Re:Hiring intern for NASA spacewalk operations department
by brudgers on Wednesday January 14, 2015 @03:47PM
(#8888908)
Yes, EVA is cool. Space in general is cool. I have a brother-in-law who went from subcontractor to Boeing to Boeing employee while working on ISS. But there have been long career stretches of flights to El Paso for two weeks at White Sands. That's a career in aerospace. So, I appreciate what where you're coming from so let me clarify my point about fecal cohesion:
In regards to this internship there's no evidence of planning. No projects suitable for completion within the duration of the internship have been prepared.
Because the internship is not viewed as an extension of the classroom, there's a fundamental misunderstanding of what an internship is supposed to be. An internship is not just a part time entry level job.
It's normal to throw an entry level employee at a pile of work that's considered beneath the senior staff. But again, that's not a meaningful internship.
The idea that the less domain relevant background a person has the more likely they are to be writing the documentation upon which people may have to rely suggests that the Wiki is a waterfall style contractual obligation. There's nothing wrong with over the transom requirements and back over the transom fulfilment of them. There are even valuable lessons in waterfall development to be gleaned from that process.
But if that's what the person will experience, then make a plan around that decision so that the internship has maximum value.
If the goal is to develop software to sync ground and orbital resources, then make a plan around that and select a candidate who can complete it in the time alloted...or don't do it.
Decide what your time commitment is as a field instructor. Make your decisions based on your responsibility as an educator. Take the internship seriously from an academic standpoint. Professionalism means not wasting other people's time.
In regards to this internship there's no evidence of planning. No projects suitable for completion within the duration of the internship have been prepared.
Because the internship is not viewed as an extension of the classroom, there's a fundamental misunderstanding of what an internship is supposed to be. An internship is not just a part time entry level job.
It's normal to throw an entry level employee at a pile of work that's considered beneath the senior staff. But again, that's not a meaningful internship.
The idea that the less domain relevant background a person has the more likely they are to be writing the documentation upon which people may have to rely suggests that the Wiki is a waterfall style contractual obligation. There's nothing wrong with over the transom requirements and back over the transom fulfilment of them. There are even valuable lessons in waterfall development to be gleaned from that process.
But if that's what the person will experience, then make a plan around that decision so that the internship has maximum value.
If the goal is to develop software to sync ground and orbital resources, then make a plan around that and select a candidate who can complete it in the time alloted...or don't do it.
Decide what your time commitment is as a field instructor. Make your decisions based on your responsibility as an educator. Take the internship seriously from an academic standpoint. Professionalism means not wasting other people's time.
Good luck.