How I Became an Aerospace Physiologist
Every few months, I get a message from an aspiring scientist asking about becoming an aerospace physiologist. Usually it’s a graduate student wrapping up a Ph.D., but completely disenchanted by academia. They’re looking at the unconventional path of military scientists.
I explained it all in a video you can check out below.
My path started as an obsession with physiology, especially exercise physiology. I was a long-distance runner and pursued the science of bodily function to inform my athletic pursuits. While doing research in graduate school, I went looking for new sources of funding. The military looked like a good source, because my current project was already funded by the Department of Defense. So, I reached out to several contacts in the military and discussed some options. One program involved doing research for the military and then serving on active-duty after completing a Ph.D., but that required the help of a recruiter. My recruiter, he went by his rank HM1, explained that the program I was interested in was full, because the people in that program are selected 2 years before they start. I thought it was over.
A few days later, HM1 asked if I was interested in a job called Aerospace Physiologist. He said that my experience fit the lengthy list of pre-requisites for this niche job. I agreed and we began the longest job application process of my life.
There were interviews along the entire East Coast. We started local, in New York and New Jersey. HM1 personally drove me and it was exciting to cross the gates of military installations. Then we went to Bethesda, Maryland and the Uniformed Services University of Health Sciences. I felt right at home on a a university campus. The interviewers decided to send me to the final round in Pensacola, FL. HM1 dropped me at JFK International Airport and another recruiter, call him HMCS, picked me up at Penscola Regional Airport. HMCS asked me to email my PowerPoint to him. What PowerPoint?
My interview in Florida was actually a presentation about my qualifications and interest in the job. That was news to me, but I managed to get something together and presented strongly to an entire boardroom full of 25 people in uniform. After gathering letters of recommendation, completing background checks, eye exams, and an exhaustive medical check, I was offered the job. The entire process took about 18 months.
Here are a few things that made me a promising candidate for the job.
- Inclination toward the military. I grew up in the Boy Scouts, competitive sports, and a college fraternity. Success in these organizations tends to predict well for the military.
- Education. Being an aerospace physiologist requires a master’s degree in physiology or a related field and I had completed amaster’s early in the interview process. There’s an exception — if you have experience as a military pilot and some science education, you stand a good chance to be accepted as an aerospace physiologist.
- Inclination toward water survival. An aerospace physiologist will spend most of their career in a water survival training facility, sometimes teaching hands-on survival skills in the water (and upside down, and blindfolded). Fortunately, I grew up in the water. I’d taught group fitness in a pool, been a lifeguard, and spent countless hour swimming. When I was injured as a competitive runner, which happened often, the pool was my favorite place to cross train. If my hip was injured and regular swimming was aggravating my hip, then I would swim with just my arms.
The process of becoming an aerospace physiologist didn’t stop when I signed the contract. There’s more training before receiving your “wings” and being officially designated to do the job. First, there was training in Newport, RI where I learned bootcamp-type skills: making a bed, wearing the uniform, getting up early. Then I went back to Pensacola where I was taught to fly a plane and a helicopter. In Pensacola they also taught me the nuts and bolts of aerospace physiology, so that I could teach it to students of my own in the future. After that, I received my “wings.”
If you want to be an aerospace physiologist, keep in mind that this is not like a normal job. You don’t have the rights of a civilian. Military aerospace physiologists are like everyone else in the military, regardless of your fancy degree. If you see websites that say it’s a 3-year commitment, ignore them. Expect to make a 6-year commitment, because the contract is open to interpretation that your 3 years starts after earning your “wings” and completing an apprenticeship at a water survival training facility.
If you have any questions about being an aerospace physiologist, leave a response here on Medium.