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Earlier today I talked about the work I do as a Young Graduate Trainee (YGT) for the VMC @esamarswebcam on #MarsExpress. In this thread, I& #39;d like to talk more about the YGT programme and other opportunities for early career professionals to get involved with/work for ESA! 
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https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🌌" title="Milky Way" aria-label="Emoji: Milky Way">" title="Earlier today I talked about the work I do as a Young Graduate Trainee (YGT) for the VMC @esamarswebcam on #MarsExpress. In this thread, I& #39;d like to talk more about the YGT programme and other opportunities for early career professionals to get involved with/work for ESA! https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🚀" title="Rocket" aria-label="Emoji: Rocket">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🌌" title="Milky Way" aria-label="Emoji: Milky Way">" class="img-responsive" style="max-width:100%;"/>
So the YGT scheme ( https://www.esa.int/About_Us/Careers_at_ESA/Graduates_Young_Graduate_Trainees)">https://www.esa.int/About_Us/... is for people who have recently finished a Masters degree https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🎓" title="Graduation cap" aria-label="Emoji: Graduation cap">. The initial contract lasts for 1 year (although sometimes they can be extended for another yr, as mine was) and is a full time job working for the European Space Agency https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🚀" title="Rocket" aria-label="Emoji: Rocket">
You can apply for the scheme whilst still finishing your Masters, as I did. Every yr in November, ~100 YGT opportunities are published and remain open for a month. They are diverse- working for science, engineering, HR & more- but you can only apply to one, so choose wisely! https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🤯" title="Exploding head" aria-label="Emoji: Exploding head">
At the time, the advice I was given by a friend was to choose a position that I was excited by (so many!) but to make sure it was one that fit with my experience/skills, & I think this was good advice. I went into slightly more detail in this interview: https://www.esa.int/About_Us/Careers_at_ESA/Travel_to_Mars_with_Eleni_Ravanis_YGT_at_ESA">https://www.esa.int/About_Us/... https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🔴" title="Red circle" aria-label="Emoji: Red circle">
You have to be a citizen of ESA& #39;s member states to apply. Bc members each pay a contribution to ESA& #39;s budget, countries are assigned staff on the basis of that contribution. So there is a nationality component to hiring- as with any job, some things are beyond your control! https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🌌" title="Milky Way" aria-label="Emoji: Milky Way">
Applicants are then shortlisted & called for a video interview https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📽️" title="Film projector" aria-label="Emoji: Film projector"> in which qs come up on a screen & you have an allotted time to record a response (this was nerve-wracking for me at first but don& #39;t worry, you have time to practise with the technology and get used to things) https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="💻" title="Personal computer" aria-label="Emoji: Personal computer">
After this, applicants are further shortlisted and called for a 2nd interview. When I applied, I was lucky that I got to visit ESAC in person! https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="✈️" title="Airplane" aria-label="Emoji: Airplane">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="📡" title="Satellite antenna" aria-label="Emoji: Satellite antenna"> But I understand this has now switched to a video call interview, with the potential supervisor etc. Then if you& #39;re lucky...
in a few months time you& #39;ll hear you got the job! https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😀" title="Grinning face" aria-label="Emoji: Grinning face"> But if you don& #39;t, that& #39;s okay; there are other opportunities to be involved with ESA. If you& #39;re a student (from Bachelors up to PhD) you can apply for one of the (costs-covered) ESA training courses https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🚀" title="Rocket" aria-label="Emoji: Rocket">: https://www.esa.int/Education/ESA_Academy/Current_opportunities">https://www.esa.int/Education...
For example, applications are currently open for the Ladybird Guide to Spacecraft Operations 2020 training course https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🛰️" title="Satellite" aria-label="Emoji: Satellite">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🎮" title="Video game" aria-label="Emoji: Video game"> https://www.esa.int/Education/ESA_Academy/Call_for_applications_for_the_Ladybird_Guide_to_Spacecraft_Operations_2020_training_course">https://www.esa.int/Education...
If you are currently a Bachelors/Masters student, you can also apply for an ESA internship. These last 3-6 months; they are unfortunately not paid (personally I wish they were, as that would be fairer), but they do provide a stipend to help cover costs. https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🌌" title="Milky Way" aria-label="Emoji: Milky Way"> http://www.esa.int/About_Us/Careers_at_ESA/Student_Internships2">https://www.esa.int/About_Us/...
Finally, if you are looking for a PhD or a Post-doc, you can also apply to be co-funded by ESA for a & #39;novel& #39; project idea you suggest. I& #39;m sure many of you have some great ideas https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="😀" title="Grinning face" aria-label="Emoji: Grinning face">https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🚀" title="Rocket" aria-label="Emoji: Rocket"> https://www.esa.int/About_Us/Careers_at_ESA/ESA_Co-funded_Research">https://www.esa.int/About_Us/...
So, tldr; I work as a Young Graduate Trainee at @esa and the YGT scheme is for young professionals who recently obtained their Masters degrees. ~100 jobs get published in November. There are several other ways to get involved with ESA as a student or postdoc (links in thread)! https://abs.twimg.com/emoji/v2/... draggable="false" alt="🚀" title="Rocket" aria-label="Emoji: Rocket">
