Space Education Question

This post was written by on March 24, 2010
This post has 8 comments so far (is that a lot?) Comments(s)

I’m just going to throw this one out to the world wide web.
I got this question from a long time listener, first time emailer.

I was thinking about going back to school and noticed several places have “Space Studies” degrees now. While that sounds super interesting and right up my alley I can’t find any answer one way or the other as to how useful the degree actually is. To me at least, it sounds a bit too generic to be any good but like I said I can’t get an answer one way or another as to weather or not anyone would actually hire someone based on that degree or if they did, what for. At this point, I mostly concerned that its just a money grab and a useless time sink for space geeks looking to get in the industry.

Does anyone out there have any advice? I figure that people like Tim Bailey or Will Pomerantz, even Dave Masten might have some good ideas. Do you?

Even if we can’t answer this SVCer’s question, it would be interesting to see what you have to say.

Lemme hear it!
-C

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    March 24, 2010 at 9:16 am

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  2. uberVU - social comments says:
    March 24, 2010 at 11:12 am

    Social comments and analytics for this post…

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  3. Shannon Moore says:
    March 24, 2010 at 4:49 pm

    I’m just a space geek with a BBA in Information Systems. The first question would be: what coursework is involved in this “Space Studies” degree plan. Without knowing, it could be anything from a history or marketing-focused course of study to a demanding, STEM-rich courseload that’d let someone determine which science/tech/engineering/mathematics best suits them and their career/employment goals.

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  4. Tim846 says:
    March 24, 2010 at 8:24 pm

    I have an Aerospace Studies BS from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (http://www.erau.edu/db/degrees/b-aerospacestudies.html) and one of my three minors is in Space Studies (http://www.erau.edu/db/degrees/m-spacestudies.html).

    Mine is an interdisciplinary degree with an aerospace slant. I’ve known people with the same degree to work for the FAA, Navy training facilities, design firms, non-profit organizations, parabolic flight companies, NASA, and even for the White House! It really depends on what you want to do. The great thing about the degree is that it is *flexible* enough to accommodate your individual path to success.

    That said, you must have a goal in mind and be willing to work a bit harder to promote yourself in some areas. Be ready to explain what you’ve learned and how it applies to what you want to do. Space studies is not an engineering degree or ‘hard science’ degree in most places. If you want to design airplanes or spaceships, get a different degree. If you want to work on policy, communications, outreach, or something similar, this may be the thing for you.

    With any degree, I suggest looking at the network of people you’ll be working with at the school. They will be your real ticket to doing neat stuff (network, network, network!). If all the professors seem boring or aren’t doing what interests you, chances are good that you won’t find a lot of resources there to help you in your desired career.

    Feel free to ping me on twitter @tim846 if you have specific questions!

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  5. William Pomerantz says:
    March 24, 2010 at 10:23 pm

    I hold a degree in Space Studies–a M.Sc. in Space Studies from the International Space University, to be exact–and I’ve found it to be a helpful tool and a good investment.

    I can’t speak to the other Space Studies programs, but I can tell you that in my opinion, ISU is a very, very good path for some people, and a bad path for others. ISU is good for people in one of two situations.

    1) You know you want to work in “the space industry”, but you don’t know in what capacity or what segment of the industry
    2) You are later in your career, and find your job description expanding to include disciplines and skills you have never formally learned.

    I was in the first category: I was ~24 years old, I had an undergrad degree in Earth and Planetary Sciences, I knew that I did not want to go on to get a PhD and to have a career in Planetary Sciences, and I knew that I loved space. I viewed ISU as a way to ‘go to the buffet line’ for a year, sample everything, and find out what I liked. The plan was to use the program both to make a macro level decision (e.g. should I switch to a business focused career or an engineering focused career), to learn the basic ‘vocabulary’ and “Who’s who” for that industry segment, and make some contacts that would be useful as I pursued that path.

    I had classmates who were in the second category: the most typical case is that of a lifelong engineer who finds him or herself promoted to a high enough position of management where he or she must now deal with lawyers, HR, media, business development, et cetera. Again, these folks seemed to find the program useful. In my experience, there are more of these people in ISU’s SSP, rather than the year long Masters programs.

    For me: ISU worked out perfectly. There is no way on Earth (or beyond) I’d be doing the job I’m doing if I hadn’t gone to ISU.

    Just my $0.02!

    Best,
    Will

    The students who did not seem to think their ISU experience was worthwhile were those who, for example, came in as aerospace engineers and expected to leave as better aerospace engineers. They certainly add a great deal of breadth to their knowledge, experience, and skill base–but if any, their pure engineering skills may have gotten worse by virtue of a year w/ comparatively little practice.

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  6. David Masten says:
    March 25, 2010 at 3:37 am

    There are two reason’s for any education program – self improvement and impressing a hiring manager. I have no idea whether a space studies program will help with the first. As for the second, I think the institution matters more. Space Studies at ISU, as Will mentioned, gets a favorable nod from me, mostly because I know a bit about ISU. Also, if Space Studies was offered at Caltech, MIT, a UofC school, or similar, I would be impressed.

    As for getting into a technical position I look for a serious engineering or sciences curriculum – calculus, linear algebra, relevant engineering/science courses, etc. With the current employment situation at NASA and the prime contractors, anything less is going to get you passed over for jobs. I do not necessarily recommend aerospace engineering; software, electrical, and mechanical engineering with emphasis in fields with applications to aerospace are often just as good or better and will not scare away other employers if you want a non-aerospace job.

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