NASA-JPL Engineer vs U.S. Navy Pilot

[Aceleo]

I was selected for a Pilot slot in the US Navy and I am slated to go to OCS(bootcamp) on August 18th. I haven't taken the oath yet.

However, after I submitted my Navy application, I also interviewed with NASA-JPL for an engineering position(just in case I didn't get the pilot slot). Luckily I survived the interview rounds and NASA wanted to give me an offer back in January but at the time the government shut down happened so they couldn't give me an offer. Fast forward to May, I got an Navy Pilot slot.

So here is the dilemma, I was happily prepping for Navy until NASA-JPL called me up offering me a very good engineering job with very good pay in Los Angeles. Basically a dream job for any engineer.

With NASA you get better work/life balance, live a decent social life and also earn a good salary. You can possibly live a happy family life and still have loads of fun at work.

With Navy Pilot, you get a more rewarding and challenging life. I plan on going to test pilot school and the possibility of even applying to become an astronaut in the future(I know that's some crazy dreams I got). I will lose the family connection and other social aspects compared to NASA. And also there is a chance that for some odd reason, I don't make it through flight training, I will be miserable for a couple of years with a different job at Navy. Let's just say, if I don't get to be a Pilot, there is a good chance I won't like it at the Navy. Also, I am quite old to be joining the Navy as a pilot. I will be 27 at OCS. The good thing is I am not married, at least for now.

In short
NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory - Nice steady life with great job satisfaction, build stuff and send to Mars
US Navy Pilot - Risky and challenging life with very rewarding career opportunities, think Astronaut!

So I was hoping to get some thoughts on Navy Pilot vs NASA engineer. What is a more realistic feasible goal? What do current or past NASA engineers think of this and what would they have done. Is astronaut even a realistic goal?

I know in the end I gotta ask myself what I truly want but for some reason, I keep going back and forth. Regardless of where I go, I will be serving this great country.

You can check what the Pilots had to say about this in this forum:
https://www.airwarriors.com/community/threads/nasa-engineer-vs-navy-pilot.46676

[eric z]

 Welcome to the Forum and Good Luck with your decision; I'm sure it will turn out fine either way!

[ccdengr]

A lot of engineering at JPL is going to be writing reports and Powerpoints, sitting in meetings, and doing routine stuff.  Sure, you may be working on a spaceflight project, but some large fraction of the time it'll be little different than any other technical office job.

I have no idea what being a pilot is like, but what I can tell from the outside, most of them are pretty driven and wouldn't consider doing anything else.  If you don't feel that way, maybe it's not the best choice for you.

I think becoming an astronaut is a long shot either way, but at least one JPL engineer ended up in the astronaut corps.

Good luck!

[Coastal Ron]

Navy pilot vs NASA JPL engineer. Everyone should be so luckily to have to chose between those two, and both can be rewarding.

That is about as much advice as I can give. From a professional standpoint, do you have an idea of what you'd like to be doing in 20 years? That might help to make your decision.

Congrats on being very talented!

[Aceleo]

Navy pilot vs NASA JPL engineer. Everyone should be so luckily to have to chose between those two, and both can be rewarding.

That is about as much advice as I can give. From a professional standpoint, do you have an idea of what you'd like to be doing in 20 years? That might help to make your decision.

Congrats on being very talented!

20 years is so far away but by that time, I would definitely want to be an astronaut if anything. Very good chance that's not gonna happen, so I'd possibly want to be a very successful pilot just about to retire out of the military or an engineer who is in an executive role.

[Zed_Noir]

@Aceleo, do you know which pilot stream you heading towards? Jets, multi engine transports, Vertols or helicopters. The pilot stream type have some bearing on where you might be based after commissioning between aboard a ship or a shore facility. Hope this help in your decision.

[Eric Hedman]

First of all I'd like to correct on misconception.  Twenty years is not that far away.  Most people are shocked by how fast that time of your life flies by.  Trust me, I'm old.  I know.  It feels like I was 27 just yesterday.  That is why you want to make the best use of that time as you can.

To excel at either of those paths requires a passion for what you're doing.  When I was ten years old I wanted to be an astronaut, but my vision was no longer 20/20.  Back then that ruled you out immediately so I accepted that and I still had a passion for designing things.  I became an engineer.

When you talk of the possibility that you could fail to make it through flight school, if you have a real passion you should believe in yourself that you can do it.  I seem to remember somebody saying that failure is not an option.  When you decide to have confidence and believe in yourself in either path, your chances of success go way up.  Then the decision on a path should be easier.  You have to decide which is your greatest passion or you'll have regrets and wonder what if especially if the path you choose turns out less than you expected.

That's my two cents. 

[MATTBLAK]

If it were me - and I'm not you, because I'm in my 50's now with no prospect to go back and change many life choices - I would take the JPL job. Navy is really interesting, because you'd get to travel the world and perhaps fly high-performance aircraft off carriers - as cool as it gets, basically. But it is also dangerous work where you'd be away from loved ones a long, long time. And test-piloting is dangerous, too. You don't have to do dangerous work to challenge yourself. But by no means have a risk-free life. That would be boring.

If you work at JPL and want to fly badly - try and get round to learning to fly different kinds of aircraft. Get instrument and multi-engine ratings. Fly as a civilian volunteer on search and rescue missions on weekends. If you think your salary will also allow you to become a good, multi-discipline pilot - then go for it!

Matthew.

[Coastal Ron]

Navy pilot vs NASA JPL engineer. Everyone should be so luckily to have to chose between those two, and both can be rewarding.

That is about as much advice as I can give. From a professional standpoint, do you have an idea of what you'd like to be doing in 20 years? That might help to make your decision.

Congrats on being very talented!

20 years is so far away but by that time, I would definitely want to be an astronaut if anything. Very good chance that's not gonna happen, so I'd possibly want to be a very successful pilot just about to retire out of the military or an engineer who is in an executive role.

I'm not an expert in what it takes to be an astronaut, but I think you only need to be a pilot if you are going to be piloting a spacecraft, and in 20 years that may not be a category that anyone is employed in - because the SpaceX Starship won't need a pilot, and likely no other spacecraft will either.

There will be LOTS of astronaut positions that require some sort of engineering, whether it's doing science on a space station or being an explorer in space or on a planet like Mars.

There is likely to still be a big demand for commercial pilots after you finish military service, so that would be a career path too, but that is not engineering or space, so maybe it's not a consideration.

So if you want to be positioned to go into space, I'd pursue the engineering route.

My $0.02

[Draggendrop]

Go with your heart.



//Caveat...you have just received this from a very old sock puppet on an internet forum.

[philw1776]

Although SpaceX Starships will not need pilots, in 4 years or so when your Navy hitch is up with an engineering degree PLUS valuable high pucker flight experience, you'd be a prime candidate for a Flight Engineer on a Starship.  Ordinary non-flight experienced engineers might not have the situational awareness and cool decision making under pressure that a still alive Navy pilot had to demonstrate.  You'd stand out and be more valuable.  That's what I'd aim for.

[Aceleo]

@Aceleo, do you know which pilot stream you heading towards? Jets, multi engine transports, Vertols or helicopters. The pilot stream type have some bearing on where you might be based after commissioning between aboard a ship or a shore facility. Hope this help in your decision.

Hey, so you will not know what you will fly exactly until about half way through flight training. Maybe Helos, jets or whatever is available.

[Aceleo]

First of all I'd like to correct on misconception.  Twenty years is not that far away.  Most people are shocked by how fast that time of your life flies by.  Trust me, I'm old.  I know.  It feels like I was 27 just yesterday.  That is why you want to make the best use of that time as you can.

To excel at either of those paths requires a passion for what you're doing.  When I was ten years old I wanted to be an astronaut, but my vision was no longer 20/20.  Back then that ruled you out immediately so I accepted that and I still had a passion for designing things.  I became an engineer.

When you talk of the possibility that you could fail to make it through flight school, if you have a real passion you should believe in yourself that you can do it.  I seem to remember somebody saying that failure is not an option.  When you decide to have confidence and believe in yourself in either path, your chances of success go way up.  Then the decision on a path should be easier.  You have to decide which is your greatest passion or you'll have regrets and wonder what if especially if the path you choose turns out less than you expected.

That's my two cents.

Those are some inspiring suggestions. When I get to flight school, I will for sure try my best to make it out as a pilot. The only reason I'm afraid is, what I get DQ for some medical thing I didn't know about etc.

It's great knowing that you found passion for engineering. I'm an engineer myself and I love it! But now that they allow you corrective surgery, I got Lasik done and then applied.

Regardless, wherever I go, I will do my best. Failure is not an option for me.

[Aceleo]

Although SpaceX Starships will not need pilots, in 4 years or so when your Navy hitch is up with an engineering degree PLUS valuable high pucker flight experience, you'd be a prime candidate for a Flight Engineer on a Starship.  Ordinary non-flight experienced engineers might not have the situational awareness and cool decision making under pressure that a still alive Navy pilot had to demonstrate.  You'd stand out and be more valuable.  That's what I'd aim for.

That decision making under pressure is exactly a skill which I'm looking for! Thanks for your input!

[Eric Hedman]

Update us from time to time how your choice works out.  This thread will be here.  We'd all love to see you doing what you want to do.  Best of luck.

[Semmel]

Here is some advice that helped me a lot: If you have two choices and you dont know which one you like better, flip a coin. If you dont like the result of the coin, you know what you want and you choose that. Also remember, the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

Totally different approach:
Imagine you would die tomorrow, in a week, in a month, in a year, etc. Think what choice would make more sense or you. Many life questions are unsolvable if you assume non-limited life span.

[CitabriaFlyer]

I'm 47 years old now.  My perspective:  I wanted to be an astronaut since STS-1, age 9.  Minor medical issue made that unrealistic.  Became a I private pilot in high school, went to med school, had corrective surgery, joined the Air National Guard as a flight doc in my 30s, had a chance to fly T-38s and did two tours in SW Asia.

The question is do you want to fly planes?  When I started flying as a teenager I realized that flying planes was just as important if not more important to me than flying in space.  If the goal is spaceflight above all else there are a number of paths to get there.  If you join the military you are going to have to spend time away from your family and you are going to have to fight.  If airplanes are just one means to your end then you shouldn't join the USN when you have another viable path.  If you are even asking this question I am wondering if military aviation is the best fit for you.  But if the thought of flying through the clouds in a T-38 is a joy you can't shake then you need to fly. You are only 27.  You can be an engineer later.

Finally, having served in the ANG I can tell you that once your are eligible to serve in the reserves you can enjoy military aviation and a civilian career; although I admit that makes for a very busy life especially when you start a family.

[Hog]

Being a former military man myself, I'd say that there are experiences that you will ONLY get in the military.  If it ends up that you enjoy flying, then the Navy is where you want to be as apparently you get to fly much more in the Navy than the Airforce.  It's great you arent married, dont get married if you plan to take to the skies via the seas.

The military is risky, blue water ops from a carrier is downright dangerous.

If you personally have any qualms about pulling that trigger, go the NASA route.  While taking lives from the air isnt as personal the grunt work I was involved with, just remember exactly what happens when those bombs and missiles that you pickle off, explode around people.

[Aceleo]

Quick update.
Many of you PM'd me to know what I decided to do.
The moment NASA reached out to me, I knew exactly what I wanted.

I went through Navy OCS (Class 03-20), graduated end of November and now I am an Officer in the United States Navy. Going to flight school(Pensacola) in Feb. Life is short, you better make the most of it.

“I can imagine no more rewarding a career. And any man who may be asked in this century what he did to make his life worthwhile, I think can respond with a good deal of pride and satisfaction: 'I served in the United States Navy.”
― John F. Kennedy

[JohnF]

Should have went NASA JPL, would have had a happier life, could have went the ANG route if you wanted to fly bad enough.