excellent memories which produce excellent grades with little effort. I extended a large amount of effort with mixed results.

Almost all tests I took in math and science courses required extensive memorization. This is an outdated model of teaching that presumes students won’t have access to information, calculators, or peers when they work in their careers. With information, calculators, and peers with us at all times in our pockets, it’s hard to see how traditional testing methods assesses a student’s true ability to perform in their future science careers.

In my case, they didn’t. I remember being so frustrated with this contradiction in undergraduate physics that I decided to program a few physical constants and basic equations in my calculator, essentially cheating. Because I knew never in my life would it be important for me to know a physical constant off the top of my head. Instead I focused on knowing when and how to use which constants and equations to solve physics problems.

Grades are also highly subjective. I’ve always been an okay writer, but in tenth grade, an English teacher disagreed with me. She disliked my writing style, graded me harshly, and wanted to prevent me from advancing to honors English. And yet my eleventh grade honors English and twelfth grade AP English teachers graded me well. I highly doubt my writing quality improved significantly in such a short time. More likely, my English teachers were human and my grades were a reflection of their own biases rather than my true writing ability.

Even STEM fields fall victim to this subjective evaluation. Some teachers expect one result and are close-minded to alternate solutions. I once got into a disagreement with a physics professor who wrote a lab question ambiguously. I answered it in a way he didn’t intend. I was correct. But he marked it zero and refused to let me rewrite it. The situation escalated. I had to take my argument all the way to the department head and get transferred out of his lab in order to be graded fairly. My theory is that he was offended I had alternatively interpreted his “perfectly” written question and his pride got in the way of evaluating my work objectively.

College admissions counselors know this concept well. Grade disparity exists not only from teacher to teacher, but from school to school. Some top schools are well known for grade inflation. Students show up to class, do the bare minimum, and earn As because that’s what they and their parents expect. It is very difficult to compare school to school, and sometimes difficult to compare student to student within schools if their teachers differ. Grades become an almost meaningless measure beyond a certain “passing well” threshold, defined differently by each university admissions office.

Within college/university, the pressure to earn good grades within one’s major courses intensifies. Higher education grades are seen as a reflection of a student’s ability to work in their chosen career. Students are “weeded out” or discouraged from continuing in their major if their grades don’t reflect a certain standard set by their advisor or department. Otherwise good students, trying to succeed in their chosen fields, are told that their self-worth as professionals in their careers is determined by the subjective evaluation of a few imperfect individuals.

Some students understandably quit prematurely when they’re told that their grades have damned them to a career of failure. This is almost always untrue, and yet it's so common it's joked about. A poor or even failing grade translates to the mindset of never being able to master the material (in the way the professor expects) and therefore never succeeding in the field, so why continue trying? Combine poor grades with social discouragement (presuming a student will fail because of their sex, ethnicity, background, physical abilities, etc.) drives away many students who would likely succeed with more support.

As I said, grades are only important as a gatekeeper. A certain threshold is needed to advance from grade to grade, to college/university, to advanced degrees, to gain certifications and credentials. A certain threshold is needed for scholarships, fellowships, grants, and awards, sometimes the very funds that allow a student to continue their education. Grades are important only because we as a society have made them important in our education system.

Grades are unimportant overall. Grades are not important in one’s career or job. Grades are not a measure of your professional ability, value, or self-worth.

I’m going to repeat that last statement, because I fell victim to believing it for so long: Grades are not a measure of your professional ability, value, or self-worth.

Because I was never a straight-A student, I suffered from impostor syndrome throughout my 12 years in higher education. I internalized the evaluations as my innate ability to learn and conduct science. I assumed that because my grades were okay but not excellent, I was doomed to be an okay but not excellent scientist. I hesitated to promote and advocate for myself as a student scientist. I mistook my grades for my professional worth. And no one corrected me.

Only my experience working as a professional has taught me how wrong I was and how I wronged myself for so long. In the adult world, no one asks what your grades were. I honestly don’t remember my GPA at any level, nor my SAT, nor my ACT, nor my GRE, etc. I’ve never asked anyone what their grades were, not even during the hiring process. Only browsing resumes will you sometimes see a GPA. I’ve never heard any colleagues ask what anyone else’s grades were. I've never heard a colleague spontaneously offer their grades. Those numbers have no power over us once we leave behind studenthood. 

Because grades don’t matter in the adult world. Yes, some companies require a certain threshold GPA for entry-level positions. But that’s uncommon, and only limited to entry-level positions. Beyond that, no one cares. In your entire adult working life, your grades as a student don't matter.

What matters in the adult world? Competency. Ability. Responsibility. Professionalism. Cooperation. Dedication. Creativity. And so many other traits that are not assessed on student tests. My ability to do great work in the profession I’m passionate about was never represented by the grades I received as a student.

Grades are not important in one’s career. Grades are not a measure of your professional ability, value, or self-worth. You are worth so much more than your GPA.

#firstsevenjobs

Even at 16, I was focused on space!

It has been over a month since my last catch-up blog entry. What a crazy month it has been! I started my new position at Northern Sky Research, which I'll write about later because it's awesome. Moving, selling a house, and buying a house have been enormously time-consuming. I am pleased to report that our Florida home is on the market and we're in contract to move into our new home north of Columbus, Ohio in a month. In the meantime, we're living in a hotel room. All of us. My husband, our crawling-and-cruising baby, three cats, a dog, and fish. Life is an adventure.

Recently, there was a trending Twitter hashtag (with variants): #firstsevenjobs. I've always found people's journeys fascinating. I had to really think about my life, where I started and how far I've come, in order to write my first seven jobs progression. It's difficult to remember life as a 16-year-old just starting out making minimum wage. A high school student with dreams, plans, and potential! It seemed that each job represented another step in my journey, another chapter in my life.

It was just as interesting to read others' journeys, posted in fewer than 140 characters. Some posters, early in their careers, shine potential and hope. Others, later in their careers, embody calm satisfaction with where they are. Surprisingly, some successful careers took fewer than 7 jobs to achieve, especially military careers. Great for them! Some successful careers were preceded by so many lower-level jobs that 7 wasn't enough to paint a picture of success. But they got there. Or they will.

The diversity of paths is what fascinates me the most. Everyone's first seven jobs were completely different and mostly unpredictable. We do a disservice to kids by implying they must choose their careers young and not diverge from their (or someone else's) chosen path. No one's path is straight and plan-able. But we all end up going somewhere.

From an early age, I fell in love with space and decided that what I wanted to dedicate myself to. But that's not a job title nor a job path. I had to feel my way through it. In high school, I felt lost, not knowing how to get there or who to ask. Authority figures were supportive but just as unknowing. We all knew college was a good place to start!

Even before college, I had a first job: babysitter. Based on my high school circle, I would have thought babysitting was a common first job. This doesn't seem to be the case based on what others tweeted. I had brief side gigs selling things and tutoring, but for the most part, I watched other people's kids. I babysat under-the-table, then obtained my first official job at age 16 in childcare at the local YMCA making minimum wage.

I'm grateful to the professors and administration at my undergraduate university emphasizing the importance of internships and career-relevant experience. The summer after my freshman year of college, I sought my first astronomy internship. I had no idea how to get one. With cold calling, I obtained a volunteering astronomy research position while also obtaining my second official job: selling shoes in a mall department store for minimum wage plus commission. I was terrible at it. Thankfully, my volunteer position ended up being paid, leading to job #3 and my first career-related job at age 19: astronomy research assistant.

I'm so very grateful to the professors who gave me a chance. Many people's third jobs aren't positions related to their intended career. This position led to every other step and success in my career. Without this starting point, I wouldn't be where I am today. From them, I learned about scientific research, programming, data analysis, and technical writing. I was officially a scientist-in-training.

I returned to that job for a second summer, but not before beginning job #4: student newspaper editor-in-chief. I've held numerous volunteer position, including some career-related, that I don't consider to be official jobs. After a year of voluntarily serving as news editor, I was paid (minimally) to lead the student newspaper for two years. It was a time-consuming, thankless job, but I learned quite a bit about communication, language, marketing, and layout. And I was "banned from NASA for life" - ha!

I landed my first NASA internship at Marshall Space Flight Center during the summer after my junior year. Job #5 had a similar title as job #3: astrophysics research associate. I spent a second summer with that same position before transitioning from intern to graduate research assistant, job #8. But not before taking on job #6: grader for a freshman physics class. During that summer between undergraduate and graduate school, I also helped run the internship program as an assistant operations manager, job #7. The summer ended and grad school began.

From high school babysitter to astrophysics graduate student in seven jobs and six years. That's a long way! In the following decade, I've become a chemical engineer, a planetary science graduate research assistant, a space industry analyst, a scientific research analyst for International Space Station payloads, a regional operations manager for a space start-up, a high school tutor, and an independent space analyst and scientist.

By my count, I'm up to jobs #15 and #16 (simultaneously). And I provide full-time childcare for my infant, but I'm not paid for that. Sixteen paid positions, and I'm still early/mid career! Insert millennial joke here.

Each person's path is unique. Very rarely is it straight and predictable. Very rarely do first (or second or third) jobs indicate someone's career path or potential. From the start I had a goal – space – but not everyone does. And that's okay. We keep on trying, keep on going, keep on reaching and exploring. I'm looking forward to seeing where my journey takes me.

How's your career journey going?

The Best and Worst Proposals I Saw When I Reviewed For a Living

My main responsibility when I worked at the Center for the Advancement of Science in Space (CASIS) was to evaluate the merit of International Space Station utilization proposals. I did this day in and day out with a variety of proposal types ranging from big money to no money, pure research science to technology demonstration, academic to commercial. Some proposals I evaluated myself, some as a team, and some with a panel of subject matter experts.

It didn’t take long to figure out what separated a good proposal from a bad proposal. Here are some tips for the proposal writers out there:

1. Follow the Instructions

We’re taught this in preschool, yet some professionals still don’t get it. The worst proposals (aside from the crackpots which were at least entertaining) were the ones that did not follow the guidelines. Unless that proposal had connections, it was immediately placed in the “needs to be reworked” pile if not outright rejected. One proposer refused to submit anything except titles and one-paragraph descriptions and there was nothing we could do with those. We really tried to give constructive feedback to those who submitted incomplete proposals on how they could improve or what they needed to add. What we said was already in the instructions.

The best proposals were the ones that literally copied and pasted the evaluation questions in their proposal (available in the instructions) and answered each one of them in detail. When an evaluation sheet asks the reviewer, “How does this proposal justify the use of the ISS?” and the proposal writer has two paragraphs under the heading, “Justifications for the use of the ISS,” evaluation is simple. If the instructions say to include these budget figures, include them. Everyone’s life is simpler when the instructions are written clearly and followed well.

2. Proofread

Reading through your writing to look for errors and to improve wording is another basic skill that we’re taught in primary school. Yet for whatever reason, maybe due to busy schedules or cockiness, professionals don’t always follow this step. One of the worst proposals I ever read was clearly a combination of a few previous proposals that had been copied and pasted into a new proposal. The fonts didn’t match, the document didn’t flow, and the whole idea didn’t make sense as it was written. If the proposal writer had taken the time to read through her document, she would have seen the glaring errors, at least two per page by my count.

A proposal is a professional document to try to convince others that the proposer is competent enough to complete the proposed task and that the task is worth doing. Submitting a poorly proofed proposal does not look good for the competency and professionalism of the proposer, no matter how worthy the task is.

A well written, well proofed, concise proposal is a rare prize. Such a shiny proposal is easy to read, easy on the eyes of the reviewer, and perhaps even a pleasure for the reviewer to read. A happy reviewer doesn’t guarantee a favorable outcome, but it helps.

3. Consider your audience.

Proposals submitted through a scientific review process, as described in the instructions, are evaluated by scientists. There were more than a few proposals written by businesses for business professionals submitted through our scientific process. Scientists call this business material fluff and it wastes our time. It also fills pages and wastes space that could be filled with scientific information that would strengthen a proposal. Taking out the marketing material, the proposal is left with very little content to evaluate. A lean proposal with little meat is not likely to be approved.

I’ve also evaluated business plan proposals for a previous job as a space industry analysis. Business plans evaluated by industry experts should be written differently than scientific proposals. It is okay to assume that the reviewer knows who the big aerospace players are without explanation. It is not okay to misspell the names of those big aerospace players. Business plans without basics like how the company intends to make a profit will leave reviewers rolling their eyes. In-depth technical information about the product doesn’t belong unless the instructions ask for it. I have scientific knowledge as well as industry knowledge, but I’m unusual. Don’t assume everyone knows the specific area of science you do.

In short, leave the marketing and MBA information out of scientific proposals. Include business information and exclude deep technical information (unless asked) in business plan proposals. Remember who your audience is.

Attention Students Desiring Space Careers: This Is For You

I am pleased to announce my services as a space career mentor. I've been sitting on this idea for a while and was finally inspired by a friend to move forward with it. I want to thank all of my mentors and mentees for giving me such great mentoring experiences over the years.

As a student, I collected mentors. No matter where I was and what stage I was in, I identified a professional who I admired and wanted to emulate. Interestingly, these were never university-assigned advisors. They were people I came across in passing or people I sought out and partnered with. Only in the case of my graduate school advisor were these formal mentors. Most of them had no idea that I considered them a mentor unless I told them. When told, they often acted embarrassed and didn't know what to say. Even the concept of an informal mentor carries weight. And so I refrained from defining relationships as thus an instead simply appreciated the individual as a colleague or authority figure who inspired me.

Over the past few years since I left academia, I've begun reaching out to individual students and student groups to spread the love of space and inspire space careers. Age ranges included elementary school through graduate students and even a few early professionals. Although these relationships are usually temporary, I have had the pleasure of connecting with some of these students long-term. I've watched some of them progress through high school and college and into professional jobs. I've been a cheerleader and a shoulder to cry on. I've watched some obtain their dream jobs and others leave the field for a better path. I've seen them all grow.

These mentee relationships, all of them informal except for one, have been tremendously rewarding. It's my current and former mentees who I have to thank for showing me how much I enjoy the relationship. It also helps to know that at least a few of them think that I'm pretty good at being a mentor. If I didn't know that I wasn't helping them in some way, I wouldn't offer myself as a mentor. To know that they think well of me and that I inspire them is a gift that they give me in addition to the gift of getting to know them. I thank them for their encouragement.

I also take inspiration from my former career coach who assisted me in jumping the hurdle from student to professional. She looked inside of me and inspired confidence and courage. She showed me that I had potential that I didn't know I had. It was from working with her did I realize that formal guidance could be offered with the assistance of the right tools, the right questions, and good listening skills. She knew nothing of the space field, yet she played a large part in guiding me to where I am today.

And so, I am offering my services as a space career mentor. The details can be found on the Astralytical website. I will still continue to speak with student groups and assist individual students on an informal basis, of course. This project doesn't replace my STEM outreach; it enhances it. I never felt that I had the time to follow up closely with each mentee to help them in the best way I could in the moment. With formal mentoring, I can do just that. I'll be able to assist and guide mentees in ways I haven't been able to before. And this excites me!

Are you looking to pursue or develop a space career, but don't know how or don't know if you're on the right track? Do you feel lost, stuck, or uncertain? Do you want to improve your career progress and prospects? Or do you know of a student or young professional who may benefit from a mentor? I'm here to help!

Hanging out in the VAB at KSC with college students at a STEM outreach event - August 2015 

“What is Your Dream? What are You Doing to Make it Happen?”

“What is your dream? What are you doing to make it happen?”

A top man in the field asked me this when I was in graduate school. I was puzzled by the question. I was in school pursuing a doctorate. Wasn't I already doing what I needed to do in order to make my dream happen?

Yes, and no. Because of the popularity of the academic track and the bias toward it in academic institutions, I was moving along the pipeline indirectly pursuing my dream. More directly, I was pursuing someone else's dream. Many people strive to secure the rare and coveted professor position at a respected university becoming an expert in a particular subfield due to years of training and research. But at the time, I already knew that path wasn't for me.

The first step in answering that question was to determine what my dream is. I want to be an astronaut, the same dream since childhood. But if I examine more closely, or just take a look at the specialty Florida license plate that I had ordered around this time which proclaimed 2LUNA – to the Moon – I'll note that my dream is to become a lunar astronaut or more broadly, a planetary astronaut. I was in school to be a planetary scientist, after all.

A look at NASA's direction at the time showed a choice: work hard to become an astronaut if you're lucky and you'll orbit Earth, or hold off on astronaut aspirations for a little while until NASA's next mission to somewhere. It didn't take me long to conclude that the private sector might be more in line with my goals. Although I still loved NASA, I had just come from working at MSFC and no longer saw working there as my end goal.

I was inspired by a company called Golden Spike which formed to create private human missions to the Moon. I even did a tiny side project with Golden Spike for a short while. I was just beginning to explore the world of the private space industry and I dove in head first. I knew that this is where I belonged. It seemed like the best avenue to make my dream become reality.

Years in the industry has taught me one thing over and over again: private industry can be as slow as government and doesn't always succeed. At this time, there is no path to me becoming a planetary astronaut. I don't have the funds to become a suborbital astronaut. I likely don't have the genes to become a NASA astronaut. The path forward for the pursuit of my dream is unclear.

So, what am I doing to make my dream happen? I'm joining the doers. I'm learning all I can and contributing to the progress of the space industry as a whole. I'm starting conversations with people smarter and more experienced than myself, I'm analyzing data, and later this year I hope to play with hardware again. I am working as part of something greater than myself.

Lately, I've been envious. I see others along the path with me and I want what they have. But I need to work to get there. I have my own needs and goals. Now, when I catch envy stirring in me, I ask myself not, “Why don't I have that?” but rather, “What do I need to do to get that? And do I even want it?” In discerning my actions, I can take the best steps forward. My life is no one else's.

What is your dream? What are you doing to make it happen? Don't just live on autopilot. Don't pursue someone else's dream. Really consider what actions you're taking to move forward in your pursuit. Don't be afraid of course corrections. Don't be afraid to try something new. Best of luck on your journey!

Finding the courage to pursue my dream, and to tell the world about it! - February 2011

How to Find an Awesome Space Internship

A student contacted me today asking for advice about finding internships. I previously wrote advice to companies seeking interns, but hadn't yet written advice for students seeking internships. Now's the time. Please keep in mind that I'm writing from my own experience and that this may not encompass every opportunity for students.

With the internet as mature as it is now, it's easy to find internship websites. This wasn't the case when I was a freshman in college looking for my first summer internship. I wrote to the head of educational programs at Kennedy Space Center who responded that there were no non-engineering internships for scientists at KSC and that I would need to change my major to apply (which is completely untrue, but I didn't know that back then). I resorted to “cold calling” to get my first internship that summer, which worked well for me.

Now, every formal opportunity has a website. Whether those websites are kept updated and organized is another story. Don't be fooled into thinking that what's published are the only opportunities out there. Just as networking leads to success in job searches, leverage contacts to find informal or unpublished internships that have little or no competition.

The internet is your friend. Search terms such as “NASA internships,” “space internships,” “aerospace internships,” “astronomy internships,” “engineering internships,” etc. produce a lot of results. You can stay broad in your search or look for a very specific opportunity. Don't forget to browse social media sites as well.

Check out company websites. Almost all of them will post job opportunities. Remember that there are more newspace companies out there than just SpaceX! Be open-minded. Smaller companies or companies that don't post internships specifically usually have a HR contact. It never hurts to ask. If you know anyone in the company, feel free to contact them as well – this is called using your network. Published internships at larger companies or entities tend to be more competitive, so be prepared to see strict deadlines with application requirements such as transcripts and letters of recommendation. Some internships come with scholarships and will be even more competitive.

NASA internship organization has gotten better is still rather disorganized. They've been trying to centralize and standardize the process for years, but opportunities are still spread out over many NASA websites. To add to the confusion, many NASA internships change their names over the years and some are discontinued while new ones pop up. Don't just visit one NASA internship page; keep looking. I highly encourage applying to any NASA internships that you're interesting in, but note that dealing with disorganization and inefficiency is part of the process of dealing with a bureaucracy.

Check out the websites of your state's NASA Space Grant and any student or professional societies/organizations that you're involved in or want to become involved in. These organizations are there to connect students and young professionals with opportunities in the field. Many of these organizations offer internship or scholarship opportunities themselves, but if not, most will offer suggestions of relevant internship opportunities. They may have compiled an up-to-date list for you.

University departments similarly may have compiled lists of opportunities for their students, including local and internal internships. Don't discount the possibility of working for one of your professors over the summer. University career service centers may also have lists based on major, but because they must search for opportunities for all majors, their list may lack content for your particular major. Professors themselves may know of opportunities at the university or with colleagues elsewhere. Again, use your network.

There are no hard rules for obtaining an informal internship. It's a combination of using connections to find opportunities (networking) and luck. Be prepared for these opportunities to be unpaid/volunteer. If fortune really works for you, you may find that funding is available for you even for an informal internship. Student interns are very inexpensive in the grand scheme of things. Talk to your professors, your connections in your field, anyone who you've met or even professionals who you have not met who may know of a short-term work opportunity that fits you.

Although most formal internships are paid, some are not. It's up to you to determine whether accepting an unpaid internship works for you. Most internships are on-site and may require you to temporarily move, and not all internships will assist you in finding temporary lodging. Some internships allow for remote work from your home, school, or a satellite office. Some internships are highly structured and some are much looser. Keep in mind the requirements, especially if you're an international student.

If you wish to get university credit for your internship experience, speak with your university about the requirements. Each university is different. Keep in mind that the experience gained during an internship is vastly more important and beneficial than any university credit that you may receive, so don't let university rules or tuition fees stop you from accepting an internship that you really want.

As I stressed in my advice to companies, interns are students but also professionals, regardless of age. Expect to be treated as a professional even as an intern. Insist on it. Act like it. You may not have the experience, clearance, or authority of a full-time employee, but you are an employee-in-training and a potential star employee for the company. Internships are test drives for the students as well as the companies. Make your test drive count.

Physics Students: "Hidden Physicists" Aren't Hidden If You Know Where To Look

Yesterday I stumbled upon one of those articles aimed at helping physics students identify jobs and careers post-graduation. I knew from the start of my higher education that I did not want to become a professor and therefore was not on the “standard track” for physicists. I always appreciated those “hidden physicist” stories that highlight professionals using their physics skills successfully in non-traditional jobs. Not all jobs employing physicists have the word physics in the title.

I have almost three degrees in physics – BS, MS, and PhD-dropout-ABD. My jobs titles don't have the word physics in them. I sometimes don't use my actual job title on my resume or in job applications because some titles are nondescript. Instead, I substitute appropriate titles that clearly state what I did. For example, “research assistant” becomes “astrophysicist” on my resume, but “research assistant” was the posted title when I was applying for the position. Knowing what terms to search for or knowing which jobs are actually open to physicists can help students immensely when applying for positions.

My actual job titles (excluding volunteer positions) and what I really did/do:

Research Assistant/Associate/Fellow

I held this job title in various forms throughout my academic career. I worked for universities and university-like organizations conducting scientific research in the fields of astrophysics, chemical engineering, and planetary science. This is a very common title for student researcher positions.

Analyst

In one position, my simple official title of Analyst entailed managing the analyst team for a small space industry analyst company, interviewing, researching, and ranking companies within the industry. In another position, my title was Scientific Research Analyst which entailed seeking scientific proposals, evaluating proposals, analyzing scientific research areas, and communicating with scientists. Two very different positions, same job title.

Operations Manager

More fully, my title is Manager, Florida Operations. In this position, I manage everything that the company does in Florida and more, including assisting with operations in other North American locations, working with international partners, and preparing for scientific payloads.

Contractor/consultant

I used my skill set to contribute to whatever needed to be done.

Out of curiosity, I browsed my LinkedIn connections to find listed job titles used by professionals working in technical fields who have at least one degree in physics. This is not an extensive list, but it gives us some idea as to the diversity of terms used.

• Author
• Associate Administrator/Chair/Chief/Director/Head/Program Manager/Section Manager/Vice-president
• Chief Executive Officer/Executive Director
• Chief Technical Officer/Chief Science Officer
• Editor
• Engineer (Aerospace, Design, Electrical, Instrument, Launch, R&D, RF, Project, Quality Assurance, Safety, Software, Spacecraft, Systems, Technology, Test, Validation)
• Flight Controller
• Operations Associate
• Payload Specialist (Astronaut)
• Postdoctoral Associate/Researcher/Fellow
• Professor/Faculty
• Programmer
• R&D Manager
• Recording Artist
• Researcher/Research Scientist/Research Fellow/Scientist
• Safety Officer
• Sales/Account Manager
• Science Operations Coordinator
• Speaker
• Subject Matter Expert
• Systems Administrator
• Teacher/Teaching Assistant/Instructor/Tutor/Educator
• Technical Specialist
• TV Host/Personality
• ZeroG Coach

I remember being told in undergraduate that physicists can do anything. I didn't understand the extent of that statement until I entered the working world and discovered that physicists have the mindset and skill set to pursue anything we put our minds to. One former classmate took her physics degree and went on to culinary school to become a pastry chef. Another former classmate continued his theology education after his physics PhD and is both a Jesuit brother and a scientist at the Vatican Observatory.

Physics students – pursue your dreams and don't let any nay-sayers stand in your way.

Tip for Students: Follow Up, but in the Right Way

I'm still new to mentoring and I have a lot to learn. I give well-meaning advice to students that I wish that I had been told at their age, but my advice-giving skills need some refinement. I laughed this week as my poor advice-giving accidentally set a student up to fail. I hope that she isn't reading this because I don't mean to put her on the spot, but I will use her as an example. To her credit, she was the only student to follow up from that conference.

Student networking takes a different form than professional networking. Most professional networking is to meet new colleagues, share ideas, and learn how we can help each other in our respective positions. Students are mostly concerned with gaining experience through internships and entry-level jobs. Most don't have business cards but are instead are told to come armed with short “elevator” speeches and resumes in hand, which may or may not be good advice depending on the situation.

Most students collect business cards. I collected a drawer full as a student and even more as a professional. No one told me that a business card collection is mostly useless. Business cards offer short-term ways of communicating and are only worth anything if the recipient then initiates communication. Whenever I meet students at a business card exchange, I always advise them to follow up.

Yesterday, I received an email from a student who I met at the career prep conference that I helped with on Saturday. Her email contained the short message, “This email is just a follow-up to you per your suggestion.” I had to chuckle at my own failings for giving her incomplete advice. Her follow-up email to me was essentially useless. I hadn't properly conveyed why she should contact me to follow up.

First, there was the issue of identification. I met many students over those the conference's two days and I could not remember her just by her name. It would have been helpful for her to give me a short reminder of who she is, what she's studying, and a brief synopsis of what we discussed. Some people can instantly match name, face, and conversation. I am not one of those people unless a meeting was particularly memorable.

Second, there was the issue of her motivation for contacting me. Her email did not tell me what she wanted from me. Did I tell her something that she wanted to clarify or follow up on? Did she want to continue our conversation or start a new conversation? Did she want career advice? Did she want a job? Did she want to establish a relationship? I had no way of knowing without asking.

She responded that she would like to send me her resume. I am surprised that students in their teens and early 20s are still being given the advice that a traditional, static resume is the go-to resource in business settings. She is a sophomore, which puts her likely graduation date two and a half years away. She hadn't mentioned or asked about internships or part-time work as a student, so I assumed that her goal is post-graduation employment. Her current resume would be two and a half years out of date by the time I looked it again. Not that I would look at it again. I do not keep a database of resumes and therefore any resume that I receive is immediately thrown away or deleted (sorry students who have handed me resumes in the past, but it's true).

I responded that rather than send me her resume, she could connect with me on LinkedIn. I noted that she does not have a LinkedIn profile. Surely her generation is very familiar with social media. LinkedIn is a living resume, one that she can update over the years. If I was interested in potentially hiring her in the future, LinkedIn is my database of resumes.

Even that was incomplete advice on my part. It's not enough to simply connect with me on LinkedIn and never contact me again. Establishing a relationship would be the best advice that I can give her, regardless of her age and goals. I don't know her from any other engineering student. What makes her an individual apart from the rest? Who is she, what are her passions, what can I teach her, and can I help her along her journey? These are the questions I really care about, not getting her a job.

There are so many ways to establish this kind of relationship: follow-up conversational emails, follow-up meetings, follow-up phone calls, an informational interview, and interaction via social media such as LinkedIn, Twitter, or this blog. If I get to know a student over the years, I'm much more likely to help him/her over any other student who I met once a while ago.

Students: please follow up, but don't worry solely about getting a job or widely sending out your resume. Focus on your formation. Contemplate your direction and goals. Think about how you can learn from professions, not how they can help get you a job. Form relationships first and foremost. Everything else will come.