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>"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. D

>"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?

vocatus_gate 11y ago
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.
CamperBob2 11y ago
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.
TeMPOraL 11y ago
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.
MPSimmons 11y ago
This is basically the story: http://www.geekwire.com/2016/payscale-ratings-rank-spacex-tesla-low-salary-high-meaningfulness/ http://www.geekwire.com/2016/payscale-ratings-rank-spacex-te... 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.
- vocatus_gate 11y ago
  > 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.

vocatus_gate 11y ago

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.

CamperBob2 11y ago

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.

TeMPOraL 11y ago

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.

MPSimmons 11y ago

This is basically the story: http://www.geekwire.com/2016/payscale-ratings-rank-spacex-tesla-low-salary-high-meaningfulness/ http://www.geekwire.com/2016/payscale-ratings-rank-spacex-te... 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.

vocatus_gate 11y ago
> 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.