Expert: Paul Soderman - 4/10/2009

Question
Hey Paul, I'm sorry if you get a lot of interview questions, but I have to do it for a school project.

1. What qualifications did you need to acquire the position of an aeronautical engineer at NASA?

2. What did your job require you to do?

3. How many jobs/careers have you had?

4. What parts of your job did you like and disklike? Why?

5. What was the most unique or unusual task you had to perform for your job?

6. What would your typical work day entail?

Answer
Megan
1.  The minimum is a B.S. degree in aeronautical or mechanical engineering.  An advanced degree and/or a special skill would likely be required because of the competition.

2. Conduct research in wind tunnels.  That involved planning and conducting experiments on technology for aircraft or aircraft components and reporting on the findings in technical journals.

3.  Two - I worked for Boeing and NASA.  But each job has numerous assignments, so there was quite a variety of experiences.

4.  Like - developing new technology, working with very smart people, getting new ideas, helping the nation.  Dislike - budget meetings, office politics, funding problems, a few bad apples.

5.  Designing an air sampling pod that flew under the wing of the ER2 aircraft during the pioneering studies of the hole in the ozone layer over Antarctica.

6.  Planning, data analysis, literature search, writing, code development, meeting with people, thinking of ways to do something no one has ever done before.  Going for a jog.
Paul