How to Get a NASA Internship

The time to fulfill your childhood dream of working for NASA has finally come.

Before you hop on the next spaceship to Mars, you’ll first need to learn the ropes by enrolling for a NASA internship. Lucky for you, NASA has a selection of dedicated programs to start your journey.

Landing the internship will be a mission in itself. According to Business Insider, the NASA intern acceptance rate last year was 5%. That’s why Space Crew has made it their mission to help put you in the best possible position for success.

This article will cover everything you need to know about securing your internship at NASA.

NASA internships overview

There are four different kinds of internships and the requirements for each type vary significantly. You can explore the exact requirements for each type at NASA’s internship portal. Here is a brief interview as per NASA’s website:

• Intern - for high school and college-level students to contribute to agency projects under the guidance of a NASA mentor

• Fellowship intern - allows graduate-level students to pursue research projects in response to the agency’s current research priorities

• Pathways intern - a paid internship that serves as a direct pipeline to full-time employment post-graduation. It’s available for current students and recent graduates. You can find a list of all the differences between the Pathway Internship and the others here. 

• International intern - for university students from participating countries. International Internships Project also assigns students to work under the guidance of a NASA mentor

For each one, you’ll be assessed on your eligibility based on grades, availability, education stage, and soft skills. Check all those boxes and you’ll then be considered by a hiring officer and a specialist panel.

Most NASA centers participate in internship programs. Some centers and roles could have additional requirements for availability and qualifications. 

What do past interviewees say about the hiring process?

Past interviewees on Indeed say you’ll need to communicate your personal skills. The ones that relate to project management, working as a team and tackling difficult situations.

Redditors who have landed a NASA internship themselves let us know a few tips they’ve found useful:

NASA uses software to scan resumes for keywords

The post claims that NASA filters through applications based on keywords. If this is true, you could tastefully include some buzzwords from the job description in your resume. Either way, keeping close to the relevant phrasing should keep your resume on track.

Experience goes a long way

While NASA doesn’t require any prior experience when applying for internships, involvement in any kind of project that will support your application could put you ahead of those without. That could be research with a professor, joining an engineering organization, or anything that simply bags you some hands-on experience.

In any case, NASA are uncompromising in their search for people who are:

• Deeply passionate about space and technology 

• Self-starters that will push themselves to grow

• Able to think critically as part of a team to overcome challenges

In their own words, NASA looks for ‘curiosity, team orientation, excellence, a passion for exploration, agility, and resilience.’ 

Being proactive pays

Once you’ve applied, email your point of contact with a polite follow-up. It’s strongly encouraged by a blogger who’s been offered 7 NASA internships. She explains how touching base with recruiters keeps your name fresh in their minds. It also shows your enthusiasm for the opportunity. 

NASA partners interns with their own mentor. Another advantage of being proactive is that you could secure yours quicker. Instead of waiting to be processed, take the initiative and start building that connection yourself.

A side note: don’t discount getting an internship at a NASA contractor. NASA works with many contractors, and one supposed representative on Reddit says they too take on interns, and the competition is far lower.

If you’re after the inside scoop then take a look at NASA’s podcast episode on how to be a successful intern.

The 5 stages to getting a NASA interview

Now let’s get down to the action: the NASA intern application. 

It consists of five clear steps that NASA explains in great detail with this super-handy document. If you want to get granular, check it out. For now, we’ll cover the most important information below:

Step #1: Writing Your Resume

This is your chance to shine. When writing your resume, concisely tell your story. Use a narrative format and highlight achievements with CAR – challenge/action/result.

Describe your professional journey and all the lessons and technical skills you’ve picked up along the way. Once you’re happy with it, you can find the relevant place to submit it at the intern portal. Next up is an eligibility test.

Step #2: Application Assessment Questionnaire 

Alongside your resume, you’ll be required to submit a personal questionnaire. The form will ask for information about your background, availability, experience, education, and a few supporting documents. Once verified and accepted, you’ll be on to the skills test.

Step #3: USA Hire Assessment

This phase takes around 2-3 hours and consists of 3 timed assessments that’ll test your soft skills such as reading, flexibility, stress tolerance and attention to detail. It’ll feature a few different styles of questions and give NASA an idea of your potential. 

If you want to get a feel for it, try out this official sample.

Step #4: Panel Review Assessment

If your results hit the mark, your application will land in front of one of NASA’s hiring officials for consideration. They’ll then team up with a panel of experts and managers to make the call on whether or not to reach out for an interview.

Step #5: Interview Assessment

The fifth and final stage involves a phone or video interview with said official or panel. It lasts between 30-40 minutes and will examine how you handle particular situations. Since you’ll have no experience, NASA will be assessing your intangible skills and traits through past experience or hypotheticals. 

Past subjects said they were asked about 5 questions, all of which were behavioral. We’ll check out some specific examples and how to approach them further on.

How to nail the NASA internship process

Use the CAR framework to adapt your resume and cover letter to what they want

Your progress hinges on the quality of your first impression: the resume. One of the ways to ensure a concise approach is by using the winning formula from above, CAR. This stands for Challenge, Action and Results, and demonstrates your results-driven approach to work. This TopResume article is the perfect resource to make you a master of the format. 

You’ll also need to analyze the requirements of the role and use this opportunity to address them. A concrete way to do this is to lift the relevant keywords and topics from the job description and infuse them into your resume. 

Be diligent and stay clear of some easily avoided slip-ups. The most common mistakes NASA finds are missing information, insufficient documentation and last-minute submissions. 

NASA wants specifics. By consulting page 5 of their internships document, we’ll find precisely what they want to know.

Build your network to get a foot in the door

Building your network as early as possible could be instrumental to a successful career. Part of going that extra mile will be forming your network. If you’re seizing opportunities and rubbing shoulders with like-minded people, it’ll be a matter of time before some doors open for you. 

Some examples could include attending workshops, volunteering for projects, entering competitions or engaging with social media. Always keep your ear to the ground for extra-curricular activities and networking events – who knows who you’ll meet!

Practice answering behavioral and technical questions

As we know, NASA will be relying on behavioral questions to assess your potential. You can rehearse your answers with a friend. Preparation will do wonders for reducing anxiety over your performance. 

Get as much feedback as you can on your answers and tweak them to perfection. With a set of well-refined answers in your back pocket, you’ll stand the best chances of wow-ing your interviewers on the day.

NASA Internship Interview Questions

The questions will relate to applicable experiences and past situations you’ve handled. NASA interns on Glassdoor shared some of the questions they faced:

• Tell me about your strengths and weaknesses

• What is your favorite class you've taken?

• Tell me about a time that you did not agree with a decision made by one of your teammates in a group project, and how you approached that scenario.

• Tell me about a time when you had to take a leadership role. What were the associated challenges and how did you overcome them?

Retelling these stories can get messy quickly. You don’t want to blitz through the answers only to realize you’ve rambled and the value has been buried. To guarantee a clean operation, you can rely on a framework called STAR.

When you’re asked a behavioral question, your interviewer is trying to ascertain how you would handle a similar situation. This useful breakdown from The Muse explains that STAR is necessary to frame your anecdote in a way that communicates value. If you can structure your answers using these steps, it’ll be clear to the recruiter how your experience will help you in the role.

Start your NASA journey today with Space Crew

Earning a NASA internship is a challenge well-worth undertaking. NASA is renowned for providing incredibly exciting and meaningful work, professional autonomy, and big opportunities for development and career progression. 

Their employees are hugely passionate about what they do and are largely happy with their compensation. The company also offers a very attractive package with strong benefits, a motivating work culture, and a competitive salary.

If you’re ready to launch your career with NASA, or with any of the other 400+ exciting space companies and organizations that are hiring right now - head to Space Crew, it’s the solar system’s biggest space jobs site, with over 9000 job opportunities in the space industry.