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The 2020 Space Census has now closed

Four reports have been published based on the results:

The survey remains accessible below for reference purposes.

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2020 Space Census

This census is for people working in the UK space sector

This includes astronomers, satellite engineers, artists, earth observation specialists, marketers, recruiters, educators, lawyers, rocket scientists, and journalists, and more. As long as your work is related to space in some way, you are welcome to take part. The census is open to academia, including PhD students, but we are not including undergraduate students, amateur astronomers, or space enthusiasts who do not work in the sector.

It's being conducted by the Space Skills Alliance

We are a not-for-profit research organisation, running this census with the Space Growth Partnership's Space Skills Advisory Panel, which informs national policy and sector strategy, feeding directly into the Space Sector Council and the UK Space Agency.

The results will make the space sector a better place to work

There is no existing data about who works in the space sector and why, but this is vitally important information to help it grow and make it more welcoming. We will use the data from this survey to improve what it’s like to work in the sector, tackle discrimination, and make the sector more attractive to new recruits.

It'll take between 5 and 10 minutes

Almost all of the questions are closed questions that are quick and easy to answer. If you have some time to spare, there are opportunities to provide some more detail, which we would really appreciate.

It is anonymous and all questions are optional

You can answer all, some, or none of the questions. We will make no attempt to identify you, but you can optionally provide your email address at the end if you are interested in being involved in follow-up studies.

You can contact us at census@spaceskills.org

If you have any questions about this survey, you can get in touch with us at census@spaceskills.org.

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Privacy

This section is about how we will use your responses.

About you

This section is about you and your identity.

Connection to the UK space sector

This census is for people working in the UK space sector. If that doesn't cover you, please don't complete this form.

How are you part of the UK space sector? We include PhD students as employed.

Gender

What best describes your gender? We use these categories because they are the ones recommended by Stonewall and the Office for National Statistics.
Is your gender the same as the one you were assigned at birth?

Background

What is your ethnic group or background? We use these groups because they are the ones used by the Office for National Statistics.
Have you lived in the UK for at least 5 years in total?
When you start typing you will see some suggestions, you can select one or write your own. If you have citizenship of more than one country, please just write one.

Disability

Are your day-to-day activities limited because of a health problem or disability which has lasted, or is expected to last, at least 12 months? Please include problems related to old age.

Religion

What is your religion?
Are you comfortable being open about your religion in your workplace?

Sexuality

What is your sexual orientation? We use these categories because they are the ones recommended by Stonewall.
Are you comfortable being open about your sexuality in your workplace?

Age

Socio-economic Background

What type of secondary school did you attend? We ask this question because it has been recommended by the Government as a good proxy for socio-economic background.

Caring responsibilities

Do you have any caring responsibilities?

Discrimination & prejudice

Have you personally experienced any discrimination or prejudice in the space sector?
Have you witnessed discrimination or prejudice towards others in the space sector?
Do you feel that the space sector is welcoming to people like you?
Extra information helps us tackle these problems and make the space sector more welcoming.

About your work

This section is about your job and why you joined the space sector.

Organisation

When you start typing you will see some suggestions, you can select one or write your own. You can also leave this blank. We ask this to better understand who is represented in our sample, and where initiatives should be targeted. We will not provide any identifiable information about you to your organisation.
What type of organisation do you work for?
What is the size of the organisation you work in?

Your job

Which part of the space sector do you work in? Check all that apply.
Upstream
Midstream
Downstream
Ancillary
Other
What type of job do you do? Pick the category that most closely matches what you do.
What level would you consider your role?
When you start typing you will see some suggestions.
Are you full-time or part-time in your primary job?
Round to the nearest year.
Round to the nearest year.
Are you considering changing jobs in the next six months?
Do you feel you have a good work-life balance?
Do you feel like you have enough professional development opportunities?
Extra information helps us make careers in the space sector more rewarding.

Qualifications

What qualifications do you have? Check all that apply
Level 2 (roughly age 16)
Level 3 (roughly age 18)
Level 4
Level 5
Level 6
Level 7
Level 8
When you start typing you will see some suggestions, you can select one or write your own.
What is your highest maths qualification?
How important were your qualifications to acquiring your first job in the space sector?
How relevant is your highest level of qualification to your current job?
Extra information helps us improve pathways into the space sector.

Joining the space sector

How did you get into the space sector?
What was your main reason for entering the space sector?
Did you do any of the following within the space sector?
Was there anything in particular that influenced your decision to go into the space sector? Select all that apply.
Extra information helps us improve pathways into the space sector.

Anything else

This could be about your experiences in the space sector, your employment journey, or anything you think we’ve missed.

Follow-up research

Would you be willing to participate in follow up research on any of the topics covered in this survey?