Workforce

Women@NASA: Local Reflects on Katrina’s Impact on Stennis Space Center

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This is one among a collection of videos and essays from women who contribute to NASA‘s mission. They are part of the agency’s efforts to create a collaborative and supportive community of women at the agency, inspire girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics and to encourage openness and accountability at NASA.

In 1995, after spending my entire life in the suburbs of New Orleans, La., we decided to move out of the city, settling 25 miles north of Stennis Space Center. At that time, I was a Special Projects Coordinator at an abstract firm which served law firms and real estate professionals in the New Orleans area. After commuting for a few years, it was time to find something closer to home, which is how I ended up at NASA as a Legal Technician in the Office of Chief Counsel. I have proudly been part of the NASA family since December 1998. I love it when someone asked where I work and when I say “NASA, more often than not they smile and say “Wow, that’s awesome.” Their expression reminds me of how privileged I am. Keep reading →

 /  Published September 18, 2012 at 7:00 AM

Rethinking Six Policy Drivers To Improve America’s Competitiveness

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A new assessment of the American workforce contends that the nation’s prolonged unemployment problems are an outgrowth of outdated national policies that if not addressed, will prolong a growing shortage of essential talent and skills needed to keep America competitive.

Written by Bill Eggers, author of the The Public Innovators’s Playbook and Government 2.0 and John Hagel, author of Out of the Box, the new report is aimed primarily at the nation’s continuing debate on how to jumpstart job growth in America. But it also has lessons for federal executives who must compete with the private sector for top talent admidst underlying forces that continue foster a “significant and growing mismatch between the country’s demand for taklent and its current supply.”

Eggers, who now directs research for Deloitte Services, and Hagel, who co-chairs the consulting firm’s Center for the Edge, make the case that while Americans are becoming increasingly educated, “America’s talent pool is not poised to adapt to the new demands” of today’s knowledge economy. “The skills that graduates acquire after four years of college will soon have an expected shelf life of only five years, meaning that skills learned in school can become outdated long before the student loans are paid off,” they note.

Meanwhile, “a new class of free agents is revolutionizing the traditional 9 to 5” employment environment of the 20th century. Eggers and Hagel argue that national policy makers need to focus on six key drivers that affect America’s talent pool, recommending:

  • Education nation needs to move beyond the traditional K-12 model to one of continuous learning
  • Occupation and employment regulation needs to rethought and even dismantled to lower the barriers to a wide variety of jobs
  • Immigration rules need to be revised to provide greater ease and incentives to attract the world’s talent
  • Foreign investment need to be reframed from national security to training American talent
  • Unemployment insurance policy needs to changed to create incentives for reskilling
  • Intellectual property laws need to reduce unproductive costs and be updated to be more agile, more proactive.
Keep reading →

 /  Published September 14, 2012 at 8:05 AM

Women@NASA: Procurement Manager Builds Career Focused On People, Relationships

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This is one among a collection of videos and essays from women who contribute to NASA‘s mission. They are part of the agency’s efforts to create a collaborative and supportive community of women at the agency, inspire girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics and to encourage openness and accountability at NASA.

As a child, I really did not think about or plan my life toward any particular career. We lived in Nashville, Tenn., and I was the oldest of five children. After my parents divorced, we moved to Huntsville. My mother would often work 16-hour days to take care of us. Being the oldest meant I was responsible for tending to my brothers and sisters while she was working. Unfortunately, this was not an easy task because they saw me as their equal and not someone with any authority. In spite of that, I believe being placed in this role at an early age taught me some lessons in responsibility. Keep reading →

 /  Published September 11, 2012 at 7:00 AM

Women@NASA: Volunteer Dedicated To Hispanic Community, Diversity and Awareness

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This is one among a collection of videos and essays from women who contribute to NASA‘s mission. They are part of the agency’s efforts to create a collaborative and supportive community of women at the agency, inspire girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics and to encourage openness and accountability at NASA.

In my capacity as a NASA employee and a Huntsville, Ala., community volunteer, I have dedicated myself to the Hispanic community. This motivation springs from my own heritage – devotion to family, history and culture – and from my professional NASA values, which include cultural diversity and awareness. It’s my passion to help Hispanic people in the state of Alabama and around the world; I feels it is most important to help open doors for children and young people, to let them see the opportunities they have to continue their education and develop rewarding careers and fulfilling lives. I believe we should start training and developing the minds of these students to their full potential at an early age, because all children, regardless of their race, deserve the opportunity to succeed. Keep reading →

 /  Published September 4, 2012 at 7:00 AM

Women@NASA: Mother of Three Goes From Waitressing to Graduating College with Honors, Dream Job

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This is one among a collection of videos and essays from women who contribute to NASA‘s mission. They are part of the agency’s efforts to create a collaborative and supportive community of women at the agency, inspire girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics and to encourage openness and accountability at NASA.

“I’m a 35-year-old mother of three in my third marriage, working as a waitress, and have let life around me “just happen”. I exist in a reactionary state of mind.” That was me 11 years ago when I decided it was time to take control of my life, become proactive and make choices to live my life. Keep reading →

 /  Published August 28, 2012 at 7:00 AM

Women@NASA: Childhood Stories Lead to Research Career

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This is one among a collection of videos and essays from women who contribute to NASA’s mission. They are part of the agency’s efforts to create a collaborative and supportive community of women at the agency, inspire girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics and to encourage openness and accountability at NASA.

When I was growing up, my father owned a service station, and my mother was an accountant. Because they both worked, I was fortunate to spend a lot of time with my grandparents when I was growing up. I loved when my Grandmother would bring out her picture albums and tell me wonderful stories about her brother, Floyd Kelso – a barnstormer. He and his wing walker, Auggie Peddlar, performed aerobatic stunts for audiences along the West Coast. There are pictures of Auggie, in-flight, hanging from struts, running across wings and other classic barnstormer images. My father also had colorful tales to tell about his own experiences flying Aeroncas and Ercoupes: He would glide over the Alviso Slew, and restart his engine over the hunters, flushing the ducks, but ruining the hunting. I loved the adventure, humor and passion about aircraft in these tales. Thus, when my high school biology teacher offered me an opportunity as an aeronautics intern at NASA Ames Research Center, I jumped at it. Keep reading →

 /  Published August 21, 2012 at 7:00 AM

How 20 Is The New 30 In Today’s Workforce

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What makes today’s young professionals different than previous generations?

For the past decade at least, Americans have been subject to variations of “40 is the new 30.” A mantra that is supposed to allow older people to do the things that had previously been relegated to younger people, either because their bodies were more capable, or society looked at those activities as within the province of youth. Keep reading →

 /  Published August 17, 2012 at 9:00 AM

Women@NASA: Aspiring Judge Turns Into ‘Rising Star’ Engineer

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This is one among a collection of videos and essays from women who contribute to NASA’s mission. They are part of the agency’s efforts to create a collaborative and supportive community of women at the agency, inspire girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics and to encourage openness and accountability at NASA.

I wish that I could say that I knew early on in life that I wanted to become a scientist or engineer. That would not be the true. My career goals changed a lot when I was growing up. During high school, I thought I wanted to become a Supreme Court judge. Then one day my father suggested that I pursue a career in engineering; and, because my father was the most intelligent person in the world, I did just what he suggested. Keep reading →

 /  Published August 14, 2012 at 7:00 AM

Women@NASA: Mentor Inspires Next Generation of Female Scientists

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This is one among a collection of videos and essays from women who contribute to NASA’s mission. They are part of the agency’s efforts to create a collaborative and supportive community of women at the agency, inspire girls to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics and to encourage openness and accountability at NASA.

Growing up in India, newly liberated from British rule, and at a time when there were few women scientist role models, I still dreamed of being one. When the Russians launched Sputnik and my grandmother gathered the whole family early one morning to see the satellite pass overhead, I wanted nothing more than to explore space. When NASA landed a man on the moon, I promised myself that one day I would work for NASA. Encouraged by my mother and teachers, I strongly believed that if I worked hard I would achieve my goals of going to Oxford University in England and working for NASA in America. I doggedly pursued my dreams and won a scholarship to Oxford University and received my doctorate in Physics in 1976. Joining NASA took a little longer. Keep reading →

 /  Published August 7, 2012 at 7:00 AM

Influencing Enterprise Mobility In Government

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When most think of the US Federal government some pretty cliché images come to mind. One in particular is the man or woman standing tall with their BlackBerries sticking out of a pocket holster. While this stereotype is often accurate, one major change has occurred over the past few years that has sent a tidal wave throughout public sector IT.

The BlackBerry that once held so tightly by the hip has now been replaced with an iOS or Android device, and it’s not the change in hardware that has Washington running a muck, it’s the power behind the hardware that most of us all know too well as the “Apps”. With apps, an entire Apple and Android enterprise ecosystem has been born and mobile app management or MAM seems to be taking the center stage of both accolade and criticism and the question remains, why? Keep reading →

 /  Published August 3, 2012 at 9:00 AM
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