To space and beyond? Here's your chance!
When gamers like you and me hear about some kind of "portal", there's more than one connection we make: we imagine fast-travel options to save time, gateways to different worlds in fantasy adventures or hear good old GLaDOS' voice taunting us while we're trying to get from point A to point B by literally shooting portals.
We now want to let you know about a new, literal portal for you: the one to space itself, with ESA's Junior Professional Programme.
ESA & The Junior Professional Programme
The European Space Agency – ESA for short – is an intergovernmental organization and a world leader in space exploration and innovation, offering exceptional career opportunities in engineering, space science and project management, and more for space enthusiasts. ESA's mission is to explore space peacefully, advancing humanity's knowledge of our Universe for the benefit of all. This mission includes observing Earth, developing amazing space projects and training astronauts for even more ambitious missions.
This mission isn't accomplished easily: scientists, engineers and business professionals work together closely to make it a reality, and this is where you factor in. With ESA's Junior Professional Programme, you could become part of the team – exciting job openings wait for you right here!
There's good news for gamers seeking a space career: ESA highly values the skills we develop through gaming, so you might just find a role that’s the perfect fit in the JPP. Make sure to highlight your skills accordingly (we've got you covered down below!)
Applications, Requirements & Job Offerings
There are three requirements applicants need to fulfill to be able to shoot their shot for the stars:
- Citizenship of an ESA Member State, Associate Member State or Cooperating State (check the full list here)
- A Master's degree in a relevant field
- Two to three years of professional experience gained after the Master’s (time spent on a PhD or past ESA programmes count as experience, too).
To apply, you should start by taking a look at the job opportunities right here, and think about your skills and which role might fit them best while you’re browsing. For this year's JPP, ESA is looking for experts in fields like AI, machine learning, and optical and quantum technologies. After selecting the role your skills and experience are best suited for, it's pretty straightforward: set up a candidate profile, upload your CV and motivation letter, hit send and try to keep the excited bouncing in your seat to a minimum while you track the status of your application!
You'll need to highlight your skills appropriately in your application – and make sure you really know your skills. Gamers often have them without even realizing how valuable they are, but fear not, that's what we're here for!
Skills Gamers Develop Without Even Noticing
Some skills and talents are second nature to passionate gamers, but just because we don't see them as special anymore doesn't mean they aren't. But what skills am I even talking about?
Of course, we're talking about stress-resistance, our ability to improvise and adapt to any challenge thrown our way, and the natural curiosity and thirst for adventure we've carefully honed with years upon years of exploring different worlds with controller in hand.
For this year's Junior Professional Programme, gamers have even more of a head start: ESA is looking for professionals in fields like AI and machine learning – that's what most gamers grew up with.
Predicting where enemies will leap to next to try and rob us of our very last hitpoints and adapting accordingly? Watching and learning how foes dodge certain attacks and correcting the course to catch them by surprise? Mastering stealth levels with a well-timed stone thrown in the opposite direction to sneak by undetected? That's all analyzing in-game AI, understanding patterns, and using them in a gaming environment.
If you recognized these patterns in your early gaming years, had your interest sparked in how that worked and this interest influenced your studies, it's your time to shine. Head over to ESA and take a look at the opportunities waiting for you!