As the commercial satellite sector expands in the wake of SpaceX’s success, there are more opportunities to transition or progress in your satellite career. On Episode 49 of The Satellite & NewSpace Matters Podcast, we were joined by Tami Dias, the SVP of Global Sales at ST Engineering iDirect, to talk about her advice for people joining iDirect and the industry in general. Here’s what she said: 

What’s your perspective on the talent space in the commercial world of satellite?

It’s a really interesting situation at the moment. Everybody’s in conversations about something. Traditionally, the satellite indnustry was like a big family where everybody knows everybody. It was like the six degrees of Kevin Bacon game, except in our sector it’s like two degrees of separation. You could always ask somebody about a candidate. Now, it has opened it up to lots of new people because satellite is in the media. It’s a buzzword. Anything Elon Musk does is going to get attention, right? Think of how many times people mention SpaceX or Starlink now. That creates interest in joining our industry, which links to diversity and inclusion. New people with new ideas are really important to the longevity and changing the face of the industry. In addition to new players emerging, we’re bringing in new people.

What would you say to someone considering joining iDirect?

You’d be joining a company that is very focused on inclusion, diversity, growth, and newness. We’re in a state of transformation, which is exciting to some people, but concerning to others. There’s a lot of change going on, and you have to be able to embrace that. It’s fast-paced. We have so much happening on a daily basis that it seems crazy, but it’s super exciting. iDirect is a rare bird where everybody is super smart and super good at what they do, so you have to come in with some game, or else a closed mouth and open ears, because you’re going to learn a lot. You’ll get a lot of mentoring here, and we welcome idea exchanges and new perspectives from people from outside of the industry. 

What one piece of advice would you give to people entering the satellite industry more generally?

Be flexible and be open to change. Study. That’s also really important. It’s an old industry, so there are a lot of people who know a lot of stuff. If you want to keep up, you’ll need to immerse yourself in that legacy and the historical elements of the satellite industry. Get to know all the new stuff that’s coming out, too, because there’s a lot of it. You’ve also got to realise that customers are customers, but our customers really have done what they’ve done out of necessity. They consider it a really important part of their business because we’re providing things like essential communications. When you think back on what’s been done with the military, maritime, or aviation, these major industries wouldn’t be able to operate without what we provide. I would have the new people in our industry really think about that. 

To hear more from Tami, tune into Episode 49 of The Satellite & NewSpace Matters Podcast here. 

We sit down regularly with some of the biggest names in our industry, we dedicate our podcast to the stories of leaders in the technologies industries that bring us closer together. Follow the link here to see some of our latest episodes and don’t forget to subscribe.