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Are You The Keymaster?
My website, like 10-seconds-after-prom-Lieutenant-Ripley, asks of all its visitors, “Are you the keymaster?” Because it is the gatekeeper. Yup, I am including another reference to a 1980s big hair Sigourney Weaver film. I wasn’t planning this, yet here we are. In Ghostbusters (1984), Lieutenant Ripley becomes possessed by a ghost whose motive is to reunite Read more
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Moving Sucks
I took a month between jobs. I spent October watching the baseball postseason (GO DODGERS!), hanging out with rock stars, saying goodbye to LA friends, and packing all of my things in boxes. Moving is stressful. In the week leading up to my move, my left eye started to develop an annoying twitch. I get Read more
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It’s Weird Out There
I’ll admit it: looking for a job right now is challenging. I was nervous about putting myself out there again, given how competitive it is. The design industry is facing tremendous disruption. I keep hearing about the shaky U.S. economy, widespread layoffs at top-performing companies, and fears that AI will replace creative jobs. On top Read more
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The Countdown has begun!
I start my new job on November 4th. Election Day! But before I start, and before I vote, I have to move. I built a countdown timer to move day:https://countdown.joycecroft.com I’m both sad and excited for this next chapter. I’m sad to be leaving sunny and beautiful LA. And I’m sad to leave the friends Read more
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Reflections On 5
Today’s Number: 5. That’s the number of years I’ve been at NASA JPL. August 31st marked my half-decade milestone. This being my first job in the public sector, I recently received a 5-year service award: Look Ma, I’m award-winning! Looking back, I survived a lot of hardships: JPL is still not in the clear. Continued Read more
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Serious Hair, Serious Hustle: The Working Girl Playbook
Working Girl is one of my favorite movies. Like, it’s in Joyce’s Top 5 All Time Favorite Movies. It’s my favorite for many reasons: the big-ass hair, the over-the-top ’80s looks, the bodacious quotes, and the familiar characters. But the biggest reason it made my Top 5 is because of its insightful examples on navigating Read more
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The Summer Of Joyce
It’s been a busy summer! I have neglected my blog. Many things have been happening at NASA JPL. We got a new director. JPL issued a return to office order. And because of budget uncertainty, we are once again, feeling the looming pressure of another layoff. This one is confirmed for October. Yikes, that’s next Read more
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Before Benny Built a Spaceship, Did He Start With A Spreadsheet?
I work with real-life Bennys. Benny is a character from the 2014 LEGO movie. He is a Master Builder of spaceships: “I felt so seen,” is the response to Benny from many of my NASA aerospace systems engineer co-workers. Yep, Benny and the rocket engineers I work with share an addictive enthusiasm for building spacecrafts. Read more
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What Do I Do As A Designer At NASA?
I get this question a lot. And people have their own assumptions about what I do as a designer at NASA: My mom thinks I work on plans to destroy the Death Star.Friends think I float in space as an astronaut.Society thinks I do something with aliens.My bosses think I fight for the user.NASA engineers Read more
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Sort the Chaos.
A Proven Process for Strengthening Stakeholder Relationships Sort the Chaos. It’s a term I use to describe my research and design process. This process happens at the beginning of a project, in the Discovery Phase. At this time, I don’t know much about the project, other than the goal. I start by collecting All the Read more