How Neurodivergent People Forge Careers in the Space Industry

 Neurodivergent people contribute significantly to the space industry. With their brains essentially wired differently, those with conditions such as autism, ADHD, dyslexia, and dyspraxia often possess unique skills and traits that help them build successful space careers.

For example, many neurodivergent people are exceptional at pattern recognition and problem-solving. Just imagine how valuable these skills would be for identifying spacecraft anomalies or new planets. Neurodivergent individuals are also highly devoted to their subject matter, often developing their craft from a young age.

Of course, life isn’t always easy for those with a neurodevelopmental disorder – they may find it hard to get into the industry due to struggles with communication and fitting in with their peers. Persecution in the classroom and workplace is also a frequent reality for neurodivergent people who land their dream role in the space sector. However, academic institutions and employers have a duty to support their neurodivergent students and staff. How can they do that, though?

Embracing one’s neurodivergence

Lots of space professionals are embracing their neurodivergence. Alex Vasquez, a student researcher at American research university UC Irvine and former aerospace scholar at NASA, credits his autism with helping him forge a successful career in the space industry.

As a child, Vasquez has had a “curiosity and enthusiasm” for learning. In particular, he was passionate about his maths studies and had a burning desire to apply its principles in space sciences.

Outside the classroom, Vasquez constantly searched for materials to boost his understanding of maths and space. This has benefited his progress in the space industry in the long run.

“Not only does learning more about the field become inherently rewarding, but the fact that it means so much comes across visibly in how you talk about it, either in text or in a presentation,” he says.

“Being able to show that I have that true love and enthusiasm, along with training both through classes and extracurriculars to back it up, has opened many doors for me”

While his neurodivergence helped him to focus on his maths studies as a kid, Vasquez says it has also provided him with skills such as visual processing, pattern recognition, focus, and record keeping.

He tells Orbital Today: “These skills have proved most useful in experimental work and data analysis, where I’ve had to handle large data sets and find trends in the minor details of experiments.”

The unique strengths neurodivergent people can bring to the space industry are also recognised by many of their neurotypical colleagues. Lynn Cominsky, who runs the NASA Neurodiversity Network, says lots of the program’s interns excel in areas such as computer programming and computer-aided design.

What’s more, Cominsky says neurodivergent people are highly proficient at analysing complex information, focusing on the finer details and problem-solving. And she says they are very committed to their work. She adds that these qualities are “in great demand in the aerospace industry.”

Andrew Greenhalgh, head of marketing at Surrey Satellite Technology Limited, also sees the value neurodivergent people offer to the space industry. He tells Orbital Today: “Building satellites requires a talented workforce skilled in obscure and complicated technical domains. And these skills are not in great supply. We would be short-changing ourselves if we didn’t embrace colleagues from a neurodiverse background.”

Challenges to overcome for neurodivergent people

Although a person’s neurodivergence can help them flourish in their chosen professional field, it can also pose challenges they must overcome to sustain a successful and long-lasting career.

Vasquez, for example, previously experienced times when he struggled to ask others for help and told himself he had to know everything about a topic before commencing a new project. One such time was when he undertook a summer internship at UC Berkeley and developed a data simulation program for the Hydrogen Epoch of Reionization Array (HERA).

“While coming into the project able to work fully independently would have been nice, that would have been both infeasible due to our time constraints, and unrealistic since I was just an undergraduate intern,” he says. “And so, I wrote down a list of questions to bring to my mentors at work, and we sat down and cleared everything up.”

Something else Vasquez has had to learn is that not every academic or professional environment is understanding of the needs of neurodivergent people. Despite being well supported during his undergraduate career, things were the total opposite at graduate school.

Before travelling to southern California for his graduate studies, Vasquez was satisfied with his choice as the school’s lab seemed welcoming and supportive from an outside perspective. But after starting his studies, he realised that this wasn’t the case.

“The details are uncomfortable to talk about, but suffice to say, the lab environment over time revealed itself to be toxic and cliquish, the PI enabled that behaviour, and they made me believe that any failings were purely my own,” he says.

Believing his toxic colleague’s doubts, Vasquez worked himself “to the bone”, hoping to hone his skills and prove that he could fit into his new work environment. He continues: “But while I did improve, the toxic and exclusionary behaviour remained.”

Eventually, Vasquez told his support network from back home what was happening at graduate school. And he soon realised that he wasn’t at fault. He adds: “Or rather, they let me know I was being treated unfairly. It took a good long while for me to internalise that message, as I still believed myself to be the issue.”

When it came to overcoming these challenges, Vasquez says communication was vital. However, due to his autism, this didn’t come naturally to him. So, to make things easier, he learned to communicate with people he trusts, such as mentors, fellow coursemates, friends, and family.

“As a rule of thumb, most technical issues are sorted by talking with people most related to the issue at hand, such as talking with a mentor for your current project in order to progress on said project, or talking with a lab mate to get unstuck on some code, so it is important to be able to trust the people you work with,” he advises.

Echoing similar thoughts, Cominsky says the communication obstacles experienced by autistic people may affect their ability to conduct traditional interviews and form personal bonds with prospective employers. This can make employers reluctant to hire autistic talent.

Of course, this would be considered discrimination in most legal jurisdictions, although employers can better understand the needs of autistic employees and best support them through neurodivergent awareness training. Cominsky explains: “Another lesson is to train faculty and staff (and by extension, employers) in using multiple channels for communicating (written, spoken, visual if possible) tasks and assignments. “

Entering the industry

With these challenges in mind, pursuing a career in the space industry may seem daunting for neurodivergent people. However, they can take several steps to land their dream role in this exciting sector.

When applying for courses or roles, Vasquez recommends that applicants explain how their neurodivergence led them to their chosen career path. He explains: “If you can talk about interest at an early age, extracurriculars, and how other interest of yours tie back into the industry, it’ll show anyone reading your application that not only do you want to get in, but that your passion for the field will carry you far.”

Vasquez also urges applicants to discuss other skills that could help them excel in the role they are applying for. He uses examples of public speaking, leadership, data analysis, and computer programming.

Vasquez suggests taking a public speaking course to improve one’s communication skills for potential interviews, something he did during community college. “Before having taken it myself, I could hardly speak in front of groups,” he reminisces.

“Heck, I could barely order my own chocolate muffins from the school cafe. Not only helpful for public speaking, this course improved my ability to talk one-on-one, such as in interviews, or even just asking for help and advice.”

Overall, there is a tremendous amount of opportunity for neurodivergent people looking to enter the space industry, and they can undoubtedly benefit space companies with their many unique skills and strengths. However, to get the most out of neurodivergent talent, academics and employers must understand their challenges and provide adequate support where required.