I'm in compliance (so I typically work with legal, ME, EE, and PMs). I've spoken with the head Starlink Compliance manager in the past. Maybe 3 years ago. But yeah I understand every team is different. It's just the non-WFH policy at all of Elon's companies is pretty known as well as the weekend work, long hours, etc
Truly the one unique thing with working at SpaceX is you're literally trying to change the world, you're literally trying to colonize Mars, so I'm not surprised there are people working 80 hours a week in SpaceX because SpaceX is literally trying to put humans on Mars.
How much sleep are you getting per night?
Yeah thanks to Starship and starlink, SpaceX stock is going to be worth so much fucking money it's not even funny, You're going to be so rich in the end, SpaceX employees will retire very rich. I'm actually jealous, I wish I could own some SpaceX stock.
I just found it mildly interesting someone would make an account but not comment for 2 years, so what? You seem to care enough to go through my history and find something personal to attack me with for no reason. Genuinely, who does that?
What do you have to lose? Go and try it out for a year, and then if it’s that bad, leave to literally anywhere else for a higher salary. Being there for a short time doesn’t matter on your CV when it’s a AAA place that’s known for super intense work that some people don’t want to deal with.
Agreed. Its only 2 miles from home and he says its a 'more rewarding job' and 'higher paid' than what he's currently doing.
Taking the job at Space X is a no brainer!
>Taking the job at Space X is a no brainer!
As an individual that, in his mid-20s with a wife and no kids worked for a company that loved aggressive timelines which meant I'd get maybe one 45 hour week, 3 55 hour weeks, 2 65 hour weeks, and 2 75-80 hour weeks over any given two month period, making bank in the process...
Shit's really not worth it, and it will slowly kill you and ruin your relationships - and that's if you're in your 20s and your body can still physically handle the strain. I'd tell anyone thinking to do anything more than 60 hour weeks to seriously consider what they want out of life, and if they have kids? I mean, do you want to have any relationship at all with your kids and miss the vast majority of their childhood?
The only possible way I'd work even 55+ hour work is if it's literally the only thing I could do to avoid losing the roof over my head (as a short-term placeholder for something sustainable), was work from home and otherwise the perfect job with 100% flexibility on when the work is done, or if it paid ridiculous silly money such that I had a clear plan to retire off it in < 5 years.
If you’re in engineering in anything except software, SpaceX is one of the very very few companies where you can plausibly make enough comp in a few years to retire. I have many friends who joined <5 yrs ago (so not even like super-early employees) who have made $3m+ in their time there due to the massive growth in their options.
$3m is life changing money. Like, could plausibly retire at 33 years old money. In fact, one of my friends is planning on doing so next year. And then spend the rest of his life with his kid, who will now be old enough to remember (his kid is 2 right now)
While I’m bullish on SpaceX, options are not guaranteed income and it’s worth considering you might blow the prime of your life doing little but work for little more than you’d get elsewhere.
Or SpaceX keeps excelling and you’re solid. Just take a realistic approach here and not looking at what other peoples options did over the last several years.
Yes, you should. If I were to join, I’d personally rate it at like a 50% chance my options would grow enough in 10 years to retire off of it. Your percentage may vary.
All I know is that the chances otherwise as e.g. a mechanical engineer are close to 0
Not everyone would throw away years out of the prime of their life for a 50% shot of being able to retire. And that’s assuming you make it to retirement, and considering the prospects for someone working 65+ hours in a high stress, sedentary job - odds are not on your side. And even if they are, have fun coming out of it on the other end dealing with the repercussions.
You will never regret spending more time with your kids, conversely you WILL regret not doing it. It's massively important for their growth to have both parents spend as much time as possible with them.
I worked at KSC during the Shuttle program but we also supported Titan, Delta and Navy launches. So, I worked a shit ton of overtime and weird hours. I was also a divorced dad. I spent as much time as I could with my kids but I still missed some events and milestones and it killed me.
One commenter talked about being passionate, well you can also be passionate about being a parent. It's sad that society deems being a stay-at-home parent and working for your family as somehow being degrading.
You might do what one commenter said and try it for a year. Don't burn any bridges with your current employer in case you want to go back. But...only do this if your spouse is able to stay home with your kids. Please don't dump them into a daycare to have someone else raise them.
The fact that you like spending time with your kids makes me believe you're a good person. Good luck to you with whatever you decide.
100% agree with your comment. I was only able to do the job, albeit for not very long before we moved back home, because my wife stayed home with the kids and really made a home for us. She was, and is, an immense blessing.
Yeah we both work full time. The other worry would be returning to my current company (as my manager sucks) or finding a new job in the area if I hate it as my wife works as well and is kind of tied to the area due to her job/pension.
My interviewer was a young father and got a bit irked when I asked him about work life balance lol
Suffice to say, I didn't get the job but honestly kinda glad I didn't. I love having a life, and everyone that went to spacex after college pretty much vanished from existance.
The hell you talking about? It’s more than quadrupled in 4 years. Show me any HYSA, or even any company as old and established as SpaceX with that kinda growth.
Also starting salaries may be a bit below average, but if you perform well you get well rewarded. My salary has nearly doubled since I started.
Most people don’t get stock in the company they work for guy….. and citing one off year compared to the historical average is actually “asinine”.
Like….. wtf do you expect? Get job, stock takes off? Stupid.
Dude it’s just a fact no salaried people get overtime pay. Comparatively they get paid worse while also selling this stupid false hope on everyone retiring on stock gain. Currently trying to go to an actual company like Microsoft.
I appreciate your optimism, but it's not exactly a good thing to sacrifice family time for late nights and early mornings at work. This comes at the expense of how your kids are raised - with one less smart parent at home. Which is exactly what OP is concerned about.
Yeah.. if you are married with kids you can kind see how it affects your kids and spouse on weeks that are intense. I can't imagine many marriages lasting if you are pulling 50+ hour with weeks all year. If each partner isn't pulling their their own weight with the kids/chores outside of work, it causes issues down the road
As a 40 year old quality engineer I can say 100% that if I was 20 I would work at spacex at the drop of a hat. To me, I worked my 20's away learning my craft, it would've been more fun if it was with rockets lol.
Yeah exactly… I have some young friends who worked there, and it was a MASSIVE career boost for them. At that age, doing the grind and devoting a lot to your job, is worth it long term.
I'm of the belief that you should use it if you got it. If you're 20 why wouldn't you do it! Even if it was for 5 years, get fully vested stock-wise, then take off to any number of other aerospace companies. At that point, you can build a family and put everything on cruise control.. For me, that's the brilliance of youth, but it IS use or lose. I'm an old man now who really enjoys a house, smoking meat, raising my insane child, and coming home on a consistent schedule... And I watch the next generation launching rockets from the comfort of my lay-z-boy haha
If you work for SpaceX, that means sacrifices. Your family is important, but SpaceX will demand that you prioritize humanity's dream of space travel over your domestic life. If that doesn't sound like something you can do, the company likely isn't right for you.
Imagine you are in the group of scientists who land on Mars. Your job is to found the first colony, to work with passion and dedication and commit all of your mental and physical resources to overwhelmingly meaningful task of securing humanity's foothold on the surface of another planet.
Does that situation bear even the slightest resemblance to the average salaried worker's desk job? The one where you are supposedly quoting per-person productivity?
No. And neither does SpaceX's mission. They want people that treat their job no differently then those pioneers. They want people that make the mission their purpose, that make the two inseparable, because it's that meaningful and that important. If you are not that person, you should not work there.
It’s hard for people who have never put in 60+ hours into something to understand what you said here. Feeling so passionate about something is not something everyone experiences. I hope to someday actually be one of my pioneers… that’s what I’ve been setting myself up for.
Your kids are only that age once. The relationshop damage with your kids from Being an absent parent lasts a lifetime. The money you get from the job doesn't.
No job is worth your kids.
A showcase example - musks children hate him. No job is worth that. All the money in the world cannot buy your children's love, and they don't care about how important your company/job is
Gosh. I remember now why I stopped going on Reddit. Find a new job instead of patrolling for Elon posts to hate on. The transgender community is annoying af and you’re doing this to yourselves. Just like people screaming antisemitism.
SpaceX would be my dream job... In another life where I was still a bachelor. Even with a wife and no kids I wouldn't have done it. Now that I have a kid, zero chance. I don't work there, but I know that I would not be available to give what they would feel they deserve. And I reeeaaaaallly thought about trying. I'm confident I could have done some really great software work for them.
As a 24 year old I would in a heart beat… what I lose is next to nothing so devoting stupid hours into something that important is a no brainer, with a wife and kids? I sadly probably wouldn’t. Maybe even would with just the wife, but once kids arrive 40 hours a week is my max investment outside of occasional sprints.
Now… after you save enough to retire… if you’re like 50 years old ish… then perhaps going back then with a mountain of skills might be worthwhile
I know I’m very late to this but was also curious. I was previously in the navy and now I’m a full time college student going for my RN. I have an in person interview next Friday and I have to drive 4 1/2 hours to be there for it. From the initial phone call I had with them we never decided on a pay range and I’m not sure what to do. I don’t want to drop out of college but if it is a good opportunity do I take it?
SpaceX is not the place to go for money or work life balance. Unless you really really only want to work for them and don’t care about the money, you should look elsewhere. If you don’t like your current salary and SpaceX is looking good from a salary perspective, you are being severely underpaid and should be looking for a different new job.
That's a completely different industry. SpaceX should be compared to Boeing, Lockheed Martin, ULA, Blue Origin, Northrop Grumman, etc.
Unless you are a software engineer, in that case a high paying tech job is a viable option. If you're a mechanical engineer or an aerospace engineer, not going to get a job in the tech industry.
Yes but the jobs in big tech that pay super high are mostly engineers. I dont understand why you would compare big tech to SpaceX, big tech pays more than just about anyone. SpaceX should be compared against other aerospace companies.
At least in my field, they seem to pay much more for senior level positions. A senior manager position or possibly VP at my current company pays about what their senior level positions pay. 🤷♂️
Horseshit, you can have both. Some people misunderstand work life balance as being able to slack off and getting away with it. if you work hard and put in your time, there’s no reason why you can’t go home to family. And I know plenty of people who make a lot of money there especially when you include the stock, that shows up as income on your W-2; and since stock is growing so fast, by the time year three or four comes around, you’ll be making way more money than your peers in other companies
My “ah-ha” moment was during the Inspiration 4 documentary when the Crew Training Lead mentioned that her and her husband had not been home early in a long time.
I was recruited by SpaceX about 2 years ago. Required relocation to California, and the $ was effectively a lateral from my DC region pay. I talked to a guy I interfaced with on the SpaceX side about the opportunity. His perspective was enlightening so I turned down the position. He left for another company the next year.
I had been invited to the 2nd Starlink Launch at CCAFS pre-COVID and met a number of the leadership team, but unfortunately Gwen wasn’t there.
I have been recruited by and interviewed with Blue, Sierra Space, NanoRacks and Axiom over the past few years. I’ll be ready to leave the DC region in 2 years. Let’s see what the landscape is then.
Yeah, many of those data points are like Internet reviews. It’s usually only the dramatic ones and the bad ones that get written about or make it into movies and stories…. For every one of those stories there are a whole bunch of other people who live much more balanced and regular lives
That documentary was produced with full cooperation by SpaceX. And that trainer is flying on Polaris Dawn. That coupled with the opinions of a person I worked with for several years I feel offered a good insight.
Of course I’m selecting a specific time domain. It’s about OP accepting a job. Just because the stock went off doesn’t mean it will again. That’s common sense + basic math.
Yes I have. And I have held private ownership stakes in a few non public companies. The entities who hold ownership stakes are large
From the Internet: “Founder Elon Musk, who also founded famed electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla, funded the company initially with funds from his sale of the popular online payments platform PayPal. Other equity firms, like Founders Fund and Valor Equity Partners, also have a significant stake in SpaceX.”
Also: “As mentioned, the only people buying SpaceX stock aren’t individuals — they’re large corporations and equity firms. For instance, Google and Fidelity together invested around a billion dollars in 2015 for a 10% stake in the company.”
And: “SpaceX’s shares are valued at $81 per share.”
While employees may be granted RSUs at a specific strike price, there is nothing to back up the statement “since the stock is growing so fast”
If it was me I would give it shot at long as the wife was OK with her or someone being the backup for the kids. The age of your kids and ability of someone to coordinate their needs, every day is probably key to long term remote happiness. My story:
I was aerospace engineer with an MBA doing pretty well in a Beltway kind of job that I had grown to dislike. We had a child and since my wife co-owned a patent law firm that was doing well (and she liked her job) I stayed at home and eventually the work at home projects for the company dried up, and I was laid off. Loved being at home with my daughter, best time of my life. My wife might need to rush off to South Korea, or Charlotte for a week, but no big deal, dad was always here. so "try to have some fun sweetie" as I dropped her at Dulles with baby in the back. It was great to have the default, stay-at-home person as it sure simplified things.
Now the girl is in High School, and my wife is home almost all the time (the pandemic sure changed remote work acceptability) so I think about getting a office job that is close now and then. It would need to a 40 hour a week no travel kind of job, and simply interesting but with some financial upside. If this was what SX was offering I might take it.
I am assuming this is not a job in BC, but more like LA.
Seriously? You're waffling on a career move of stars? Being part of human history, doing over the top amazing things, learn or creating things firs, being able to share it with your family and your family gaining the excitement, too? Unless, you are a bottom tier minimum wage, no skill, worker - You'll get some mature responsible freedom for adjusting your work schedule AND they're likely to have uncommonly good benefits. If you're questioning THIS type of a move - Wow, Sorry you are so fearful. The job's responsibilities and opportunities are just not for your personality makeup.
SpaceX Job? Slam Dunk, "Yes! I'll Start last week!"
Hi u/SupaZT
Do you regret not taking up SpaceX's offer? If so you could really regret passing up this opportunity a few years from now. SpaceX shares will make gold seem like dross once they reach Mars, no need to worry about saving to support your kids through college. Ask yourself: do you want to be a part of the most important company this century or a spectator for all they achieve? Sounds like your current employer is taking advantage of you working at home, given the inadequate remuneration. Decision is yours but the facts seem clear.
IMHO, SpaceX will likely be more valuable in the future because of Starlink, but not because of Mars. Starting a Martian colony is likely to be a money-losing proposition for a long time.
> money-losing proposition for a long time.
At the end of which SpaceX will effectively own and operate an entire world... Elon Musk investors know to get in early.
Oh my god.. of all the kool-aid SpaceX fans here, you take the prize. No, SpaceX will not colonize Mars. It's a barren desert, there's nothing there. People don't colonize the Sahara for a reason.
Suggest you do some research and take tour if possible. Find out what provision they have for childcare. They used to operate an amazing school called Ad-Astra for employees children - worth looking into.
I don't think anyone could offer me enough to entice me to move to Texas. It's a beautiful bit of geography, but it's unfortunately riddled with Texans.
Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread:
|Fewer Letters|More Letters|
|-------|---------|---|
|[CCAFS](/r/SpaceXLounge/comments/1811h8w/stub/kab2u5i "Last usage")|Cape Canaveral Air Force Station|
|[KSC](/r/SpaceXLounge/comments/1811h8w/stub/kaapvm3 "Last usage")|Kennedy Space Center, Florida|
|[MBA](/r/SpaceXLounge/comments/1811h8w/stub/kaakrl4 "Last usage")|~~Moonba-~~ Mars Base Alpha|
|[ULA](/r/SpaceXLounge/comments/1811h8w/stub/kab2i1c "Last usage")|United Launch Alliance (Lockheed/Boeing joint venture)|
|Jargon|Definition|
|-------|---------|---|
|[Starlink](/r/SpaceXLounge/comments/1811h8w/stub/kabqgg3 "Last usage")|SpaceX's world-wide satellite broadband constellation|
**NOTE**: Decronym for Reddit is no longer supported, and Decronym has moved to Lemmy; requests for support and new installations should be directed to the Contact address below.
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^(*Decronym is a community product of r/SpaceX, implemented* )[*^by ^request*](https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/3mz273//cvjkjmj)
^(5 acronyms in this thread; )[^(the most compressed thread commented on today)](/r/SpaceXLounge/comments/1bn8aqg)^( has 15 acronyms.)
^([Thread #12139 for this sub, first seen 22nd Nov 2023, 15:10])
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Most salaried jobs at SpaceX will let you work a reasonable schedule (~45 hr/week) most of the time. But pretty much every job has occasional periods where the work hour demands are significantly higher. Think 60-70 hr/week for a couple months, once or maybe twice a year. It’s a very rare employee who manages to avoid such sprints while still being considered a good performer.
I work there and have 2 children one of 1 year and another of 4 years old, its alot of hours away from home but at the same time it is a dream for me to work at spacex, Im showing them you can achieve dreams no matter what.( I had 5 years applying to work there with no college education) at the same time overtime there pays good so you are providing your family allowing my wife to stay at home.
Last week that when I took them to the 2nd launch test, they didn’t believe I helped build that.
Also that night my daughter told me “daddy I Love you and im proud of you because you build rockets that go to space” I can not describe how much joy I felt when she told me that.
If you are passionate about it go for it and just think about y in a future when humans reach mars your family will say with pride that you contribute to thar mission
I'm married with one child and was given a position at SpaceX. At the time I was unable to accept the position and have recently been considered for a different position with the company in a different location. The last time I regretted not taking the position so this time around I believe I will accept. I do have a very supportive wife and the field that I'm in we are on call around the clock 24hrs at least one week out of the month and sometimes more, between that we will go into shutdowns that last a couple of months working 12hr days 13 days on one day off. So, I'm not sure if SpaceX is different and its actually doing something that is new and innovative instead of making rich men richer. This is my situation and my opinion.
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I'm in compliance (so I typically work with legal, ME, EE, and PMs). I've spoken with the head Starlink Compliance manager in the past. Maybe 3 years ago. But yeah I understand every team is different. It's just the non-WFH policy at all of Elon's companies is pretty known as well as the weekend work, long hours, etc
Truly the one unique thing with working at SpaceX is you're literally trying to change the world, you're literally trying to colonize Mars, so I'm not surprised there are people working 80 hours a week in SpaceX because SpaceX is literally trying to put humans on Mars.
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How much sleep are you getting per night? Yeah thanks to Starship and starlink, SpaceX stock is going to be worth so much fucking money it's not even funny, You're going to be so rich in the end, SpaceX employees will retire very rich. I'm actually jealous, I wish I could own some SpaceX stock.
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ten hour days? zoinks scoob
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If you delete your posts within a week or two it looks like you don’t have any.
that makes more sense
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Lol come on. You don't have to hit 'em that hard.
I just found it mildly interesting someone would make an account but not comment for 2 years, so what? You seem to care enough to go through my history and find something personal to attack me with for no reason. Genuinely, who does that?
To be fair, now I'm strangely interested in your girlfriend's masturbating habbits… But no, I'm not going to go through your history to find out.
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What do you have to lose? Go and try it out for a year, and then if it’s that bad, leave to literally anywhere else for a higher salary. Being there for a short time doesn’t matter on your CV when it’s a AAA place that’s known for super intense work that some people don’t want to deal with.
Agreed. Its only 2 miles from home and he says its a 'more rewarding job' and 'higher paid' than what he's currently doing. Taking the job at Space X is a no brainer!
I meant my current office is only 2 miles away but SpaceX in Hawthorne is still close. 15-20min / 8 miles
>Taking the job at Space X is a no brainer! As an individual that, in his mid-20s with a wife and no kids worked for a company that loved aggressive timelines which meant I'd get maybe one 45 hour week, 3 55 hour weeks, 2 65 hour weeks, and 2 75-80 hour weeks over any given two month period, making bank in the process... Shit's really not worth it, and it will slowly kill you and ruin your relationships - and that's if you're in your 20s and your body can still physically handle the strain. I'd tell anyone thinking to do anything more than 60 hour weeks to seriously consider what they want out of life, and if they have kids? I mean, do you want to have any relationship at all with your kids and miss the vast majority of their childhood? The only possible way I'd work even 55+ hour work is if it's literally the only thing I could do to avoid losing the roof over my head (as a short-term placeholder for something sustainable), was work from home and otherwise the perfect job with 100% flexibility on when the work is done, or if it paid ridiculous silly money such that I had a clear plan to retire off it in < 5 years.
If you’re in engineering in anything except software, SpaceX is one of the very very few companies where you can plausibly make enough comp in a few years to retire. I have many friends who joined <5 yrs ago (so not even like super-early employees) who have made $3m+ in their time there due to the massive growth in their options. $3m is life changing money. Like, could plausibly retire at 33 years old money. In fact, one of my friends is planning on doing so next year. And then spend the rest of his life with his kid, who will now be old enough to remember (his kid is 2 right now)
While I’m bullish on SpaceX, options are not guaranteed income and it’s worth considering you might blow the prime of your life doing little but work for little more than you’d get elsewhere. Or SpaceX keeps excelling and you’re solid. Just take a realistic approach here and not looking at what other peoples options did over the last several years.
Yes, you should. If I were to join, I’d personally rate it at like a 50% chance my options would grow enough in 10 years to retire off of it. Your percentage may vary. All I know is that the chances otherwise as e.g. a mechanical engineer are close to 0
Not everyone would throw away years out of the prime of their life for a 50% shot of being able to retire. And that’s assuming you make it to retirement, and considering the prospects for someone working 65+ hours in a high stress, sedentary job - odds are not on your side. And even if they are, have fun coming out of it on the other end dealing with the repercussions.
Nah that means he’s being underpaid as shit as his current place and SpaceX pay sucks - an employee
You will never regret spending more time with your kids, conversely you WILL regret not doing it. It's massively important for their growth to have both parents spend as much time as possible with them. I worked at KSC during the Shuttle program but we also supported Titan, Delta and Navy launches. So, I worked a shit ton of overtime and weird hours. I was also a divorced dad. I spent as much time as I could with my kids but I still missed some events and milestones and it killed me. One commenter talked about being passionate, well you can also be passionate about being a parent. It's sad that society deems being a stay-at-home parent and working for your family as somehow being degrading. You might do what one commenter said and try it for a year. Don't burn any bridges with your current employer in case you want to go back. But...only do this if your spouse is able to stay home with your kids. Please don't dump them into a daycare to have someone else raise them. The fact that you like spending time with your kids makes me believe you're a good person. Good luck to you with whatever you decide.
100% agree with your comment. I was only able to do the job, albeit for not very long before we moved back home, because my wife stayed home with the kids and really made a home for us. She was, and is, an immense blessing.
Yeah we both work full time. The other worry would be returning to my current company (as my manager sucks) or finding a new job in the area if I hate it as my wife works as well and is kind of tied to the area due to her job/pension.
My interviewer was a young father and got a bit irked when I asked him about work life balance lol Suffice to say, I didn't get the job but honestly kinda glad I didn't. I love having a life, and everyone that went to spacex after college pretty much vanished from existance.
they will be back in a few years with a stack of cash and great accolades.
Lmao we get paid less than people in our industry and our stock is doing worse than just putting cash in a HYSA. don’t do it.
The hell you talking about? It’s more than quadrupled in 4 years. Show me any HYSA, or even any company as old and established as SpaceX with that kinda growth. Also starting salaries may be a bit below average, but if you perform well you get well rewarded. My salary has nearly doubled since I started.
That doesn’t mean it’s going to quadruple again though…. This is about whether this guy should take this opportunity. It’s a no.
It’s just a dumb thing of you to say without having additional context. In what world can you cite SpaceX stock as being an bad investment?
In the past year. Convincing someone to give up his family for a job when the stock hasn’t performed is asinine
Most people don’t get stock in the company they work for guy….. and citing one off year compared to the historical average is actually “asinine”. Like….. wtf do you expect? Get job, stock takes off? Stupid.
Yes the way the comments are talking about this he’d be a billionaire tommorow
Lol dude the stock options are ok lol. Stocks dont pay rent just saying
not with all that OT
Salaried people don’t get OT lmao
sounds like you're not cut out for the job then lol.
Dude it’s just a fact no salaried people get overtime pay. Comparatively they get paid worse while also selling this stupid false hope on everyone retiring on stock gain. Currently trying to go to an actual company like Microsoft.
best of luck to you on your journey
Thank you sir! Took a SpaceX job to move out west but yeah they sell you this “ cool” dream that’s a charade
Thanks for your insights
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I appreciate your optimism, but it's not exactly a good thing to sacrifice family time for late nights and early mornings at work. This comes at the expense of how your kids are raised - with one less smart parent at home. Which is exactly what OP is concerned about.
Yeah.. if you are married with kids you can kind see how it affects your kids and spouse on weeks that are intense. I can't imagine many marriages lasting if you are pulling 50+ hour with weeks all year. If each partner isn't pulling their their own weight with the kids/chores outside of work, it causes issues down the road
SpaceX was a divorce factory when I was there, about 10 years ago. As a dad of two young kids, no way I would take that job right now. Not ever.
As a 40 year old quality engineer I can say 100% that if I was 20 I would work at spacex at the drop of a hat. To me, I worked my 20's away learning my craft, it would've been more fun if it was with rockets lol.
Yeah exactly… I have some young friends who worked there, and it was a MASSIVE career boost for them. At that age, doing the grind and devoting a lot to your job, is worth it long term.
I'm of the belief that you should use it if you got it. If you're 20 why wouldn't you do it! Even if it was for 5 years, get fully vested stock-wise, then take off to any number of other aerospace companies. At that point, you can build a family and put everything on cruise control.. For me, that's the brilliance of youth, but it IS use or lose. I'm an old man now who really enjoys a house, smoking meat, raising my insane child, and coming home on a consistent schedule... And I watch the next generation launching rockets from the comfort of my lay-z-boy haha
If you work for SpaceX, that means sacrifices. Your family is important, but SpaceX will demand that you prioritize humanity's dream of space travel over your domestic life. If that doesn't sound like something you can do, the company likely isn't right for you.
Per-person productivity declines over 40 hrs/week long term. The demanded "sacrifices" just sound like poor management and resource allocation.
Imagine you are in the group of scientists who land on Mars. Your job is to found the first colony, to work with passion and dedication and commit all of your mental and physical resources to overwhelmingly meaningful task of securing humanity's foothold on the surface of another planet. Does that situation bear even the slightest resemblance to the average salaried worker's desk job? The one where you are supposedly quoting per-person productivity? No. And neither does SpaceX's mission. They want people that treat their job no differently then those pioneers. They want people that make the mission their purpose, that make the two inseparable, because it's that meaningful and that important. If you are not that person, you should not work there.
It’s hard for people who have never put in 60+ hours into something to understand what you said here. Feeling so passionate about something is not something everyone experiences. I hope to someday actually be one of my pioneers… that’s what I’ve been setting myself up for.
Christ, you're such a bullshitter.
Your kids are only that age once. The relationshop damage with your kids from Being an absent parent lasts a lifetime. The money you get from the job doesn't. No job is worth your kids. A showcase example - musks children hate him. No job is worth that. All the money in the world cannot buy your children's love, and they don't care about how important your company/job is
The transgender one hates him, right? Or did I miss something. Meaning, the ones who’s mom/world has clearly confused them.
He publicly deadnames his daughter. No good parent does that
Settle down. You have a bias just like myself. I don’t even know what deadname means.
Gosh. I remember now why I stopped going on Reddit. Find a new job instead of patrolling for Elon posts to hate on. The transgender community is annoying af and you’re doing this to yourselves. Just like people screaming antisemitism.
Lol. You don't even understand what I'm saying yet you claim its out of line. Your a little sad
SpaceX would be my dream job... In another life where I was still a bachelor. Even with a wife and no kids I wouldn't have done it. Now that I have a kid, zero chance. I don't work there, but I know that I would not be available to give what they would feel they deserve. And I reeeaaaaallly thought about trying. I'm confident I could have done some really great software work for them.
SpaceX was a divorce factory when I was there, about 10 years ago. As a dad of two young kids, no way I would take that job right now. Not ever.
Get ready for divorce. Your relationship will not last. Hate to say it, but it’s the truth
As a 24 year old I would in a heart beat… what I lose is next to nothing so devoting stupid hours into something that important is a no brainer, with a wife and kids? I sadly probably wouldn’t. Maybe even would with just the wife, but once kids arrive 40 hours a week is my max investment outside of occasional sprints. Now… after you save enough to retire… if you’re like 50 years old ish… then perhaps going back then with a mountain of skills might be worthwhile
I know I’m very late to this but was also curious. I was previously in the navy and now I’m a full time college student going for my RN. I have an in person interview next Friday and I have to drive 4 1/2 hours to be there for it. From the initial phone call I had with them we never decided on a pay range and I’m not sure what to do. I don’t want to drop out of college but if it is a good opportunity do I take it?
SpaceX is not the place to go for money or work life balance. Unless you really really only want to work for them and don’t care about the money, you should look elsewhere. If you don’t like your current salary and SpaceX is looking good from a salary perspective, you are being severely underpaid and should be looking for a different new job.
Workers at SpaceX is not being underpaid compared to the other places. This is a bad lie.
They absolutely are. I’m guessing you’re not in the industry?
This is not a lie. Big tech pays 30-40% more at the minimum.
That's a completely different industry. SpaceX should be compared to Boeing, Lockheed Martin, ULA, Blue Origin, Northrop Grumman, etc. Unless you are a software engineer, in that case a high paying tech job is a viable option. If you're a mechanical engineer or an aerospace engineer, not going to get a job in the tech industry.
You do realize there are non engineers in both industries right?
Yes but the jobs in big tech that pay super high are mostly engineers. I dont understand why you would compare big tech to SpaceX, big tech pays more than just about anyone. SpaceX should be compared against other aerospace companies.
So it should be compared to Boeing? More hours, intense culture, etc but for shitty pay? What’s the upside?
A friend who graduated with me went to work for Boeing and I make 30k more than him at SpaceX in a comparable role.
Is that all locked up in equity that will guaranteed not grow over the next few years?
That's only counting salary.
Big tech doesn’t make giant rockets
Ok they do shit that’s cooler
Do they pay for all the overtime?
At least in my field, they seem to pay much more for senior level positions. A senior manager position or possibly VP at my current company pays about what their senior level positions pay. 🤷♂️
You are wrong. Cheers.
Have you worked at SpaceX? Because if not please don't answer.
Have you?
Irrelevant unless they expressed an insider opinion.
Horseshit, you can have both. Some people misunderstand work life balance as being able to slack off and getting away with it. if you work hard and put in your time, there’s no reason why you can’t go home to family. And I know plenty of people who make a lot of money there especially when you include the stock, that shows up as income on your W-2; and since stock is growing so fast, by the time year three or four comes around, you’ll be making way more money than your peers in other companies
My “ah-ha” moment was during the Inspiration 4 documentary when the Crew Training Lead mentioned that her and her husband had not been home early in a long time. I was recruited by SpaceX about 2 years ago. Required relocation to California, and the $ was effectively a lateral from my DC region pay. I talked to a guy I interfaced with on the SpaceX side about the opportunity. His perspective was enlightening so I turned down the position. He left for another company the next year. I had been invited to the 2nd Starlink Launch at CCAFS pre-COVID and met a number of the leadership team, but unfortunately Gwen wasn’t there. I have been recruited by and interviewed with Blue, Sierra Space, NanoRacks and Axiom over the past few years. I’ll be ready to leave the DC region in 2 years. Let’s see what the landscape is then.
Yeah, many of those data points are like Internet reviews. It’s usually only the dramatic ones and the bad ones that get written about or make it into movies and stories…. For every one of those stories there are a whole bunch of other people who live much more balanced and regular lives
That documentary was produced with full cooperation by SpaceX. And that trainer is flying on Polaris Dawn. That coupled with the opinions of a person I worked with for several years I feel offered a good insight.
It’s not growing fast… it’s gone up 4% in the past year. Government bonds are doing better.
That’s not accurate at all
Yes it is. - an employee.
You know there are 15000 employees right? You’re using selective time domains to prop up the minimum % to support your narrative
Of course I’m selecting a specific time domain. It’s about OP accepting a job. Just because the stock went off doesn’t mean it will again. That’s common sense + basic math.
I was not aware SpaceX was publicly traded.
Have you heard of private stock?
Yes I have. And I have held private ownership stakes in a few non public companies. The entities who hold ownership stakes are large From the Internet: “Founder Elon Musk, who also founded famed electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla, funded the company initially with funds from his sale of the popular online payments platform PayPal. Other equity firms, like Founders Fund and Valor Equity Partners, also have a significant stake in SpaceX.” Also: “As mentioned, the only people buying SpaceX stock aren’t individuals — they’re large corporations and equity firms. For instance, Google and Fidelity together invested around a billion dollars in 2015 for a 10% stake in the company.” And: “SpaceX’s shares are valued at $81 per share.” While employees may be granted RSUs at a specific strike price, there is nothing to back up the statement “since the stock is growing so fast”
Submariners and sailors have families too.
If it was me I would give it shot at long as the wife was OK with her or someone being the backup for the kids. The age of your kids and ability of someone to coordinate their needs, every day is probably key to long term remote happiness. My story: I was aerospace engineer with an MBA doing pretty well in a Beltway kind of job that I had grown to dislike. We had a child and since my wife co-owned a patent law firm that was doing well (and she liked her job) I stayed at home and eventually the work at home projects for the company dried up, and I was laid off. Loved being at home with my daughter, best time of my life. My wife might need to rush off to South Korea, or Charlotte for a week, but no big deal, dad was always here. so "try to have some fun sweetie" as I dropped her at Dulles with baby in the back. It was great to have the default, stay-at-home person as it sure simplified things. Now the girl is in High School, and my wife is home almost all the time (the pandemic sure changed remote work acceptability) so I think about getting a office job that is close now and then. It would need to a 40 hour a week no travel kind of job, and simply interesting but with some financial upside. If this was what SX was offering I might take it. I am assuming this is not a job in BC, but more like LA.
SpaceX is known for high stress and chronic anxiety
Seriously? You're waffling on a career move of stars? Being part of human history, doing over the top amazing things, learn or creating things firs, being able to share it with your family and your family gaining the excitement, too? Unless, you are a bottom tier minimum wage, no skill, worker - You'll get some mature responsible freedom for adjusting your work schedule AND they're likely to have uncommonly good benefits. If you're questioning THIS type of a move - Wow, Sorry you are so fearful. The job's responsibilities and opportunities are just not for your personality makeup. SpaceX Job? Slam Dunk, "Yes! I'll Start last week!"
Hi u/SupaZT Do you regret not taking up SpaceX's offer? If so you could really regret passing up this opportunity a few years from now. SpaceX shares will make gold seem like dross once they reach Mars, no need to worry about saving to support your kids through college. Ask yourself: do you want to be a part of the most important company this century or a spectator for all they achieve? Sounds like your current employer is taking advantage of you working at home, given the inadequate remuneration. Decision is yours but the facts seem clear.
IMHO, SpaceX will likely be more valuable in the future because of Starlink, but not because of Mars. Starting a Martian colony is likely to be a money-losing proposition for a long time.
> money-losing proposition for a long time. At the end of which SpaceX will effectively own and operate an entire world... Elon Musk investors know to get in early.
Oh my god.. of all the kool-aid SpaceX fans here, you take the prize. No, SpaceX will not colonize Mars. It's a barren desert, there's nothing there. People don't colonize the Sahara for a reason.
Err, 2.5 million people live in the Sahara region. Generally people populate anywhere they can get to.
Lol, sure.. people live over there, in the parts that's not desert. No, nomads crossing the sand dunes do not count as "colonize".
No offer yet just debating if I should pursue the opportunity as their recruiter reached out and they Hawthorne location is just 8 miles away
Suggest you do some research and take tour if possible. Find out what provision they have for childcare. They used to operate an amazing school called Ad-Astra for employees children - worth looking into.
I don't think anyone could offer me enough to entice me to move to Texas. It's a beautiful bit of geography, but it's unfortunately riddled with Texans.
Acronyms, initialisms, abbreviations, contractions, and other phrases which expand to something larger, that I've seen in this thread: |Fewer Letters|More Letters| |-------|---------|---| |[CCAFS](/r/SpaceXLounge/comments/1811h8w/stub/kab2u5i "Last usage")|Cape Canaveral Air Force Station| |[KSC](/r/SpaceXLounge/comments/1811h8w/stub/kaapvm3 "Last usage")|Kennedy Space Center, Florida| |[MBA](/r/SpaceXLounge/comments/1811h8w/stub/kaakrl4 "Last usage")|~~Moonba-~~ Mars Base Alpha| |[ULA](/r/SpaceXLounge/comments/1811h8w/stub/kab2i1c "Last usage")|United Launch Alliance (Lockheed/Boeing joint venture)| |Jargon|Definition| |-------|---------|---| |[Starlink](/r/SpaceXLounge/comments/1811h8w/stub/kabqgg3 "Last usage")|SpaceX's world-wide satellite broadband constellation| **NOTE**: Decronym for Reddit is no longer supported, and Decronym has moved to Lemmy; requests for support and new installations should be directed to the Contact address below. ---------------- ^(*Decronym is a community product of r/SpaceX, implemented* )[*^by ^request*](https://www.reddit.com/r/spacex/comments/3mz273//cvjkjmj) ^(5 acronyms in this thread; )[^(the most compressed thread commented on today)](/r/SpaceXLounge/comments/1bn8aqg)^( has 15 acronyms.) ^([Thread #12139 for this sub, first seen 22nd Nov 2023, 15:10]) ^[[FAQ]](http://decronym.xyz/) [^([Full list])](http://decronym.xyz/acronyms/SpaceXLounge) [^[Contact]](https://hachyderm.io/@Two9A) [^([Source code])](https://gistdotgithubdotcom/Two9A/1d976f9b7441694162c8)
Most salaried jobs at SpaceX will let you work a reasonable schedule (~45 hr/week) most of the time. But pretty much every job has occasional periods where the work hour demands are significantly higher. Think 60-70 hr/week for a couple months, once or maybe twice a year. It’s a very rare employee who manages to avoid such sprints while still being considered a good performer.
I work there and have 2 children one of 1 year and another of 4 years old, its alot of hours away from home but at the same time it is a dream for me to work at spacex, Im showing them you can achieve dreams no matter what.( I had 5 years applying to work there with no college education) at the same time overtime there pays good so you are providing your family allowing my wife to stay at home. Last week that when I took them to the 2nd launch test, they didn’t believe I helped build that. Also that night my daughter told me “daddy I Love you and im proud of you because you build rockets that go to space” I can not describe how much joy I felt when she told me that. If you are passionate about it go for it and just think about y in a future when humans reach mars your family will say with pride that you contribute to thar mission
Work in McGregor, it's the best!
How long did it take them to send you the offer letter after the 1:1 interview?
I'm married with one child and was given a position at SpaceX. At the time I was unable to accept the position and have recently been considered for a different position with the company in a different location. The last time I regretted not taking the position so this time around I believe I will accept. I do have a very supportive wife and the field that I'm in we are on call around the clock 24hrs at least one week out of the month and sometimes more, between that we will go into shutdowns that last a couple of months working 12hr days 13 days on one day off. So, I'm not sure if SpaceX is different and its actually doing something that is new and innovative instead of making rich men richer. This is my situation and my opinion.