ANSWER KEY: Scenarios

Directions: 
Read the following scenarios and choose the best answers. You may want to reference other notes and activities from this Jobs@NASA lesson.

The Scene

Rhonda does well in science, and she likes using her laptop. She is fascinated with storms and studying weather patterns. Also, her grades are good, and she likes school. However, she does not like to take charge when assigned small-group projects. Instead, she likes to contribute to the group by completing individual tasks on her own. She hopes to attend college, but she is not sure she can afford it.

Which of the following NASA occupational groupings might be best for her?

The Choices

A.	Professional, Engineering, and Scientific
	
Feedback: This is a great choice. Specifically, Rhonda may want to study Meteorology. She is a good university candidate because she likes school, gets good grades, and has strong interests that will drive her to succeed.   Yet, she will have to work on her leadership skills if she wants to excel in this field. Rhonda also might need to apply for scholarships, grants, and loans as she doesn’t know how she will pay for college.

B.	Administrative and Management

Feedback: While Rhonda certainly could pursue an administrative or management job, her strong interest in meteorology and her lack of interest in managing others might indicate a better choice.  

C.	Technical and Medical Support

Feedback: This is not a bad choice as Rhonda could become a Meteorological Technician. However, isn’t it better that Rhonda aim for the career that requires her to complete a college degree since it is a goal of hers? She always could fall back on this level of meteorology if she needs to start working before finishing her 4-year degree.

The Scene

Tyler is a fun-loving and helpful friend to everyone he knows. He loves working with his hands and enjoys taking apart mechanical items and putting them back together. Even though he is a well-behaved student, he isn’t very organized with his studies, and he doesn’t think he wants to go to college. Instead, he wants to start working full-time as soon as he’s done with high school. He would be willing to attend trade school at night if it meant making more money.  

Which of the following NASA occupational groupings might be best for him?

The Choices

A.	Professional, Engineering, and Scientific

Feedback: While Tyler could certainly pursue one of these jobs, his strong interest in mechanics and his lack of interest in attending college might indicate a better choice.

B.	Clerical and Administrative Support

Feedback: Tyler’s interest in fixing things would not be well served by most clerical and administrative support jobs. Let’s choose another job grouping for Tyler.

C.	Trades and Labor

Feedback: Because Tyler is interested in helping others and fixing things, trades and labor is a great choice. Furthermore, his chances of getting a job at NASA straight out of high school are not good since it is only about 1% of the work force. Also, Tyler will need experience. Therefore, he will need to specialize in a specific trade by taking an apprenticeship or entry-level position at a company that builds or maintains mechanical instruments similar to those used at NASA. In addition, to do well in this field, he should be prepared to attend a local community college or trade school to build his knowledge.