Operations roles in the space industry tend to provide you with a 'helicopter' style overview of a company's activities and operational-dynamics. And working in operations with the team at constellr has been no different.

constellr engages with a wide variety of interdisciplinary activities, ranging from developing our own satellite constellation, to engaging with policy developments and international institutions. By working in operations, you are able to work with individuals and teams across the board of a company's engagements, trying to develop and assist new and ongoing initiatives whilst also gaining a wealth of both technical and non-technical knowledge.

Due to the multi-faceted nature of 'operations' role engagements, individuals in such roles can often either specialise in more focused areas, such as business development, policy, etc., or continue to focus specifically on operations activities, e.g., supporting the healthy growth of a company in an extremely dynamic industry. And this broad nature of operations positions is one of the key reasons as to why people from such a diverse array of backgrounds can undertake these roles!

As I'm sure will be the same for a lot of people following this page, I always had an interest in space. And this really kicked-off when I began my studies in International Relations in Sweden.

I was interested in exploring green space policy, particularly with a focus on orbital space debris, and this really threw me down the space rabbit hole... from there I just continued to find new niches that excited me, and it became easy to motivate further engagement and learning.

I think that there is a growing excitement for the space industry as a whole. And one of the key benefits of this buzz is the exponential growth in space related social forums, such as conferences, meetings, socieities, and networks -- just like that of 'weworkinspace'. For every niche interest area of the space industry, there seems to be an accompanying community to develop it.

My first point of engagement was with the Royal Astronomical Society in London, and it is through societies and networks like this that you can gain a direct insight into the surrounding space-sphere, e.g., through exposure to conferences, research journals, career fairs, etc. And I think that engaging directly with these communities can be a great first step for those wanting to pursue a career in the space industry. And it is a first step which I greatly benefitted from when I began exploring the potential opportunities that this sphere has to offer.

As hinted at above, if you are keen to pursue a career in the space industry, I really cannot emphasise enough how important I think it is to find a niche or specialisation that actually interests you. Being interested in a given area will not only make it far easier to motivate your learning, but it can also give you a more specialised community to engage with. And it is through these engagements that you are able to develop your network, improve your specialised knowledge, and generally get exposed to the industry as a whole.

Try not to get bogged down by exclusively exploring areas of the industry which you think will ultimately lead you to a job -- for example, it'll be very hard to achieve and/ or maintain a career as a space-lawyer if you think that law is inherently boring! So try to find an area to engage with that interests you, or one that you actually care about. And then further exploration of this chosen area is just the natural next step.