Data analysis

After reviewing all of our transcripts from our interviews, it becomes clear that Aerospace is an amazing but tentative industry to work in. Many of these industry leaders did not start in aerospace, or did not want to start there. These accounts are immensely important for early career or transitioning individuals wishing to get a foot-in-the-door. This gap in knowledge directly from a vast array of professionals has been Team Mercury's call to action! This is our primary purpose, to engage the public and prospective aerospace employees with personnel working in the field. By collecting these interviews, their transcripts, and the wise recommendations provided by the bright minds of the aerospace community, Team Mercury hopes to provide real guidance to those that seek it.

There were many themes that were identified throughout our interview process, while vast, we chose to focus on nine core patterns these include; Early Interest in Aerospace, Transitioned From Another Industry, Job Market Stress, "Know-It-All" Judgement, Interdisciplinary Teamwork, Networking Acknowledgement, Imposter Syndrome Encounter, Stress Dealt Through Community, and Entered Through a Non-technical Background. We felt that these factors were encountered directly or indirectly by most of our 9 participants (see Figure 1). Interestingly, it was found that over half had an early interest in the space industry, over half transitioned from another industry and over half felt weary about the job market in this community.

Additionally, after careful review of the interviews, we also identified patterns within the desirable traits that are found within the aerospace community. These traits are as follows; Adaptability, Team-player, Communication, Risk-Taking, Curiosity, and Trust. From the data collected, it appears that within these professional's project teams, being curious and trusting your team are the most significant traits one can possess. Over half of the interviewees said that curiosity and trust were must haves in the space industry (see Figure 2) with being a team player coming in a close third. These patterns indicate that this industry asks not only for highly technical characteristics, but people-oriented traits as well.