Contractor
Contractor jobs include research scientists,
technicians, computer programmers and other technical support staff.
Contractor positions are not permanent, like Civil Servant positions,
but are not short-term, like post docs. Requirements for contractor
jobs can range from bachelor degrees to Ph.D.s. |
"Goddard scientists who work for contractors are employed by a company which
has a contract with the government to do specific tasks. Unlike tasks
relating to many other jobs, scientific research is a bit hard to quantify.
While it is easy to say, "You will build 100 airplanes for the government
for $X" It is harder to say "You will support this mission for $X". What is
the value of a new scientific discovery? How do you measure if the support
is good or bad? You can usually tell a good airplane from a bad one.
"In the Astrophysics Science Division (ASD) there is not a lot of
distinction between the contractors and the civil-servants. We all work
together toward the same goals. The only one that really affects my job is
that I can't sign approval forms, while civil-servants can.
"The contract that my company works under will expire in September 2000.
After that time, depending upon who wins the new contract, I may either be
working for the same company at the same job, have to change companies and
loose seniority to keep the same job, or look for another job." -- Michael
Arida, Raytheon ITSS
Contractors at GSFC's Laboratory for High-Energy Astrophysics include:
- Universities Space Research Associates (USRA)
"Scientists employed by the Universities Space Research Association (USRA)
at NASA/GSFC work side by side with their Civil Service colleagues
to analyze and interpret data from astronomical satellites, balloon
instruments, and ground-based observatories. Although formally a
"contractor" outfit, USRA differs from other contractors by being
a nonprofit corporation, with the specific 'mission' of furthering
research into space science and technology. This way, America's space
program gets a continuing source of fresh ideas and new thinkers,
and university researchers gain access to the cutting-edge progress
at NASA.
"The USRA scientists at NASA do not have 'tenure' in the same way
as, say, a university professor or a Civil Servant. Some have 'tours
of duty' at NASA/GSFC limited to a few years, while others can
take on sizeable programmatic responsibilities. However, one
compensation for the lack of direct job security can be a freedom
from some of the more administrative aspects of life at GSFC.
At Goddard, USRA scientists make major contributions to science
research, community support of active astronomy missions, and public
education and outreach." -- Dr. Alan Smale, USRA
- Raytheon
"Raytheon Information and Technical Science Services (ITSS), formerly
Hughes STX, formerly STX, primarily provides support for the
scientific research ongoing in the lab. What was once a small
minority-owned contract company has merged several times in recent
years and is now part of the huge conglomerate, Raytheon. Some of the
tasks that Raytheon contractors fill are: programmers, developing
software used in interpreting satellite data; technicians; education
and outreach developers; and research scientists." -- Michael Arida, Raytheon
ITSS.
- University of Maryland
"Scientists at GSFC are also employed by the University of Maryland through
a cooperative agreement between NASA and UMd. These scientists have the
status of research faculty in the Astronomy Department with a promotion
track parallel to the teaching (tenured) faculty. Research faculty can
supervise PhD students and can volunteer to teach both undergraduate and
graduate level classes. They have access to all University of Maryland
facilities, both academic and recreational, in addition to having access to
GSFC resources available to research scientists. As employees of the State
of Maryland, research faculty share in the state's medical and pension
benefits." -- Dr. Keith Arnaud, UMD
Post-doctoral Research Associate
(postdoc)
Postdoctoral research associates (or postdocs) are science research
positions for scientists who have recently gotten their Ph.D.s. These
positions usually last from 1 to 3 years; most scientists do at least one
and possibly several postdocs before landing a permanent position.
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- National Research Council
"NRC (National Research Council) post-doctoral associates are scientists
who got their Ph.D. recently and work on two-year contracts for NASA or
other national laboratories. NRC research associateships are one of the
most respected post-doctoral positions in the US. The position can be
defined as: ``self-employed by the National Academy of Sciences'';
workplace: NASA center (such as Goddard Space Flight Center). NRC is a
sub-ordinate of the National Academy of Sciences which is a U.S.
Government Agency, and NRC associates pay tax as self-employed
individuals. Office space, computers, etc., are provided by the host
laboratory. The advantage of this associateship is that we write a research
proposal, and if the proposal promises important results in science, the
NRC provides financial support for us to carry out the research. That gives
us freedom to chose our project. Also, we have the copyright on our
scientific work. The disadvantage of it is that it is very competitive, and
not permanent (after two years, we are looking for another job!). Also, we
are not allowed to work for any other employer, so that we can devote our
full energy to scientific research. Which we scientists are happy to do."
-- Dr. Sandor Molnar, NRC postdoc