A lot of the advice or habits to be a rocket scientist are the same no matter what industry or profession you pursue.  Assuming you want to be happy, productive, and well compensated…

You need to know your strengths and your passions, and be able to communicate these to others.  You also need to understand the marketplace and environment in which you want to work.  Imagine a Venn diagram of these elements–you are looking for the intersection or overlap that can be a good fit.  (Some Venn diagrams will be coming on this blog if you stay tuned–they are simple yet effective tools, especially for those of us who are visual thinkers.)

Below is a very informative article out yesterday that gives a lot of information about the commercial space market.  Did you know that NASA was given $6 Billion–not to spend within NASA, but to award to industry companies for advancement of commercial spaceflight?

A smart career person is like a detective in many ways.  What’s a good way to solve a white collar crime?  Follow the money!  What’s a good way to plan your career and job prospecting?  Again, follow the money!

Given the long time scale of aerospace and a life-long career, that means following the news so you can predict and anticipate future trends too.  Read this article to get an excellent overview as well as specifics about the business we’re in.

The business of space: Exploring the new commercial space economy

http://alj.am/1zN9P4n