Careers Fest 2012 - National Space Centre

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Created: Thursday, 14 February 2013 15:35

Written by Rob

On the 12th November a group of post-16 physics students went to ‘Careers Fest 2012’, an event which was held at the National Space Centre.  A variety of organisations involved in space sciences were represented, including Rolls-Royce, The Met Office, the RAF, and some universities were also present.

At the beginning of the day students assembled in the Space Theatre for an introductory talk.  We were then free to visit the representatives of the various organisations we had chosen to see.  It became apparent that there are many job opportunities for young people in the space industry even in these hard economic times.  Andy Bradford from Surrey Satellites Technology Ltd. (a world leader in the design and manufacture of satellites) mentioned that he was employing 50 new members of staff that very week!

Personally, I was amazed that there are so many different roles in this industry; everything from designing and analysing, to testing and assembling.  Also there are more companies involved in this field than I had imagined.

The day concluded with a keynote talk in the Space Theatre by Prof Charles Cockell, a Professor of Astrobiology at Edinburgh University.  He focused on the age old question: ‘Is there life beyond our planet?’  This captured the students’ imaginations and was a fantastic end to a wonderful day.  Many commented on how useful the visit was:

 “Interesting day, helped me see the different careers in the science industry”

“I’m a lot clearer now on what I need to do to get into the field of physics”

“Useful hearing about real life stories and the paths people took to get into this industry”

And finally, a big thank you to Mrs Woolhouse from the physics department for organising the event.

Alex Bradley (Year 12 student)