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When I worked at SpaceX, I slept in the office a handful of times. It wasn't out of an apparent obligation to work long hours, but because I was indeed doing so

When I worked at SpaceX, I slept in the office a handful of times. It wasn't out of an apparent obligation to work long hours, but because I was indeed doing something awesome at the time, like remotely flying a space ship. Of course, Elon Musk's expectation was for everyone to work themselves to their limit, and he praised the folk putting in 80 hours per week. I myself found success in confidently maintaining a sustainable work-life balance, and never felt pressured to work longer than I wanted to.

waskip 4y ago
did the `praised the folk` translated to anything other than `a pat on the back`?
- sgtnoodle 4y ago
  Oh no, nothing as meaningful as that! More like, Elon would explicitly disqualify them from his scorn when addressing the company. :-) I don't think the people that are successful working close with Elon Musk are the type that need constant validation. In my experience of having occasional day-to-day interactions, he's awkward but means well. He's just laser focused on solving problems, and it never stops. Sometimes the solution is to pay for an employee's laser eye surgery on a whim. Sometimes the solution is to fire a dozen people. Are you specifically asking about financial compensation? There was the occasional token salary bump, bonus or stock option grant. Nothing to get too excited about. We would all laugh/cry about getting 0.7% raises and then go to the bar. I was never concerned about the details of my compensation while there, and I didn't spend any energy worrying about it. I just focused on making space ships. Financially and career-wise, it's embarrassing how positively fruitful my time there was. By far the best choice I could have made coming out of school.
sschueller 4y ago
When you get older you will realize that praise means absolutely nothing. All it did was make Elon and the stake holders richer while you skipped on family, fun, time off.
- sgtnoodle 4y ago
  Good thing I exercised my SpaceX stock options when I left, then? At this point they're probably worth enough for me to retire. I am 36, married with a 4 year old and a newborn baby, for which I am taking the rest of the year off from working.
  - sschueller 4y ago
    Count yourself lucky as one of the few that didn't get unexpectedly sick, injured or was laid off.
    - sgtnoodle 4y ago
      Indeed, I do joke that I was the one employee that left the company when I was happy rather than burnt out! I don't think my overall experience was in the minority, though? It's not like everyone was dropping like flies. I don't know anyone that was injured from work while I was there. I have plenty of friends that worked there long after I did, and I don't think any of them regret it. I also never saw a lay-off while there. A small number of people got fired for performance reasons, but other than being unpleasant, it seemed like a positive change for both parties.
  - canucklady 4y ago
    Where do you get an accurate valuation for spacex equity? Isn't it private and heavily dependent on government contracts? Hasn't musk said he doesn't care about it being profitable because he needs to get someone pregnant on mars to save humanity? Taking a year of parental leave is just a normal thing in most developed countries.
    - sgtnoodle 4y ago
      The company's value is determined each funding round, based on how much investors are willing to pay. Whether you consider that accurate or not, the company provides some liquidity through tender offers. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/spacex-employees-offer-sell-shares-032507061.html https://finance.yahoo.com/news/spacex-employees-offer-sell-s... There's also secondary markets, where people are willing to pay a premium for any shares they can get their hands on. That's not in the company's best interest, though, and so it is discouraged. I believe Elon needs SpaceX to be incredibly profitable in order to fund his Mars ambitions. I think his point is that the company's finances are a means rather than an end? I'm not bragging about paternity leave, I was responding to the parent post's claim that I sacrificed quality family time and would regret it. The opposite is true; my time spent working there has had a compounding effect on my finances and career opportunities. I've had the luxury of working on my own terms for many years, on meaningful projects intrinsically worth my time. My memories of working at SpaceX grow fonder with age.

waskip 4y ago

did the `praised the folk` translated to anything other than `a pat on the back`?

sgtnoodle 4y ago
Oh no, nothing as meaningful as that! More like, Elon would explicitly disqualify them from his scorn when addressing the company. :-) I don't think the people that are successful working close with Elon Musk are the type that need constant validation. In my experience of having occasional day-to-day interactions, he's awkward but means well. He's just laser focused on solving problems, and it never stops. Sometimes the solution is to pay for an employee's laser eye surgery on a whim. Sometimes the solution is to fire a dozen people. Are you specifically asking about financial compensation? There was the occasional token salary bump, bonus or stock option grant. Nothing to get too excited about. We would all laugh/cry about getting 0.7% raises and then go to the bar. I was never concerned about the details of my compensation while there, and I didn't spend any energy worrying about it. I just focused on making space ships. Financially and career-wise, it's embarrassing how positively fruitful my time there was. By far the best choice I could have made coming out of school.

sschueller 4y ago

When you get older you will realize that praise means absolutely nothing. All it did was make Elon and the stake holders richer while you skipped on family, fun, time off.

sgtnoodle 4y ago
Good thing I exercised my SpaceX stock options when I left, then? At this point they're probably worth enough for me to retire. I am 36, married with a 4 year old and a newborn baby, for which I am taking the rest of the year off from working.
- sschueller 4y ago
  Count yourself lucky as one of the few that didn't get unexpectedly sick, injured or was laid off.
  - sgtnoodle 4y ago
    Indeed, I do joke that I was the one employee that left the company when I was happy rather than burnt out! I don't think my overall experience was in the minority, though? It's not like everyone was dropping like flies. I don't know anyone that was injured from work while I was there. I have plenty of friends that worked there long after I did, and I don't think any of them regret it. I also never saw a lay-off while there. A small number of people got fired for performance reasons, but other than being unpleasant, it seemed like a positive change for both parties.
- canucklady 4y ago
  Where do you get an accurate valuation for spacex equity? Isn't it private and heavily dependent on government contracts? Hasn't musk said he doesn't care about it being profitable because he needs to get someone pregnant on mars to save humanity? Taking a year of parental leave is just a normal thing in most developed countries.
  - sgtnoodle 4y ago
    The company's value is determined each funding round, based on how much investors are willing to pay. Whether you consider that accurate or not, the company provides some liquidity through tender offers. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/spacex-employees-offer-sell-shares-032507061.html https://finance.yahoo.com/news/spacex-employees-offer-sell-s... There's also secondary markets, where people are willing to pay a premium for any shares they can get their hands on. That's not in the company's best interest, though, and so it is discouraged. I believe Elon needs SpaceX to be incredibly profitable in order to fund his Mars ambitions. I think his point is that the company's finances are a means rather than an end? I'm not bragging about paternity leave, I was responding to the parent post's claim that I sacrificed quality family time and would regret it. The opposite is true; my time spent working there has had a compounding effect on my finances and career opportunities. I've had the luxury of working on my own terms for many years, on meaningful projects intrinsically worth my time. My memories of working at SpaceX grow fonder with age.