Author Topic: Job Advice Please  (Read 2407 times)

Offline HooyahPT

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Job Advice Please
« on: 01/09/2014 01:01 am »
Hello all, I was hoping for some input as I am kind of stuck to make a difficult decision.

I am prior military with an aviation background- currently finishing my degree in Aeronautics with a minor in Unmanned Systems.  I have always had a lot of respect for UAVs with a lot of new interest in Space Exploration.

Long story short, I applied for a UAV internship at Northrop Grumman in San Diego and got picked up in hopes of finally getting my foot in the UAV community.  The process was taking very long to finally come aboard so I applied at several other companies including SpaceX.  Come to find out, I also got picked up for a SpaceX internship which is several months down the road.

I was somewhat disappointed in the Northrop Grumman internship, which I am still at, as I was hoping that it would be a more of a hands on job, but it is pretty much a cubicle desk job.  The company is great, the people are nice, the pay is pretty decent, but Space Exploration is pretty one of the greatest things ever next to ice cream.

I managed to get a tour at SpaceX and I was completely blown away.  I was very impressed.  So now, I'm stuck with deciding between Northrop in San Diego and SpaceX in LA.  I am currently engaged to a woman with a great job in San Diego and I also have a daughter that lives in San Diego so those are two major factors to consider.  I know Northrop does a lot to try to place interns into a permanent job but I would like to try to enjoy what I do.  If I do decide to go to SpaceX, I would do the internship, rent a room in LA, and see what happens after, if I get an offer for something permanent, I would relocate probably halfway between LA and SD for the sake of my Fiance and daughter.

I guess I am somewhat hesitant to go to SpaceX because I do not know what the likely hood is after the internship and I may blow my chance at something permanent at Northrop Grumman.  I was hoping if anyone happens to read this, especially anyone that works at SpaceX full time or anyone that's interned, if they could give me some feedback.  I am just trying to make the best decision for myself and my family.  I have been to glassdoor.  The reviews are helpful but I know it is kind of human nature to only post the bad stuff sometimes and not enough of the good.

Thanks again and any help is appreciated.

Online Chris Bergin

Re: Job Advice Please
« Reply #1 on: 01/09/2014 01:53 am »
Welcome to the site's forum. I know we have some other "intern" style advice threads on here somewhere, but that one looks like you require some immediate attention, so we'll leave it as-is, as opposed to merging.

Glassdoor does look like it's suffered from some trolling, so yeah - probably not the best advice there. We have SpaceX people here (obviously), but I'd probably says it might be best if such people PM you, rather than have such a conversation in public.

That's advice, not a rule. Main thing is you help this guy....and maybe others who are watching the thread from a similar situation.
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Offline Nick L.

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Re: Job Advice Please
« Reply #2 on: 01/09/2014 02:36 am »
Do you know how long you will be waiting after you finish your NG internship before you hear about a permanent position? If you have enough time, you should give the SpaceX internship a try as well. You need to know what both are really like before you decide on one over the other. A couple of my classmates from college interned at the Elon Musk Companies (TM) and told me it was very stressful at times. (That is, of course, hearsay, so take that for what it's worth.) Also, the reviews that you might read on websites, as you noted, are not generally representative of what working at any company is really like - in both directions. And this may just be my naivete showing, but I don't think it would hurt your chances of getting a job at NG if you went to intern at SpaceX - you have work experience and a "hook" into NG now, so that helps you jump ahead in line, so to speak. So it might not hurt to try it, and get to know what working at both places is like, so you can make an informed decision. However, all of the above is also modified by your personal situation, which I don't know in any great detail, and about which I can't give any advice (especially considering I have no experience in relationships! :D ) So that is something that you will have to decide on your own.

Ultimately, the only real advice I can give - the only thing I can say with confidence you really need to do - is that you need to follow your heart above all else. You have to love what you do, because you'll be doing it nearly every day - possibly overtime, late nights and early mornings, weekends, and holidays, depending on whatever crises may occur. I have friends and family who are miserable because they hate what they do for a living, and I would never wish that upon my worst enemy. But I can tell you from what little experience I have that if you love your job, especially if you work in this industry, very few things in life can compare.

Sorry for the wall of text, and that I couldn't be more helpful.
Nick
"Now you may leave here for four days in space, but when you return it's the same old place..."

Offline QuantumG

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Re: Job Advice Please
« Reply #3 on: 01/09/2014 02:46 am »
If your family life is important to you, I recommend you don't go to SpaceX.. you simply won't have time to take the kids to football practice or attend their music recitals or whatever other wholesome tropes you can think up. Everyone I know at SpaceX will tell you that it's a lifestyle. It's not 9 to 5, it's not even 9 to 9, it's 6am to midnight, every day. On the other hand, if you want a chance at dedicating your life to being a part of something revolutionary, that's what you'll find at SpaceX.

This is all second hand, your mileage may vary.

Human spaceflight is basically just LARPing now.

Offline Antares

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Re: Job Advice Please
« Reply #4 on: 01/11/2014 03:04 pm »
For work-life balance, I'd go with NG; and SD is better than LA IMO.  SpaceX is 50 hours a week minimum, 80 during crunch time preparing for a test or shipment or launch.  The possibility of washing out at SpaceX is real as well.  If you have a good thing at NG, stick with it.
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