AskEARN | Case Study - Talent Case Study: Ethan Och: Launching a Career in Aerospace Engineering Skip to main content

Welcome to AskEARN’s new website. As we transition to our new site, you can still visit EARN’s previous site.

About EARN

The Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability Inclusion (EARN) offers information and resources to help employers recruit, hire, retain and advance people with disabilities; build inclusive workplace cultures; and meet diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility (DEIA) goals. 

Getting Started

Start here to learn how to recruit, hire, retain and advance people with disabilities; why workplace inclusion of people with disabilities matters; and how EARN’s resources can help.

A woman in a wheelchair addresses three colleagues around a small table

    Phases of Employment

  • A woman in a wheelchair shakes hands with a colleague

    Recruit

    Build a pipeline of talent that includes people with disabilities.

  • Two men work at repairing an engine.

    Hire

    Identify people who have the skills and attributes for the job.

  • A woman with a disability wearing a helmet works in a factory

    Retain

    Keep talented employees with disabilities, including those who acquire them on the job.

  • A man uses sign language to communicate.

    Advance

    Ensure that employees with disabilities have equal opportunities for advancement.

Dinah Cohen Learning Center

EARN’s Learning Center offers a wide range of training resources, including self-paced online courses.

Woman using assistive technology on a computer workstation.

News & Events

EARN makes it easy to stay up-to-date on disability employment news and information. Start by subscribing to our monthly newsletter and eblasts, which will connect you to upcoming events, developing news and promising practices in the world of disability diversity and inclusion. And don’t forget to follow EARN on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn

A smiling man with an earpiece sits in a wheelchair

Talent Case Study: Ethan Och: Launching a Career in Aerospace Engineering

Hard work, perseverance and an in-demand skillset lay the foundation for breaking into a competitive field.

Headshot of Ethan Och

Alma Mater: University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

Major: Aerospace Engineering

Graduation Year: 2020

Employer: Northrop Grumman Corporation

Related Content

inclusive culture mentorship accommodations hiring

Ethan Och may be from a small town, but his work has national impact. The 24-year-old from Swanville, MN develops satellite mission planning software for Northrop Grumman Corporation (NGC), one of the world’s largest aerospace and defense companies.

Ethan, who has spinal muscular atrophy, a genetic condition that impacts his mobility, became interested in science and engineering while in high school. This led him to major in aerospace engineering at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities, with minors in astrophysics and computer science. He earned several scholarships to fund his education, including the Buuck Family Scholarship, and was a Presidential Scholar. While in college, Ethan was active in science and engineering student groups and assisted the university’s Small Satellite Research Lab in developing a CubeSat, a very small satellite that was launched into orbit.

Ethan graduated from college in the spring of 2020, at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, which made job searching challenging. While he initially had a “soft offer” upon graduation, the company froze its hiring program due to the pandemic. Ethan continued his job search for more than a year. During this time, a friend encouraged him to apply for Disability:IN’s NextGen Leader Initiatives.

Ethan was accepted and started the program in the spring of 2021 through Disability:IN Minnesota. He attended Disability:IN’s Annual Conference remotely and participated in the NextGen Leadership Academy, where he connected with employers in his field. He was also matched with mentors who assisted with his job search. Ethan credits his mentors, as well as his persistence and determination, for helping him stay focused on his goal of working in aerospace engineering.

His experience as a NextGen Leader also drove home the value of networking, which helped connect him with companies like NGC. A job posting at NGC caught his eye because it was a remote work position that would allow him to put his interests, degree and experience to use. According to Ethan, remote work “allows people with disabilities to participate more in the workforce and not have to deal with things like commuting and transportation issues.”

He accepted the position as a software engineer with NGC’s Tactical Space Systems Division in the fall of 2021, choosing it over another offer because of the ability to telework. He also appreciates the company’s inclusive culture, which includes mandatory diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility training. These types of trainings help create a sense of “belonging and comradery among employees,” he says. 

NGC has “done a lot to make sure I feel included and involved,” he adds, such as ensuring he has what he needs to work remotely. He received some low-cost accommodations, including an accessible mouse and headset. He joined the company’s disability-focused employee resource group and hopes to take an active role in disability inclusion issues. 

Ethan encourages employers interested in hiring people with disabilities to offer more remote work opportunities. “Companies are bound to find motivated and qualified people in the disability community. What the pandemic has shown us is that we can make teleworking work, and that it opens the door to a more diverse talent pool,” he says. His advice for other young people with disabilities is to set their goals high and constantly strive to achieve them. 

Thanks to his hard work, perseverance and in-demand skillset, Ethan is proving his value to NGC and increasing the representation of people with disabilities in the aerospace engineering field.