From math PhD to space industry - possible?

[ChiefBromden]

Hello everybody,

I am currently in the middle of my PhD in mathematics. In the beginning of the program I was quite sure that I would stay in academia, however it is becoming more and more clear to me that I want to go into industry once I am finished. During the last weeks I have started to look for possible career paths and while there are several things which sound interesting to me, the one that struck me the most was the possibility to work in the area of aeronautics/ space exploration/ astronomy... something with space (lol). And of course I'm aware that I am probably very naive about this, those are basically just topics I like to read about in private, nothing I have any real background in. But I would like to find out if there are any chances for me to go into such a direction.

I have checked for example the website of ESA, where they write that they are looking for people from applied mathematics. And I figure, this might be the main problem for me. In my PhD I'm working on PDEs in fluid dynamics, but only on the theoretical side. Of course, during my time at university I have also heard lectures about numerics etc. but I have never applied anything on my own. Also my coding abilities are very low. My impression is that I am too far behind compared to other people from these fields and would have to catch up on too many things in order to close the gap. Then again, no matter which kind of job I choose I will have to learn a lot of new stuff, so maybe this does not make too much of a difference.

My questions are therefore: Is there any chance for someone with my background in the areas mentioned above? Can I do something right now in order to improve these chances or is it already too late for that? And where could I go to get more information about all this?

Thank you!

 

[QuantumSpace]

Theoretical fluid dynamics does sound like something useful for space industry, but I'm by no means an expert.

 

[StatGuy2000]

To the OP:

If your ultimate goal after completing your PhD in math is to pursue career opportunities in industry (whether in the space industry or in other areas), you will need to acquire additional skills to be readily employable. At the top of the list is programming/coding ability.

Most positions that are open to PhD level graduates in math, applied math, or other cognate programs generally require substantial programming skills, in languages like C++, Fortran, Matlab, Python, R (for statistics), etc. You don't have to necessarily develop software, but you should be comfortable in programming.

So my number 1 suggestion would be to work on your programming skills. Fortunately, there are many resources available to you to improve your skills. And since you are in the middle (rather than the end) of your PhD, you still have some time to build on your programming ability while working on your research.

 

[CrysPhys]

OP: Are there contacts listed at the ESA? Try to have some informal discussions with them concerning your interests and see what they suggest.

 

[ChiefBromden]

Thank you for your answers!

To the OP:

If your ultimate goal after completing your PhD in math is to pursue career opportunities in industry (whether in the space industry or in other areas), you will need to acquire additional skills to be readily employable. At the top of the list is programming/coding ability.

Most positions that are open to PhD level graduates in math, applied math, or other cognate programs generally require substantially programming skills, in languages like C++, Fortran, Matlab, Python R (for statistics), etc. You don't have to necessarily develop software, but you should be comfortable in programming.

So my number 1 suggestion would be to work on your programming skills. Fortunately, there are many resources available to you to improve your skills. And since you are in the middle (rather than the end) of your PhD, you still have some time to build on your programming ability while working on your research.

Yes, I agree. As I wrote, I'm aware that I will have to develop new skills no matter which direction I choose to go into. And yes, programming is probably the most important one. I know a little bit about C++ and Python but I haven't used it in years. I will check if my university offers any suitable courses, I think this would be the easiest way for me.

OP: Are there contacts listed at the ESA? Try to have some informal discussions with them concerning your interests and see what they suggest.

The page just lists scientific and engineering disciplines from which they hire people (https://www.esa.int/About_Us/Careers_at_ESA/Who_are_we_looking_for), I did not see any contacts. But I will check the website again, maybe I can find something.

 

[Dr Transport]

If you don't have some engineering background you might not even make it to an interview.

 

[CrysPhys]

If you don't have some engineering background you might not even make it to an interview.

The ESA website (https://www.esa.int/About_Us/Careers_at_ESA/Who_are_we_looking_for) lists three general fields that they recruit from: (a) Engineering disciplines, (b) Scientific disciplines, and (c) Business and administration services. Under "scientific disciplines", they list:

• Applied mathematics
• Earth observation and environmental science
• Planetary and space science
• Life and material sciences.

Since the OP is in the middle (rather than at the end) of his PhD program, there may still be time for him to assess his current fit and make up any deficiencies needed to be a strong candidate for the ESA (as one example).

 

[CrysPhys]

The page just lists scientific and engineering disciplines from which they hire people (https://www.esa.int/About_Us/Careers_at_ESA/Who_are_we_looking_for), I did not see any contacts. But I will check the website again, maybe I can find something.

If you can't find any contacts through their website, try other means: LinkedIn, professors (not just in math) at your university, alumni, journal articles ... You need to take initiative and be aggressive (but not overly so to the point of being obnoxious). Remember, you are not looking for a job at this point, but for career guidance (in the US, the term "informational interview" is sometimes used). Many (maybe even most) of the people you contact will probably ignore you, but all you need is to find a couple willing to help.

 

[gmax137]

I'm working on PDEs in fluid dynamics, but only on the theoretical side.

This caught my attention, I don't know what it means. Can you explain a bit more? Maybe people here understand it but I don't. I wonder if the people doing the hiring understand it?

 

[ChiefBromden]

If you can't find any contacts through their website, try other means: LinkedIn, professors (not just in math) at your university, alumni, journal articles ... You need to take initiative and be aggressive (but not overly so to the point of being obnoxious). Remember, you are not looking for a job at this point, but for career guidance (in the US, the term "informational interview" is sometimes used). Many (maybe even most) of the people you contact will probably ignore you, but all you need is to find a couple willing to help.

Yes, that sounds like a good idea, thank you. These kind of networking skills are new to me but I guess that is another thing I need to learn sooner or later!

This caught my attention, I don't know what it means. Can you explain a bit more? Maybe people here understand it but I don't. I wonder if the people doing the hiring understand it?

The main part of my work consists in showing existence, uniqueness and other properties of solutions to certain partial differential equations. This is interesting from the mathematical point of view and, strictly speaking, also for the numerics because, for example, if the solution to a problem does not exist then in particular it cannot be approximated numerically, even though the numerics might look like it can. However, I think in real world applications one is mostly interested in the actual numerics. So I think this particular skill will not be directly useful in industry jobs.

 

[gmax137]

I wouldn't be so quick to discount the value of your background. "Industry" is full of people trained to run "packaged" software, may of whom fall into the "garbage in, gospel out" camp. Someone who really knows what's going on mathematically could be valuable in avoiding costly mistakes.

 

[marcusl]

Think about expanding your doctoral research slightly so that you solve some fluid dynamics problems in addition to analyzing the PDEs, using a commercial CFD tool if you can. You’ll be a strong candidate if you can solve useful problems and understand the theory behind the methods and behavior.

 

[ChiefBromden]

Think about expanding your doctoral research slightly so that you solve some fluid dynamics problems in addition to analyzing the PDEs, using a commercial CFD tool if you can. You’ll be a strong candidate if you can solve useful problems and understand the theory behind the methods and behavior.

Yeah, that's probably a good idea. It does not depend entirely on me what I'm doing in my research but I guess a little bit extra work is always possible. Thank you.