I studied Political Sciences in my Bachelors. I was always good with computers and software so I worked in IT and software developement next to my studies to make a living. I completed my degree and worked for a few years full-time in software development. However I was chronically underpaid and undervalued next to my colleagues who had relevant education. I decided to quit and went back to University to get a M.Sc. in IT, Digital Innovation and Management with a focus on AI and Robotics.

I have always been passionate about space but never actively considered that I would be able to work there given that I am not an Astrophysicist or Space Engineer. During a big start-up conference, when I was working in FinTech, I saw a stand from the European Space Agency and went over out of curiosity. I grabbed a lady at the stand and asked her what kind of job opportunities ESA has. She gave me the card for the Young Graduate Trainee Programme which takes new students on a yearly basis. I went home, found a position in "Innovation Management" and immediately applied. Half a year later I moved to The Netherlands and started working at ESA. Ever since I have been given the opportunity to take on more responsibilities and I am happy to be permanent staff member today.

I work in the Commercialisation and Innovation Team in Human Spaceflight. Commercialisation is an innovative approach for public space agencies like ESA and NASA to open up space to more users, generating a broader range of use cases, fueling innovation and inreasing demand. They want to transition away from institutional procurement to industry-driven development of a competitive market where they are not the only customers. Commercialisation also aims to make more cost-effective use of their spacecraft by sharing cost for e.g. operations and maintenance with commercial service providers. This allows space agencies to focus their spendings on the development of new spacecraft or exploration / science missions to other destinations like The Moon and Mars.

My role as Innovation Officer in this context is very similar to the role of a Business Developer in the deep tech environment. One of my key responsibilities is the development of the Business in Space Growth Network (BSGN) which connects opportunities for product development in space with companies and organisations from non-space markets. I manage accelerator programs at the intersection of Agriculture, Food, Life Sciences, Materials and In-Orbit Manufacturing. Earlier in 2022 I took over the management of the Innovation Centre at our location in Noordwijk (ESTEC), where we implement events, hackathons, workshops and exhibitions to inspire visitors. I am also taking care of several co-funded commercial research projects flying to the International Space Station, acting as "Technical Officer" which means that I do the project management from the side of ESA.

As a non-engineer or non-technical person it is still fully possible to pursue a career at ESA (or elsewhere). At ESA, we have a broad range of job opportunities from accounting, business, commercialisation, contracts and legal to human resources, facility management, and more. ESA also employs several contractor companies which hire personell that is deployed at ESA sites, check those out too. My recommendation would generally be to focus on the role you would like to work in, not the technology. For example I am an Innovation Officer. I studied Innovation, I worked in Innovation Labs, this is what I know. I can credibly claim that I can take my experience and frameworks to the space industry. The same applies to many transversal roles such as listed above. Build a good and reputable CV where you show that you are good in your role. Be open-minded about the technology that you will work with. As non-technical person you cannot insist to work with a particular space mission. You can try to become knowledgeable in a particular area and hope that there is a need for someone with your skills in particularly this area, but many space companies do not have a large turnover of employees and you could wait for a long time. Better to be open-minded and get a foot in the door, even if the technology is not what interests you most, the space industry is small and it is easier to change once you are in. Courses such as offered by Interntational Space Univeristy and others can also help to facilitate access.