A Self Defined Ceiling - Anonymous employee SpaceX Employee Review

5.0
Aug 24, 2016
Anonymous employee
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Some of the best aspects of working at SpaceX include working with the brightest, vested and highly motivated engineers in a scrappy, meritocratic environment. The company mission is a noble one, and there are many opportunities for an engineer to push grow, build technical skills and think creatively. There is truly no parallel to engineering rockets, in terms of satisfaction, reward, stress and technical challenge. For both the good and bad that comes with it- SpaceX is a place that differentiates between the technically meek and brilliant. Many argue that career opportunities are limited, but the opportunities are there, it's just that the bar is set higher and not everyone is cut out to meet it.

Cons

Some of the cons include unrealistic schedules, overwhelming project pressure and the amount of personal sacrifice that comes with it. This is exacerbated by Elon's irrational drive for innovation, which sometimes leaves practicality as an afterthought. Base salaries for engineers are not as high as they could be, especially when considering the high expectations. Overall compensation is good, so long as the company is successful. Part of what makes SpaceX so great is the technical competency of the leadership team, but this can sometimes result in de-prioritized soft skills.

Explore other reviews about SpaceX

4.0
Apr 6, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

You learn so much because the work is so freaking intense, its a lot of fun if you're the type of person who loves to get emerged in hard problems. The hours for me were not too bad but I was the exception, all the other interns I was with dealt with 60-70+ hour weeks, some interns came in at 10am and left at 12am, when I say its intense, I'm not joking. This is however very unique to the Starbase location. I've heard Hawthorne is a lot more chill. I honestly despite how challenging the role was always look back on it with a sense of pride in my work, and longing to be back there. It really does feel that you're doing world changing things.

Cons

Very un diverse upper management, I'd say the company is pretty diverse in the lower ranks, but once you start to look at the org chart and see who's in charge, you realize that its mainly just white people. Makes you wonder if as a person of color you too will be able to move up. Housing sucks: there was limited housing on campus for full time employees, you have to wait a year plus to get off the queue and once you're off you only really get tiny homes as the option that are in an inconvenient location. Interns don't even have the option to get on campus housing, they give you 3k in a housing stipend and expect you to find a place in Brownsville. I'd say its very hard to maintain a relationship while working here if you don't have an understanding partner, the work schedule is brutal and you really can't slack off.

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