A typical day in the life of a safety engineer

by Donald Mendoza

January 4, 1999

NASA scientists and engineers have many responsibilities that are directly or indirectly involved with the creation of knowledge. These responsibilities may be broken down into several areas that are centered on an idea and are, formulation, approval, implementation and evaluation. Each of these areas is in turn broken down further and your specific job will determine which area you work. However, everyone usually must support each area for an idea to evolve into a useful product. This product may not necessarily be technological but will be new knowledge that may eventually be transformed into technology.

Before I continue let me pause to explain why knowledge creation is necessary. By nature humans are a curious lot (a symptom of intelligence) and any endeavor that seeks to ask and answer questions satisfies this curiosity. More importantly, humans as any other form of life, have an innate need for self-preservation or survival and this manifests into a process of evolution. Here is the key for us humans, to evolve means to learn and to learn means to create knowledge!

As a safety engineer/scientist I support many programs at NASA Ames during all areas of their activity. So my typical day is very diversified but is usually divided like this, 30% reviewing project plans, 20% developing, documenting, and promoting safety policy, 20% doing internal administrative functions (supporting my boss and organization), 10% conducting safety analysis, 10% conducting research and 10% learning new things. These are not exact numbers, for instance I am always learning but the 10% number above reflects the time I am attending official training classes. Personally, I try to arrange my workday so that I can conduct all the above functions as efficiently as possible. However, there is always the possibility that someone will come to me with an "emergency" of some kind and I will have to change my schedule on the spot.

In order to maintain my enthusiasm for the job and general health I make a point of scheduling time for personal and social activities including working out and talking with family and friends. I usually work out at noontime since this seems to pick up my afternoon energy level and make my workday seem shorter. With the exception of the winter season I usually will workout again after work. Working out (weightlifting, running, cycling) allows me to purge any negative energy I have absorbed during the day and gives me a sense of accomplishment. Likewise, spending time with family and friends helps me put things in perspective such that work related issues do not overwhelm and consume me. My daily story time with my 5 year old son Travis is a highpoint of my day and I look forward to this evening ritual with a passion.

So my typical day goes like this. After waking at about 6 a.m., breaking up the 8 to 10 hour workday with one or two workouts, dinner and cleanup, story time, relaxing with a book, comic, newspaper or TV, I finally get to bed around 11 p.m. and dream of things past, present, and future.