"engineers are very smart, but their job does not typically require much bravery"

Try saying that to Boisjoly, Snowden, or the GE Three.

Google, Facebook, Microsoft need script-kiddies that they don't have to spend money training

Using "mysterious" in a scientific publication. Ever.

seems just about anyone with a decent camera, a half-baked (usually derivative) idea, and 5th grade writing skills can get a kickstarter now.
maybe I should start a kickstarter for my brilliant idea of a pet stone

just like those designated "free speech areas" the government likes to set up, right?

I'm so glad our benevolent overlords are here to keep us safe!
Banning things like UAVs, guns, and large sodas is definitely the best way to keep citizens (who are all too stupid to make their own decisions) healthy.
But thank goodness cops can still use guns and UAVs; they never abuse their power, and are always fully trained, so we know nothing could possibly go wrong!

Never mind educating and empowering them to make their own decisions, who has time for that?! No, we citizens want to be spoon fed. And as long as we have a good TV signal while american idol is on, we won't really care what you do to us

I got a degree in mathematics, and didn't go the teaching route. after working for a while in the geophysics industry, I got bored and wanted more options- I realized the best way to open up a lot of options is to go the engineering route (every job posting I found interesting required a BS in ME)

so, go back to school. start at community college (get calculus, diff eq, physics, chemistry out of the way), and make a good impression on your professors there (evaluate the ones worth making an impression on). this isn't hard- you don't need kiss up to them, just volunteer to answer questions, sit up front, ask questions, etc. then go back to them and ask for letters of recommendation (masters programs usually require three)
then, (now this is key), get a 4.0 in your undergrad engineering classes (you'll need to take a few in order to 'catch up' to other grad students; but you won't have to waste time with classes outside of your specialty- I focused on thermofluids, and skipped advanced materials/vibrations stuff). Alternate between co-op semesters, and class/research semesters. Your degree will take a bit longer to complete, but you'll have a lot of fun, make important contacts, and have the chance to do really cool stuff (I joined formula SAE and EWB, and it was a blast)

After your first, or second semester, hit the job fairs. Try to get a coop/internship (maybe with an aerospace firm?). This will help finance your schooling- save your money, and use it for books/rent/food (not tuition, take out loans for that)

BUT this is assuming you want an MS in mechanical engineering. you say you want to go into STEM, and something space related. That's still incredibly vast- you could design fuel systems, airframes, engine components, heck (if you're good at it) you could make an entire career out of analyzing drag on nose cones!
So, don't say you want to go into space, quiet yet. Narrow down the field of STEM you want to work in- teaching math, researching biology, designing blu-ray players, investigating car crashes? I knew i wanted to go into ME, so I took the basic ME undergrad courses and fell in love with thermodynamics, and fluid mechanics- so I went the thermofluid route. I would've been happy designing pumps that move liquid chocolate around, but instead I get to work on the fuel system for the F-35
(also, read what color is your parachute)

I've got a 1st gen printrbot.
it's fun, and you can make cute little (single colored) doodads; but that's about all it is.
I've made a few battery holders, which are a step up from what I usually did to carry spare AA and AAA batteries (wrap them in duct tape)

not a 'must have' device, by any means, but if you've got money burning a hole in your pocket, it's a fun toy.

getting distracted by something else means you don't care enough about the subject to pay attention. if it wasn't a phone, you'd find another distraction because you don't care about whatever you're studying
you're ruining it for serious grad students by driving up tuition, and watering down the value of whatever degree you hope to achieve.

this is grad school, not the third grade- nobody's going to hold your hand through it, and nobody cares if you succeed or not.

do you have a compound I can come live on?

good question, the efficiency comes from the speeds achievable
squirting pressurized gas out of a nozzle into space results in an exit velocity of ve = sqrt(C), where C is some clever arrangement of specific heat, R, T, etc (it's been a while since i've study nozzle design)
Basically, the exit velocity is limited by mostly the chemical's temperature; quadrupling the absolute temperature would only double the speed, so a lot of energy would be needed

ions are different (bare with me, I'm not an electrical engineer), because you just need to create them (chemical reaction, heat, etc), and then control them (static field, magnetic field). it's a lot lower power, and a lot greater impulse (over a lot longer time) than what ejecting molecules in to space can provide

although, i suppose you could use a PEM fuel cell, and have it eject water vapor

ion drives, probably
but those still require ions to work, so there will probably be a tank of hydrogen onboard

they decided to be cheap, and not install any kind of guidance on the probe, so they get a few days of experimentation instead of the years they could have achieved if they landed in a sunny spot?
wasteful

why is this necessary? i mean, blender has nonlinear video editing capabilities. what will this offer that blender doesnt?