Expert: Ray Wilkinson - 11/10/2006

Question
sir, i m an indian electronics engineering student studying here only. sir i am deeply interested in working at nasa, but unfortunately i've got no idea, how to make it. all my efforts fail. Plzzzzzzzz sir give some essential tip to make me aware about
1. possiblities for an indian to work at nasa.
2.eligibility criteria
3.engineering scopes
4.what sort of skills and preparation is required to get through........

Answer
Hi Amit

Wow, this is a diffcult one. Basically, what happens if you want to work in the USA is that you need to get a job offer and then get the company (Nasa in your case) to sponsor your application for a work visa. This is quite a lengthy process, for both them and you, so they would want to be sure that you were able to offer them something pretty special or it would be much easier for them to employ an American. In reality, this means you must already have relevant experience. Also, your contact with them must be absolutely first class, so the spelling and grammar must be perfect. You can imagine that millions of people would like to work there, so the number of applications swamps the number of opportunities, and any way of separating the best candidates from the rest is going to be used.

The best way you could move forward on this is either:

1 Go and work for someone else and build up experience. In India you have ISRO, and I would guess you also have suppliers to both ISRO and Nasa. Then approach them again when you have something they want.

2. Visit the USA, go to Nasa and just pester them to give you an interview. Take a first-class CV, and be able to demonstrate how you always wanted to be involved, from a small boy. Never take no for an answer. If you spend lots of time and money trying, it shows commitment at least.

Remember that any organisation will want to know what they will get out of employing you as opposed to someone else - no-one will take you on just to do you a favour. Like becoming a rock star, you will have to work hard for a long time to get work with Nasa, so if this isn't for you then you will need to set your sights elsewhere.

I hope I have helped you, and not been too pessimistic. Good luck.

Regards

Ray