So much of what we learn is a function of our teacher and where we are mentally when we attempt to learn. Seek out teachers who peak your interest and explain things in a way you can understand. Math can be dry as hell and seemly impossible or really interesting. I would even suggest looking online or YouTube for added guidance. Just don't give up!!

I'm not someone who posts on Reddit often, but this caught my attention.

I worked on missions like Curiosity, SMAP, and Mars Sample Return for 15 years at JPL right out of college, and I'm far from a math expert. Case in point: I almost failed my college ordinary differential equations class and my math GRE, and I was still hired. There were other things going on my life at those times that contributed to the poor results, and I put in a lot of work to recover (got a B in partial differential equations!), but still: grades aren't everything.

I had the privilege of going to a really good school in my small hometown, but, even there, I hadn't taken physics or calculus by my sophomore year. I did get to take both my Junior year, followed by AP Physics and AP Calculus as a senior. It took some convincing and extra assignments to get me into those classes, and I definitely wasn't the best in the class once I was there.

Through all this, what got me to JPL was that I really, really wanted to be a rocket scientist. Without natural genius, I turned to the next best skill I had: grit. I had to work twice as hard (or more) as my peers for a fraction of the result, but it came together in the end.

The best piece of advice I can give you about math is this: math is just a means to an end.

No offense to the mathematicians, I truly envy your skills, but to an engineer, math is a tool. Just like a wrench or a hammer. You do not have to love it, you do not have to like it, but you do need to know where to find it when a problem comes up. You use math when you need it, and you use just enough of it to get the job done. Any more and you're just wasting time (the planets wait for no one).

More important than knowing a lot of math is to understand the principles and relationships behind the physics. You can always look up an equation, reach for a calculator, etc. I can count on two hands the number of integrals I had to solve on the flight projects I mentioned above. You know what I did end up using a bunch that I never thought I would: Taylor series expansion. I definitely had to relearn those when they came up...

The point I want to make is that even with all the education afforded by a BS and MS degree in Astronautics, you still won't have all the answers at your fingertips. There is no solution manual when you work on advanced spacecraft. You often have to invent. That means constantly returning to the fundamentals and being willing to learn (and relearn) the math to pull it all together. Once you've solved that one critical equation, the rest is "just" execution, like any other job on this planet.

Keep your head up and stick with it. Seeing something you designed and built sitting on another planet is well worth it! Also, as many have said, if engineering isn't your path, there are still many ways to contribute!

also not taking a physics or calc course in sophomore year isn't really that unusual, there are people who are still taking algebra 2 in their junior year.

just stack those ap classes in your junior and senior years

if it's any consolation, most mathematician majors are psychopaths. They either grow up to work in government positions, or they're the unabomber

Your post has been removed. For simple questions like these please use the weekly "All space question" thread pinned at the top of the subreddit.

Take this with a grain of salt, but I worked for JPL/NASA as an electrical engineer and I failed math 3 times in college. Unless you decide to go the PhD route and do alot of R&D for them, anything beyond Calc 2 is overkill.
It was the best job I ever had, and the only reason I do not work there now is because I was a contractor and I ran out of full time work from them, so had to move jobs.

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I sucked at math in high school, still suck at it! I'm a physicist tho! The trick is to accept you suck and that it's going to be hard. Don't get discouraged by those who find math easier than you do. We're all different, and you don't have to be the next Einstein to be a scientist, you just have to be motivated and able!

In case you think I'm exaggerating, I scored in the ~40 percentile in the Quant section of the SATs, 40-50 percentile on the GRE. Failed linear algebra the first go round (dropped it after the first midterm when I scored a 15%). Still went to grad school for physics. I'm now a successful physicist working on some really interesting projects, with a ton of opportunities, and with just a master's!

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It's the plot of Good Will Hunting. Gattaca involved assuming someone's identity and lying to get on a rocket. The janitor was a way to scope out the building in Gattaca and included zero unsolvable hallway puzzles.

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Stay with it, mate. Stay on target. The kind of math you have been exposed up to the 9th grade is not like calculus or physics! Not at all. You need to learn a completely different way to think, and who knows? Maybe this is your time to shine.

Also, you don't need a 4.0 for anything other than medical school or law school–stuff like that. Don't over stress on what you think your grades should be. Work hard, pass your classes, train your mind, gain the knowledge you want and put it to work. There are an awful lot of people who have been successful with 3.0 or 2.0 GPAs. I am one of them.

A career involving the cosmos is not a 100% overlap with NASA. There are a lot of paths to the stars.

Keep at it!

This is the plot of Gattaca.

I second this. Might not even have to wait until college! I didn’t do phenomenal at math my freshman or sophomore year either, but when I took physics in my junior year, a passion was born, and it just clicked

it’s okay bro, i barley passed high schools with all D’s

i didn’t glow up in Math until my first semester of college

failed Algebra with an F, passed Calculus with A’s

1. Math is not some innate ability. If you practice and apply your learning you will get better and 2) you don't need to be amazing at math to get a job at NASA. Also, there are a ton of companies involved in space now, so lots of options. I work in the space subdivision of a govt contractor as a software engineer and almost never use math! There are also tons of non-engineering/science jobs.

I was far better at math in college than HS. Aced calc, trig, and physics. It’s all about how you apply yourself because math is factual but there’s lots of ways to come to the same conclusion and you’ll find what works best for you. Also, rate my professor is a god send. I never went with the easiest professor, I went for the ones who were great at teaching!

NASA, and the entire space industry for that matter, isn't made up of only people who are good with math. They have PR people, they have budget people (not as math intensive), logistics, scheduling, contracting, etc. so don't just sell yourself short. I've run into people who are theater majors and love space - there is stuff to do with that too. If you want it - you'll find a spot for yourself in the industry somewhere.

As a sophomore in high school who hasn’t taken Calculus or Physics yet I would try those first before deciding you are bad a math. If you have a goal in mind and work hard I bet you can do well. You have a long way to go with math if you want to be a physicist or an engineer but don’t count yourself out before you even start. Calculus sounds scary but it’s not really much harder than algebra, it’s just a new set of rules.

I didn’t think I was that smart in high school and now 10 years later I research and develop magnet retention methods for electric motors in aerospace as a R&D mechanical engineer.

P.S. NASA has low pay from the postings I have seen. Not a reason to not go for it but always something to keep in mind.

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I don't know anything about the math requirements for NASA, but I think the obvious answer is for you to just get better at math. I refuse to believe that doing so is beyond someone if they truly dedicate themselves to it and are passionate.

Also you're only in high school. You likely don't even know what you are capable of yet. In astronaut Scott Kelly's book he talks about how he was a pretty mediocre student in high school, but one day he joined a military academy and randomly became super motivated after reading a book about pilots. From that point on worked his butt of to get into the field. You don't need to be a genius now to one day work for NASA, but you should develop a plan now with steps to help you get there eventually if it's something you really want to do.

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They need janitors and secretaries, like most businesses

Get a tutor (or tutors), especially when you get to college, if the way the profs teach doesn't mesh with you. Many colleges have student assistance centers where you can find a tutor, possibly at no additional charge from your tuition. For that matter, consider getting one now, if it's feasible, to bring your scores up and improve your chances at getting into the best school possible.

I'm assuming that you're wanting to work in the technical/science side of NASA.

Honestly this. I made a D in chemistry in high school whereas every single other class were straight A’s and then in college ended up falling in love with it and graduating with honors with a degree in chemistry which is now utilized in operations at a nuclear plant. Bad teachers can make you think you’re not good at something.