Comments on: Rebalancing NASA’s Workforce

By: Jason Rhian

Jason Rhian — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 20:49:02 +0000

It would have been great if it was adequately enacted and employed… I've had some experience with this and it is basically lip service. I am what could be consider a "fresh-hire" with two Bachelor's degrees numerous volunteer and internship efforts at KSC that simply cannot punch through the entrenched and in some cases discriminatory hiring practices there,,,

By: Rolando Quintanilla

Rolando Quintanilla — Tue, 05 May 2009 03:51:19 +0000

good point dan…

I believe in “paying your dues”, but I agree people usually confuse “paying your dues” with “[doing] their time” which isn’t always synonymous.

Some people have worked for 20years and have only paid one year of dues because they have been doing the same thing since they started here. (This is only a slight exaggeration.)

I know talent when I see it. I imagine that good leaders must have the capacity to spot talented individuals by watching them work. Yet our leaders assume youth as an indicator that “dues” have not been payed.

I have also seen putting people in the wrong position in comparison to their talents. For example, putting someone who is really good at A,B,and C in charge of A,B,C, D and E. When they are terrible at D and E.

Putting someone in charge of X and W when they are really bad at it. Then not letting them do Y and Z, which they are/would be good at.

I guess, being able to appreciate what an individual is good at and what they are bad at is an essential leadership trait. Let them be in charge of what they are good at and help them develop what they are bad at.

My two cents.

By: dan

dan — Sun, 03 May 2009 18:35:31 +0000

People in the SMC may benefit by reflecting upon what it means to “pay your dues.”

There is an emphasis on putting in one’s time vs. rapidly gaining experience by being on the frontline.

I saw this first hand as a part of a multi-center project. There were a few very talented young people matrixed out and at the helm. they worked hard and did great things for the Agency.

Sadly, I saw many of them return to their home Branches/Centers to positions that were lower than or at par with what they were doing when they were freshouts.

Why? Because they had not “done their time” or “paid their dues.” There was an assumption by the Old Guard that these talented, hungry young people were not ready to lead…they were “too young.”

Why wait?

Let the young and ready assume more responsibility, lest they become young and restless and leave.

By: longtime@nasa

longtime@nasa — Sun, 03 May 2009 15:22:49 +0000

As a long time NASA employee I can account many stories of frustrations of NOT being allowed to hire fresh-outs (FO’s they are called) because the current catch phrase of the day was “workforce reduction”. I’ve seen many a good candidate come looking for a CS position, only to be hired as a contractor because there was a CS hiring freeze, or we don’t have enough “hiring points”. Now those good candidates who have been working as contractors for more than 3 years no longer qualify as FO’s and so will be supplanted by someone with no experience, someone who gets the job they wanted in the first place. Come-on SMC! Make up your minds. Who is better qualified. A contractor who has been working in the job for more than 3 years, or an untried, unproven FO?

By: mk

mk — Sat, 02 May 2009 06:05:02 +0000

Specifying that jobs should be reserved for fresh-outs is Age Discrimination, regardless of how it is hyped. — Why not attempt a ‘first-come — first served’ approach to hiring qualified individuals who have submitted their applications to the NASA Human Resources Offices? Then, a 20 year limit to NASA employment — Better archived computer records and documentation to insure continuity in workforce knowledge. Less discussion about the workforce demographics and more effort directed to space related problems.

By: D

Fri, 01 May 2009 21:12:24 +0000

All new hires are almost certainly going to be term hires which may dampen some desire to take the jobs.

Perhaps not.

By: Open NASA » Shaping the NASA workforce for 2020

Open NASA » Shaping the NASA workforce for 2020 — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 14:53:08 +0000

[...] about our workforce. I thought it would be particularly timely, considering Nick Skytland’s recent posting of an internal NASA email about recent NASA Strategic Management Council decision to target-hire [...]

By: cudmaster

cudmaster — Fri, 24 Apr 2009 20:18:05 +0000

I’d love to work on space/science type things.

I’d hate to work for nasa, I’d bet the young people in this area are looking for gigs at places like spacex.

why? the bureaucracy.

Waiting over a year to be provided the tools/access/approval to do a job that could have been done in 5 minutes, is something MOST people under 40 could not tolerate.

By: NASA Newbies

NASA Newbies — Mon, 13 Apr 2009 09:17:54 +0000

[...] to NASA youngblood Nick Skytland for the call-out. Skytland may turn out to be the agency’s Luke Skywalker if he’s not buried by the [...]

By: Patricia Pahlavani

Patricia Pahlavani — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 16:32:26 +0000

Hi. Just trying to get the word out that a Resident Engineer announcement (1 year with the NASA Engineering Safety Center) was just posted on the USA JOBS. The web site above will take you to the vacancy announcement. This is a chance for young engineers to work real NASA problems working w/senior discipline experts both at NASA and the private sector. Thanks, Patricia.