At the Pinnacle of Her Career at NASA, She Left the Artemis Program to Serve a More Important Mission

06/01/22 • 41 min

Sister Michelle Amos had just started to flourish in the empty-nest phase of her career when she got called to serve a mission instead.

Having been a NASA Engineer at Kennedy Space Center for 30 years, Sister Michelle Amos is passionate about her career. But it's not the most important thing in her life. Instead, she prioritizes God and Family (in that order) above her work.

Sister Michelle Amos and a colleague at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Here are some of the ways she has shown allegiance to those priorities over the years:

Engaging in Service. Despite working full-time, Sister Amos never turned down a church calling or an opportunity to serve in the community. She served as the Relief Society President, Young Women President, Stake Young Women President, Cubmaster, and more at church. She did plenty of outreach at schools for NASA and led community events in Orlando as well.
Carefully Choosing Projects. When colleagues pushed for bigger and better opportunities at work, Sister Amos stood down, determined to be available to her children as much as possible. She went to the office early so she could leave in time to pick the kids up from school and rarely worked on projects that required overtime.
Waiting to Further Her Education. Though she wanted to obtain a master's degree, Sister Amos delayed post-graduate studies until the kids were older and a little more self-sufficient. She recalls, "I was a mother, I had small children, so I had to wait until my children were in high school or out of the home to take on management training or get my master's degree. I remember sitting at the table with my kids; we were all doing homework."
Partnering with Her Husband. President John Amos encouraged Sister Amos to apply for the job at NASA. He supported her desire to work after the kids came along as well. She says, "President Amos has always been supportive of my career as an engineer. ... President worked locally in the city, so he could be there if there were emergencies at school. We knew our positions. We were able to plan if there were school activities or school events."

In addition to those daily choices, this successful engineer also had to make big decisions too.

When the kids went off to college, Sister Amos finally got the chance to further her career and take on more significant opportunities. In November of 2018, she got selected to join a flagship project as a Systems Engineer for the Mars 2020 Rover--a role she relished and temporarily moved to California to fulfill. Then just as the team prepared for the launch, Sister Amos and her husband got called to serve as mission leaders for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Once again, Sister Amos sublimated her career aspirations to put God first in her life.

In this interview, you'll learn how she made the decision, what it cost her, and the unexpected blessings her obedience brought. Plus, as amazing as her career at NASA was, you'll hear why Sister Amos believes it was simply preparation for the higher calling she now holds.

It's a good s

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Sister Michelle Amos had just started to flourish in the empty-nest phase of her career when she got called to serve a mission instead.

Sister Michelle Amos and a colleague at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Here are some of the ways she has shown allegiance to those priorities over the years:

Engaging in Service. Despite working full-time, Sister Amos never turned down a church calling or an opportunity to serve in the community. She served as the Relief Society President, Young Women President, Stake Young Women President, Cubmaster, and more at church. She did plenty of outreach at schools for NASA and led community events in Orlando as well.
Carefully Choosing Projects. When colleagues pushed for bigger and better opportunities at work, Sister Amos stood down, determined to be available to her children as much as possible. She went to the office early so she could leave in time to pick the kids up from school and rarely worked on projects that required overtime.
Waiting to Further Her Education. Though she wanted to obtain a master's degree, Sister Amos delayed post-graduate studies until the kids were older and a little more self-sufficient. She recalls, "I was a mother, I had small children, so I had to wait until my children were in high school or out of the home to take on management training or get my master's degree. I remember sitting at the table with my kids; we were all doing homework."
Partnering with Her Husband. President John Amos encouraged Sister Amos to apply for the job at NASA. He supported her desire to work after the kids came along as well. She says, "President Amos has always been supportive of my career as an engineer. ... President worked locally in the city, so he could be there if there were emergencies at school. We knew our positions. We were able to plan if there were school activities or school events."

In addition to those daily choices, this successful engineer also had to make big decisions too.

Once again, Sister Amos sublimated her career aspirations to put God first in her life.

It's a good s

Get the book:
Return to Work with Confidence: A faith-based guide to help stay-at-home moms re-enter the workforce

Follow us:

Instagram @FaithfulCareerMoves
Facebook @FaithfulCareerMoves

Previous Episode

How this DIY Designer Became an "Overnight" Success

Jamilla King, founder of @AnothaDIYProject, shares how she transformed her life and now she transforms spaces for a living.
BEHIND THE SCENES WITH JAMILLA KING

Having built a social media presence of 60+K followers in just over a year, Jamilla King of @AnothaDIYProject may seem like an overnight success. And in some ways, she is. A couple of months ago, only 2K people followed her Instagram account. But focusing on the audience alone is like admiring the paint on the wall without acknowledging the effort required to prep the surface or build the intricate panel work it covers. The numbers aren't the whole story.

So what is the story? How did Jamilla go from a single bathroom design in March of 2021 to a schedule full of clients and thousands of followers a year later? You'll have to listen to the full episode to find out, but here are a few of the highlights:

She quit her job. No kidding. With a newly issued real estate license and $50 in her bank account, Jamilla leaned into a heartfelt prayer. Then she typed up a resignation letter and walked.
She refused to go back. It took six months before Jamilla closed her first real estate deal. That's some 180 days without a paycheck. To survive, she hustled and borrowed and even humbled herself to ask for help. When people questioned her decision to quit her job before she had a stable client base, she replied, "I didn't come this far to just go back." And she never did.
She posted her progress. Growing up, Jamilla loved interior design. But without many African American women in the business or an understanding of how the industry works, she pursued other career options. After leaving her job to become a realtor, she redesigned her bathroom. She created an Instagram account to post progress pictures, and people noticed.
She pivoted. After seeing Jamilla's work on Instagram, a few friends asked her to do projects in their homes. Another friend suggested she charge and start doing work for other people. With some resistance, Jamilla finally said, "Okay, fine."
She praised God. With a modest social media following and a small roster of paying clients, Jamilla posted a video expressing gratitude for the life she now leads. It was a simple post showing her work, thanking God for the gifts she's been given, and appreciation for the ability to do what she loves for a living. The post went viral. Now, @AnotherDIYProject has several thousand followers, and Jamilla has more work than she can handle.

Those are the highlights.

Listen to the full podcast to hear the behind-the-scenes moments that made this business happen. Of course, followers are fabulous, and going viral is mind-blowing. But success is never actually overnight. The heart of this story is Jamilla's decision to align with God and have the courage to follow His guidance day by day when things didn't look so Instagram-perfect.

It's a good story. Have a listen.

Get the book:
Return to Work with Confidence: A faith-based guide to help stay-at-home moms re-enter the workforce

Follow us:

Instagram @FaithfulCareerMoves
Facebook @FaithfulCareerMoves

Next Episode

Holding On When Finding Your Career Takes MUCH Longer than Expected

Before becoming a journalist, Stacey Carruth started a lengthy investigation into her own career--only she didn't see it that way at the time. She only saw failure.
After serving a mission as a young adult, Stacey returned to college at Brigham Young University. Though she had started her post-secondary education as a science major ("to prove she was smart"), her thoughts changed while on her mission. She recalls, "I discovered a whole new area of life that sparked me and sparked my interest. I loved learning languages. I loved talking to people. I loved learning about the culture and what causes people to make the decisions they do or live the way they do."
This change of heart led Stacey to change her major to Latin American studies. A campus event called "The Hunger Banquet" prompted her to lean further into helping people in developing countries.
But practicality won out. Nervous about being in college for so long and needing to make money, Stacey switched her major back to clinical laboratory science so she could graduate as soon as possible.
After graduation, she worked in a lab for a year before quitting to be home with her kids. Of the job, she said, "It served its purpose. It helped us get my husband through college. It paid the bills, but I only did it for a year because it was just so boring."

Longing for a Career

As a new mom, Stacey loved being with her children but discovered she didn't love the homemaker lifestyle all that much. And though she felt guilty for wanting to work outside the home, she still longed for a career. But at the time, Stacey couldn't find a job that inspired her enough to justify disrupting the family arrangement or paying for childcare. So she spent the next several years experimenting--enrolling in various degree programs, starting projects, writing a blog, researching, and more--all to find purpose beyond life as a stay-at-home mom.

To be clear, Stacey valued the time spent with her kids. But with every passing year, she felt a little more lost in her faith and out of touch with the job market.

She remembers lamenting to a friend, "I'm so proud of how I've spent the last 12 years. I have no regrets. I built an amazing marriage brick by brick with blood, sweat, and tears. I have amazing children, and I worked so hard to get rid of cultural and old habits from my upbringing, build a good relationship with them, and raise good children. I've tried to do wonderful things with my faith journey and in my faith community. I'm so proud of what I've done, but none of that shows up on a resume. That's a blank resume."

Ironically, that gap on her resume plus the unseen career attempts would one day be the perfect "lack of experience" necessary for Stacey to become a sought-after journalist with a much-needed fresh perspective. And though she didn't know it then, her career launch could not have come at a better time.

It's a good story. Have a listen.

Mentioned in this Interview

Mother Musings

Get the book:
Return to Work with Confidence: A faith-based guide to help stay-at-home moms re-enter the workforce

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Faithful Career Moves - At the Pinnacle of Her Career at NASA, She Left the Artemis Program to Serve a More Important Mission

Transcript

At the Pinnacle of Her NASA Career, She Left to Serve a More Important Mission

Guest: Sister Michelle Amos

Shelley Hunter: You're listening to the Faithful Career Moves podcast. I'm your host, Shelley Hunter. This is the place where we talk to people who have found the career they were born to do and recognize God's hand in the process. Welcome to Episode 31 of the Faithful Career Moves podcast. Today I'm honored to be talking to