2009

A forum for discussion about, questions to, and general musings about the people that really make the Space Camp programs possible.

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shenandoah04
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2009

Post by shenandoah04 »

Anyone else on here going to work for Space Camp in 2009?
Lisα
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SpaceCanada
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Post by SpaceCanada »

It's confirmed? Congrats!
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Youth ASA 6-Day 1998 1999
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shenandoah04
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Confirmed

Post by shenandoah04 »

Thank you! :-)
It is indeed confirmed, I'm moving over there Jan 3! I'm so excited!!! :-)
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SC/Robotics Counselor 2009 :mrgreen:
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Boomerang
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Post by Boomerang »

Good luck with working there. You will have a great time and meet some great people. There will be some frustration i can guarantee it. Keep in mind working there is a whole nother experience than going there as a camper. Follow the rules they have for counselors do the job and you should have no problems. Also be carefule who you vent too any time you get frustrated because believe me it will get around and sometimes to people you don't want to know.

One piece of advice from a former counselor. I saw it happen when i was hired and i saw that it had happened with the last 2 classes of counselors as well. Make friends with as many counselors and even managers as you can. Don't limit your friends to just people who you train with. I know people say they won't but it always seems to happen. Counselors who have been there a while are great people ton get to know and their experience can bennefit you as well. I know you wil be close to people you train with thats inevitable but just don't let thtose be the only friends. I have some great friends from my training class as well as people who had been there before i ever got there. Don't fall in to clicks it will make your experiece even better. Have any questions you want to ask please do i'm always happy to help out.
Jason original callsign Loverboy
SC 1991
SA Level 1 1993
AC Intermediate 1996
ASA 1998
Corporate Space Camp 2005
AC Counselor Summer 07 callsign Boomerang
Adult Alumni Camp 2007
Adult Alumni Camp 2008
Official Space Camp Ambassador
shenandoah04
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Post by shenandoah04 »

Are you still working there?
It would be nice to know someone there who knows the ropes. :-)
Lisα
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2000/Week 41/Team Atlas
2001/Week 41/ Team Shepard
2002/Week 39/Team Gagarin
SC/Robotics Counselor 2009 :mrgreen:
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20 Questions...or at least 8 to start with

Post by shenandoah04 »

What is the MCC like? I heard there is more emphasis on the station now, since the shuttle is being retired in 2010. I suppose it would be difficult to have sims for any Aries type missions yet but do they?
How many people are there generally to a team? The teams I am used to had 16-18 people but they were summer teams and that is the busy season, I will be starting work in January.
How does the rotation work? I remember there are day and weekend camps, so not all of them are weeklong; if you're working a week camp (say as a day counselor), would you work a day camp later in the same day? How does that all work?
What do I need to bring? I was browsing through posts on this thread and I saw one where you said to bring a LAN phone, something I wouldn't have thought about so I'm glad I saw. I don't own a laptop, only a desktop, and I found a pic of a "bubble room" (that I think you also posted) and am thinking in investing in a laptop...especially given that I won't know where I am living until I get there. I asked and desktops are allowed, I just want to know how practical they are.
The tests at training, as far as I'm aware, are general counseling, space history, and an athletic test...is that right?
I suppose I will be learning all this soon anyway, but I figured it doesn't hurt to ask! I have more but these are the ones I have at the moment, I'll add to the list later!
Thank you!
Lisα
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2000/Week 41/Team Atlas
2001/Week 41/ Team Shepard
2002/Week 39/Team Gagarin
SC/Robotics Counselor 2009 :mrgreen:
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Post by Boomerang »

Unfortunately i'm not there anymore but there are some good peoiple i worked with still around. KAthy Brady, Brian Bouma, and Jeramy Gandy come to mind among others. They were all there before i was.

Gtranted i was a summer hire so i'm not completely familiar with winter months but cauht the end of them. You will have some week long teams before summer but you get a mix of week long and shorter ones and not just the regular camp, academy, and asa programs mixed in as well. Team size is still about the same. But agauin it depends on the program as well. Some of the other programs i saw teams that came as a group with numbers alot higher than that.

Day camps are summer time only. You could have a week long team either day or night then another team the other half of the day, ior you could be on support for half a day and in some instances have the same team all day from what i saw. It varies from week to week.

The MCC does place greater importance oin station now that is true but many of the old shuttle missions that the camp has run for years are essentuialy still there as well. And the shuttle still plays a big role in camp. As of yet there are no Orion simulators as noone is entirely sure what will become of that program yet.

I would suggest investing in a lap top if you can afford one. You might have room for a desk top in your room but keep in mind at some point you will likely have a roommate as well and the space isnt huge. Plus you can hook into the wireless connection with a lap top easily enough and the wireless connection is free. You will need a land line phone for on call nights because cell phones are not allowed. This is one way they make sure you are in your room when on call because on a cell phone you could be anywhere. Aside from that if you are assigned a room in Hab 2 which usualy sisnt used till the spring but you could get oved there if you stay on to summer. In hab 2 cell phone signals are very hard to get in some places.

The testr can cover anything you do in training. Anything in the counselors manual they will give you for training and anything in lectures is fair game. Take good notes the test are not easy but if you pay attention and study you will be fine. You will also be certified on all simulator equipment you will need to beable to use. The only thing physical i ever saw was swimming ability and i never saw anyone actualy tested on this. Also when studying for test don't hesitate to look up more info from reputable websites and i don't mean wikipedia. I mean NASA.gov. space.com sights like those. It never hurts to go beyond the mannual. You will also be tested on procedures the camp has and you will have teach backs to practice lectures you will have to give. These are graded as well.

I have heard counselors are now getting overtime pay which is something new. If true the double shifts that were an ever present part of woirking there in the past might be greatly reduced. I worked 75 hours a week routinely and some counselors more than that. We didnt get overtime it was decent pay because it added up after while. I don't know they can afford that much overtime though so the hours may not be as much if this is true.

Any more questions just ask. hope this helped.
Jason original callsign Loverboy
SC 1991
SA Level 1 1993
AC Intermediate 1996
ASA 1998
Corporate Space Camp 2005
AC Counselor Summer 07 callsign Boomerang
Adult Alumni Camp 2007
Adult Alumni Camp 2008
Official Space Camp Ambassador
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Post by Wildman914 »

I applied but didnt get hired because I didnt quite have enough experience with kids but I am glad I gave it a shot though.
hope you have fun working there.
ASA June 1999 Team Armstrong
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shenandoah04
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Post by shenandoah04 »

Boomerang:

Thank you! That's very helpful because I was really confused as to how that worked.
I'm writing from my new laptop, so the desktop issue has been relieved.
I know we are not allowed to use cell phones overnight working but are they allowed when we are not working (since as an RA we do live there), not in uniform and not around campers? Or only offsite? My boyfriend is hoping for a few calls! :-)
I love Space.com and NASA so that's not a problem, I'll be on those websites anyway for fun!
Lisα
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2000/Week 41/Team Atlas
2001/Week 41/ Team Shepard
2002/Week 39/Team Gagarin
SC/Robotics Counselor 2009 :mrgreen:
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Boomerang
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Post by Boomerang »

Cell phones are fine to have any other time. They tell you not to use them when working though but thats like any other job. They are great toi have to keep in touch with friends and family back home so you don't need a phone card. As lonjg as you aren't with a team or on duty its fine to use them. You will go over all this stuff in training too as far as what you can and can't do. Make sure to follow them because RA's do lose their RA status over some stuff or worse. I saw it happen when i was there. Not cell phone stuff but RA duties are taken seriously so make sure to follow the rules. Any other questions feel free to ask.
Jason original callsign Loverboy
SC 1991
SA Level 1 1993
AC Intermediate 1996
ASA 1998
Corporate Space Camp 2005
AC Counselor Summer 07 callsign Boomerang
Adult Alumni Camp 2007
Adult Alumni Camp 2008
Official Space Camp Ambassador
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