Guest: Elizabeth Howell. Topics: Why study space studies, space careers, space from a Canadian perspective. You are invited to comment, ask questions, and discuss the Space Show program/guest(s) on the Space Show blog, http://thespaceshow.wordpress.com. Comments, questions, and any discussion must be relevant and applicable to Space Show programming. Transcripts of Space Show programs are not permitted without prior written consent from The Space Show (even if for personal use) & are a violation of the Space Show copyright. We welcomed Elizabeth Howell to the program. Ms. Howell is a graduate student in the UND Space Studies program and was an exceptional student in my class this past semester. Elizabeth spoke to us about why students study space subjects, career issues, the Canadian space program, perspectives on the U.S. program, New Space, graduate school and more. Elizabeth started the discussion with a brief summary of her early interest in the space program which eventually took her to enroll in the UND graduate Space Studies program. She also talked about her interest and career in journalism which we referred to often during our discussion, especially regarding space journalism. Part of our early discussion focused on an article Elizabeth wrote which is posted on her website titled "7 things my M.Sc. Space Studies is teaching me (www.pars3c.com/2011/02/02/7-things-my-m-sc-space-studies-is-teaching-me). Elizabeth took us through each of her seven things which as you will hear, can easily apply to graduate school studies in general. After our discussion of the seven things, listeners started asking questions, including one on due diligence, how her peers regard the impact of space on their lives, and what is likely to be the best area for a space career. In the second segment, Elizabeth was asked about the feedback she gets from one of her space articles as compared to one of her general science, business, or tech articles. In addition, she talked about the need to connect the space story to something relevant to the audience, specifically when writing for the Ottawa Business Journal (OBJ) and addressing business issues. Space X was discussed from a Canadian perspective, as was New Space and space advocacy. I asked Elizabeth about the subject of human spaceflight in Canada and we learned that there is more of a focus on astronomy. Don't miss what she had to say on this subject. Still another listener asked about the costs of the Space Studies program and the curriculum for a typical grad student. One of the things you will hear our guest say is that given today's economy and career situation, its best to not be too specialized as one may need to fall back on various capabilities to find work. Being too specialized may lead to unemployment. I recommend you visit these websites relating to this discussion: www.obj.ca to follow Elizabeth's articles, www.pars3c.com for her space information, and her professional website at www.elizabethhowell.ca. If you have comments or questions for Elizabeth Howell, post them on the blog URL above. You can contact Ms. Howell through her professional website.
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