5 ms·

> competition drives advancement Is this always true though? Space tech is highly specialized, if you can't hire enough people already, more competition just s

> competition drives advancement Is this always true though? Space tech is highly specialized, if you can't hire enough people already, more competition just spreads the available talent thinner. I'd be curious if it's currently the case that SpaceX/NASA/BO's development is personnel constrained. I've definitely heard of projects at FAANG companies being cancelled because they couldn't hire enough people for them, so I could see this also happening in other industries.

bberenberg 5y ago
I don't know if they're personnel constrained. I do know they are financially constrained. For example even today https://twitter.com/DrPhiltill/status/1418241459342520321 https://twitter.com/DrPhiltill/status/1418241459342520321 Bezos tossing extra money into it defiantly helps.
WJW 5y ago
It is definitely not always true that competition drives advancement, even if there is sufficient personnel. As a super simple example: There's a couple of restaurants nearby and competition is fierce, but it mostly results in the restaurants going out of business at a steady pace and being replaced by new starry-eyed entrepreneurs willing to give it a shot. Space tech is also always considered to be a national security topic, so the available personnel does not just have to be talented but they need a security clearance as well.
autokad 5y ago
> "Space tech is highly specialized, if you can't hire enough people already, more competition just spreads the available talent thinner." Try to avoid 0 sum thinking, its often wrong. increased competition for talent in space will drive up wages which will result in more people going into said fields.
- sudosysgen 5y ago
  That's true, but in these very specialized fields it can take a decade or two for that to happen.
Traster 5y ago
If we are personnel constrained right now (we might not be) surely this competition for talent will result in it being a more attractive area for graduates. One of the smartest things the UK power companies did was create very generous sponsorship programmes for students. For a tiny fraction of a yearly salary they could encourage someone to specialize in their niche. Now the UK has a great pipeline of engineers and they're saving on costs in the long-term because they don't need to compete amongst themselves on salary because there's plenty of talent.

bberenberg 5y ago

I don't know if they're personnel constrained. I do know they are financially constrained. For example even today https://twitter.com/DrPhiltill/status/1418241459342520321 https://twitter.com/DrPhiltill/status/1418241459342520321 Bezos tossing extra money into it defiantly helps.

WJW 5y ago

It is definitely not always true that competition drives advancement, even if there is sufficient personnel. As a super simple example: There's a couple of restaurants nearby and competition is fierce, but it mostly results in the restaurants going out of business at a steady pace and being replaced by new starry-eyed entrepreneurs willing to give it a shot. Space tech is also always considered to be a national security topic, so the available personnel does not just have to be talented but they need a security clearance as well.

autokad 5y ago

> "Space tech is highly specialized, if you can't hire enough people already, more competition just spreads the available talent thinner." Try to avoid 0 sum thinking, its often wrong. increased competition for talent in space will drive up wages which will result in more people going into said fields.

sudosysgen 5y ago
That's true, but in these very specialized fields it can take a decade or two for that to happen.

Traster 5y ago

If we are personnel constrained right now (we might not be) surely this competition for talent will result in it being a more attractive area for graduates. One of the smartest things the UK power companies did was create very generous sponsorship programmes for students. For a tiny fraction of a yearly salary they could encourage someone to specialize in their niche. Now the UK has a great pipeline of engineers and they're saving on costs in the long-term because they don't need to compete amongst themselves on salary because there's plenty of talent.