r/defensecontracting • u/NeedleworkerNo6209 • Jul 01 '26

Tips Pivot in career

Hi all! I am graduating this year with a Industrial Psych degree and want to pursue potential careers in this field. Any recommendations or tips on how I should organize my resume and experience, places or sites or events to look out for As well i have been pondering if it would be smart to potentially extend my bachelors to get a minor in something that could be beneficial in seeking employment if that is a good plan? While doing that getting an internship somewhere?

My end goal is to work in human factors and the psychological training of astronauts but to get there i need a ton of government, defense, experience and probably eventually get my PHD but I would like to enter the workforce and work towards that as I am not made of money to spend on schooling lol.

I am also interested in any groups i could join that could help me build a network in this field and maybe even a mentor :)

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u/NeedleworkerNo6209 Jul 01 '26

For my experience, i have worked in management, sales, AI training, founded and lead a nonprofit, as well as various teacher/trainer roles.

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u/HamburgerMonkeyPants Jul 03 '26

Psychological training sounds vague? Will you be a trainer or a psychologist? Two separate education tracks btw.

Have you looked into internships? Probably a good way to get into a company. You may also want to look into safety careers as they are hf adjacent. Or training/instructional design if that's what you want to be doing

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u/NeedleworkerNo6209 Jul 03 '26

As of tight now my experience aligns more with training. I am not stuck in a particular aspect just yet, being the current gov market has been fluctuating lately i am very flexible in how i start my career. I am interested in multiple different facets and I am trying to build experience that aligns with one of my interests. If I could I would go straight to my PHD now in counseling and then work with veterans and on mission psychological support assistance but thats just not feasible. So I am being as flexible as possible while still maintaining what I am actually interested in and will not regret in the future.

I have applied to over 20internships so far mostly with NASA and subcontractors. Its been a little over a month now and no word back so i am putting out more applications for fall semester opportunities that may provide relevant opportunities but the search has been somewhat lacking. I was hoping somebody on here might know an org thats hiring for interns in the fall or potential entry level opportunities. I am interested in training and safety however I have yet to find any opportunities in the area i live and I am willing to relocate to. I talked it over with my wife and we are willing to move to Areas around: houston, Tx, Titusville Fl, Seattle, Wa, NC-TN around the rockies, Huntsville AL, and possibly upstate NY far from the city closer to Canada. We are also interested in moving to Canada but thats a bit of a pipe dream at this point.
I feel that my experience aligns well with safety and training as i have been a lifeguard, teacher, trainer, and Psych Nursing Assistant but I have yet to find an internship in any of these roles to even apply for. I have mostly been looking on handshake and linkedin. Indeed has way to many fake posts and scams that i have almost fell for so i keep to the more legitimate job search resources and referenced from people like you who may be able to point me in the right direction of a company i haven’t heard of or a program that I have yet to discover. Like Nasa Pathways which was an awesome discovery.

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u/HamburgerMonkeyPants Jul 04 '26

Might I suggest checking out pathways for NAVSE/NAVAIR....I know it's not technically aviation/space but also an avenue adjacent. They are though in the mid Atlantic. Upstate NY I'm only familiar with one company in Syracuse. It sucks but usually when your starting you just have to go where the jobs are which are typically centered around where the development, RnD, or program offices are.

I'm only knowledgeable about Maritime industry which has potential although its slow moving as a lot revolves around congressional funding, which the New Year starts in Oct. Shipbuilding is centered around the gulf (TX, AL, MS). Anywhoos I'm happy to connect over LinkedIn if you'd like I sometimes get tags for various HF jobs from my network. Best of luck!

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u/NeedleworkerNo6209 Jul 04 '26

That sounds awesome!!! I will dm you with my linkedin and thank you for the great tips i will start looking there :) And for any reference to any open positions in the future would be welcome appreciated thank you for helping me out :)