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Break in: join the mission

How to get hired in AI, robotics, aerospace and space. Real programs, real deadlines, and the projects that get interviews.

Start here: How to break into aerospace without an aerospace degree

  1. Artist's concept of SpaceX's Starship Human Landing System on the lunar surface
    How to break into aerospace without an aerospace degree
    Most of the jobs on a rocket company's board aren't titled 'aerospace engineer.' Which degrees and backgrounds map onto them, and how to prove it.
  2. NASA VIPER test rover in the SLOPE Lab at NASA Glenn Research Center
    Space internships and fellowships for 2027: real programs, real deadlines
    NASA OSTEM and Pathways, SpaceX and Blue Origin, the Brooke Owens and Patti Grace Smith fellowships, and the Isakowitz scholarship. What's open, what closed, and who qualifies.
  3. Concept illustration of mining equipment on a planetary surface
    Portfolio projects that get interviews: rockets, ROS robots and CubeSats
    Three project types that hardware recruiters recognize, how to scope each so you actually finish, and what to write up afterward.
  4. Engineers lower the MOXIE instrument into Perseverance
    Free courses and certifications that are actually worth your time
    A short list, checked against what the jobs ask for: MIT OpenCourseWare, the official ROS 2 tutorials, NAR rocketry certification and the FAA mechanic route.
  5. NASA VIPER test rover in the SLOPE Lab at NASA Glenn Research Center
    Robotics career paths: from ROS tutorials to humanoids, drones and rovers
    The four kinds of robotics jobs that are actually hiring, the free material that teaches the core stack, and how a planetary rover career usually starts on Earth.
  6. Phobos imaged by HiRISE
    AI jobs at space companies: fewer than you'd think, and almost all senior
    We counted every open posting at 11 space companies. About 2.6 percent had AI or machine learning in the title. Where they are and how to get one.
  7. Jezero Crater on Mars seen from orbit
    The career changer's playbook for AI, robotics and space
    Coming from another industry? Map what you already do onto a job these companies post, close one gap with one project, and skip the second degree unless a rule requires it.
  8. Artist's concept of SpaceX's Starship Human Landing System on the lunar surface
    ITAR explained for job seekers: what 'U.S. person' really means
    Why so many aerospace postings ask about citizenship, who actually qualifies, and what non-citizens can still apply for.
  9. Jezero Crater on Mars seen from orbit
    Who hires in AI, robotics, aerospace and space, and where
    A map of the 32 companies on our jobs board by field and city. Southern California and the Bay Area dominate. Here's the rest.
  10. NASA VIPER test rover in the SLOPE Lab at NASA Glenn Research Center
    Careers in space mining: the jobs are real, the job title isn't
    Nobody is hiring 'space miners.' Plenty of companies are hiring the people who will build the machines. What we see on our own jobs board.

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