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AAS Employment Committee Special Session What does it take to land a job anyway

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Title: AAS Employment Committee Special Session What does it take to land a job anyway


1
AAS Employment Committee Special Session What
does it take to land a job anyway??
2
Charge of the AAS Employment Committee To
facilitate the professional development and
employment of astronomers at all career stages
and on all career paths, and to promote balance
and fairness in the job market.
3
Current EC Members Stefi Baum Rochester Inst.
Of Technology David Bazell Eureka
Scientific Rolf Danner Northrup Grumman Anita
Krishnamurthi (Chair) UMd/NASA GSFC Travis
Metcalfe NCAR Fred Rasio Northwestern
University Anil Seth - CfA Barbara Whitney
Space Science Institute
4
Graduate Student Networking Reception Thursday,
6.30-7.30pmHilton Austin Salon H
5
The Production Rate and Employment of Ph.D.
Astronomers Travis S. Metcalfe High Altitude
Observatory, National Center for Atmospheric
Research
6
Travis S. Metcalfe High Altitude Observatory,
National Center for Atmospheric Research
7
Travis S. Metcalfe High Altitude Observatory,
National Center for Atmospheric Research
8
Travis S. Metcalfe High Altitude Observatory,
National Center for Atmospheric Research
9
The Production Rate and Employment of Ph.D.
Astronomers
Metcalfe, 2008, PASP, in press
arXiv0712.2820
Travis S. Metcalfe High Altitude Observatory,
National Center for Atmospheric Research
10
Prize Fellowships
  • Nancy Evans
  • Chandra Fellowship Program, CfA

11
Employment
  • The Chandra Fellowship Program

12
Chandra Fellowships
  • Further the understanding of X-ray sources
  • X-ray observations Chandra, XMM, Swift, Glast,
    RXTE
  • Ground-based, other wavelength observations of
    X-ray sources
  • Theory

13
Post-docs
  • Chandra, Hubble, Spitzer similar
  • Within 3 years of PhD
  • 3 year duration

14
Aim
  • Time for research
  • Work with a new group, learn a new skill

15
Requirements
  • CV
  • Summary of previous research
  • 3 letters of reference
  • Research proposal
  • US institution

16
Demographics
  • Roughly half are new PhDs (no previous post-doc)
  • Roughly half do some further post-doc work

17
Benefit
  • Plan a 3 year project

18
Mechanics
  • New committee each year (except Chair)
  • Cover all areas
  • 2-body problem

19
Aside Satellite positions
  • Wide variety of specialized work
  • Mission planning, software, data processing,
    archive, user support, calibration
  • Variety of sizes, variety of lifetimes

20
Aside IT specialists
  • All the Chandra groups have IT specialists
  • Typically recent college graduates
  • Visit the Chandra booth

21
Faculty positions and grant-funded postdoc
positionsNeal Evans, University of Texas
22
Postdocs and Faculty at Big State U.
  • Neal Evans

23
Generalities
  • Elements
  • CV and Publications
  • At least 3 pubs in grad school, 10 in postdoc
  • Research Statement
  • Teaching Statement (maybe)
  • Keep it SIMPLE and SHORT
  • Letters of Recommendation
  • Most critical, but least immediate control
  • Depends on actions long before

24
Guidelines and Suggestions
  • From committee evaluating postdoc applicants, but
    mostly general
  • Committee will not be all in your field
  • Tailor your application
  • Do your homework know people and facilities
  • Be specific with whom would you work?
  • Avoid jargon, acronyms, details of your field
  • Explain how your work fits into big picture
  • Be brief we dont need to know
  • All observing runs, programming or spoken
    languages, hobbies, marital status,

25
The Letters!
  • Phrases from letters for top 3
  • Very smart, works very hard
  • Would make excellent use of your facilities
  • Most gifted researcher
  • Cannot think of a better match
  • One of the most creative thinkers
  • Gifted young scientist
  • Original thinker
  • Extremely dedicated
  • Has my unqualified support
  • Highly recommend

26
The Letters!
  • Phrases from letters for bottom 3
  • Responsible person
  • Good skills
  • Best in a collaborative environment
  • Diligent researcher
  • Competent
  • Friendly and direct
  • Strengths in data analysis
  • Easy to collaborate with
  • Will soon be generating own ideas
  • Enthusiastic and adaptable

27
How to get good letters?
  • Start early impressions built over time
  • Work with several people
  • Especially outside your institute
  • Collaborate, but find a way to lead
  • Demonstrate competence AND originality
  • Dont be satisfied with good enough
  • Choose your advisor and collaborators wisely
  • Dont alienate your letter writers
  • Marketing find a way to get noticed

28
Jobs in Government
  • Jonathan Gardner
  • NASA GSFC

29
Government JobsJonathan P. Gardner,
Observational Cosmology Lab, Goddard Space Flight
Center
  • Best sources of information AAS Job Register,
    Networking
  • Goddard, JPL, Ames, Postdocs http//nasa.orau.org
    /postdoc/
  • Goddard, Ames, Faculty Level
    http//www.usajobs.gov/
  • JPL https//careerlaunch.jpl.nasa.gov/
  • DOE Labs http//wdrs.fnal.gov/employ/
    http//jobs.lbl.gov/
  • Policy jobs
  • APS Congressional Fellowship http//www.aps.org/p
    olicy/fellowships/congressional.cfm
  • AIP Congressional Fellowship http//physicists.or
    g/gov/cf.html
  • AIP State Dept Fellowship http//www.aip.org/gov/
    sdf.html
  • Presidential Management Fellows Program
    https//www.pmf.opm.gov/
  • AAS Bahcall Fellowship http//www.aas.org/policy/
    John_Bahcall_Fellowhip.php
  • Contact your congressional representatives,
    Senators, etc.
  • NSF, NASA HQ, DOE HQ, Other Government Agencies
    http//www.usajobs.gov/

30
Jobs in Industry
  • Gary Matthews
  • ITT

31
Getting a JobAn Industry Perspective
  • Gary Matthews
  • JWST AIT Program Manager
  • ITT Space Systems Division

32
Background
  • 1979 graduate of Penn State University in
    Mechanical Engineering
  • 1988 graduate of the University of Rochester MBA
  • 28 years experience in building large optical
    systems
  • Notable achievements
  • Chief Engineer on the High Resolution Mirror
    Assembly for Chandra X-ray Observatory
  • Program Manager for the Advanced Mirror System
    Demonstrator ultra-lightweight active glass
    mirror for segmented optical systems
  • Program Manager for the JWST AIT Program at ITT
  • Director of Space Science Programs at ITT

33
The Difference Between Academia and Industry
  • Academia
  • Pursuit of knowledge
  • To query the unknown
  • Knowledge for knowledge sake
  • To ask the hard questions that have no answers
  • Industry
  • To drive programmatics that compel revenue and
    enhance shareholder value

34
Scientists and Engineers
They are cut from the same cloth
  • Scientists
  • To figure out how to do something that has never
    been thought of or done before
  • Engineers
  • To build something that has never been built
    before

Scientists are the interpreters between science
and engineering through Systems Engineering
35
The Secret is Systems Engineering
  • Science insight into stellar ages
  • It's difficult to garner ages from isochrone
    fitting for mature solar-type stars.
  • Young stars with bright exodis will be
    particularly interesting and should receive close
    attention, including integral field spectroscopy.
  • Engineering insight into how things work
  • PVnRT
  • FMa
  • You cant push on a rope
  • Not so sure about a cryo rope

36
Systems Engineering
  • Creating the link between mission needs and
    system configuration
  • Understanding the advantages and limitations of
    various configurations to drive trades
  • To flow down engineering requirements to various
    aspects of a design to insure mission success
  • This allows industry and academia to succeed
  • Academia gets an instrument to explore the
    unknown
  • Scientists learn about the unknown
  • Engineers build the impossible
  • Industry makes money and pays taxes to build more
    instruments while rewarding shareholders

In all cases you will be working side-by-side
with engineers and manufacturing people with
critical expertise and insight to allow the
creation of instruments to explore the unknown
37
Fill out surveys!Graduate Student Networking
Reception Thursday, 6.30-7.30pmHilton Austin
Salon H
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