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From: ingham@hydra.unm.edu (Kenneth Ingham)
Newsgroups: sci.space,sci.space.shuttle
Subject: Re: A "spacey" ambition?
Keywords: Astronaut, application
Message-ID: <925@ariel.unm.edu>
Date: 9 Nov 89 23:40:23 GMT
Sender: news@ariel.unm.edu
Reply-To: ingham@hydra.unm.edu.UUCP (Kenneth Ingham)
Distribution: na
Organization: University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM
Lines: 27

Many people have talked about going to work for NASA.  I mailed this
advice to ome person, but there was more discussion so I figured I'd
post it.

Here's one way, the way I did it for a while (I doubt that this would
work to become an anstronaut):  Be a co-op student.

I spent two semesters working at NASA Ames Research Center.  This could
have turned into a real job upon graduation (why it didn't is my fault).

As a coop student, you are still listed as a full time student at your
school, but taking 0 hours.  You work full time for the employer,
earning a modest (I was a GS-5) salary.

There was no civil service exam (is there anyway for NASA?).  I applied
at several NASA centers, but the offer from Ames looked the most
interesting.

I heartily recommend this to all students.  I'm glad I did it.  I'll be
glad to answer further questions to the best of my knowledge, although
your school's coop coordinator would be a better contact for everything
except what it was like to work at Ames in 1981 and 1982.


Kenneth Ingham          Computer and Information Resources and Technology
ingham@ariel.unm.edu	University of New Mexico
505-277-8045		Albuquerque, NM 87131