SpaceX also has a reputation for severely overworking its employees in addition to the below-market pay. If working in aerospace that actually gets humans off the earth is your goal, then SpaceX is hands down the best private employer. However, if you just want to use your education and skills to work on aerospace while working reasonable hours for good pay, one of the ULA companies would be a much better bet.
SpaceX’s reputation for not being an easy place to work is certainly deserved but from what I’ve seen management has been making a serious effort in trying to address issues of work/life balance. The situation today is much different than it was a few years ago in regards to hours worked and scheduling.
In my experience, it wasn’t so much the long hours that wore thin on employees but instead it was the unreliable scheduling that prevented many people from making plans to enjoy their limited time off. There has been progress made in this regard as we have grown and gotten a better handle on some of our critical processes.
I should add that much like with anything else it’s difficult to please everyone all the time and not all of these changes have been well received by everyone. Overtime work for hourly employees is much more regulated and carefully watched now than it was a few years ago and I fall into a camp that isn’t exactly pleased with this. While I think the new changes are better for the overall well being of most employees there are many of us who specifically prefer an environment that skews more heavily towards work in terms of work/life balance.
Pay also tends to be lower than the industry average, especially considering living expenses in LA/Socal, but from what I’ve seen while introductory pay is low it tends to ramp up rather quickly once you hit the 3-4 year mark and is much more aligned with competitors at that point. This probably is at least partially related to the relatively high turnover here which means promotions and advancement can come quickly if you can stick it out.
I should make clear that my experience is coming from the perspective of an hourly technician that is compensated for overtime, unlike the salaried engineers, although in talking with many during the course of my day they seem to have a similar experience.
>"SpaceX also has a reputation for severely overworking its employees in addition to the below-market pay."
This seems to be a trend with Musk-run companies. Do they really attract people that are that dedicated to the mission? Or do they get a lot of people padding their resume, then jumping ship to somewhere that compensates more fairly with work/life balance?
Yes. Working for and with people who want to change the world is, in many ways, its own reward. It's definitely possible to get burned out, and you do work hard, but there has never been a week that went by where I thought to myself, "I'm not doing anything worthwhile here", or even, "I'm not contributing positively".
I used to work for a financial services company. I made 150% of what I make at SpaceX for at least as many hours a week. The difference was, at the end of those weeks, I would look back and realize that if I did my job right, I was doing nothing other than making rich people richer.
> I used to work for a financial services company. I made 150% of what I make at SpaceX for at least as many hours a week. The difference was, at the end of those weeks, I would look back and realize that if I did my job right, I was doing nothing other than making rich people richer.
I'm working in Antarctica right now and my story echoes yours almost exactly. Worked for a large finserv company in a very comfortable position (telecommuting allowed, great benefits, etc) and took a 30% pay cut to come down here. But here I feel my work matters, supporting research that matters, where at the other job it was just a paycheck at the end of the day.
Money is not the only thing that matters in work. Often, depending on the field/mission/etc, the work is its own reward. I'm currently in Antarctica and took about a 30% pay cut to come here, leaving a very stable job with a large financial services company. But the chance to live, work and play here is by far more important to me than some extra money.
Or do they get a lot of people padding their resume, then jumping ship to somewhere that compensates more fairly with work/life balance?
It's probably like any other successful company of its size... a few really hardcore people pull a lot of weight, in terms of both getting things done and defining the company's reputation, while some others just hang on for the ride.
Good management consists largely of identifying those few supercontributors and making very certain that they remain very happy.
They probably get both. The former are ones who stay, the latter are those who leave and complain, because SpaceX is not geared towards people who just want to pad their resume.
I think that may have been the case earlier on but the company has certainly matured and I don't see this anymore. Maybe I'm missing it but I think a lot of that reputation is unwarranted. No one is going to stop you from over-working yourself but no one is going to force you to over-work yourself either.
