Great for building your resume, must have a passion to make a career here - Satellite Electro Mechanical Technician SpaceX Employee Review

4.0
21 Apr 2021
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

Working on State of the Art Technology Developing a really strong work ethic based on how much you work Time management skills get developed due to schedule requirements Meal compensation so you don't 'have' to meal prep Benefits package was pretty great when you felt like you had time to use it If you have a balanced life presently and don't mind being put through the meat grinder and can handle the stress it will put on you mentally, physically, and potentially financially, you should absolutely take the opportunity to work at SpaceX. You will learn a lot and get to do things that you will be able to talk about for the rest of your life.

Cons

How much your expected to work Overbearing and sometimes impractical schedule requirements Work life balance, if you don't set boundaries you will burn out Not feeling like you had time to use your benefits Hourly Pay for technicians is just at if not below industry average(Got a 60% raise and a promotion when I left) I was looking to grow in the company and the manager in charge told me he cared more about whether or not someone had a degree than relevant industry recognized certifications. Mind you he put off a position I had interviewed for because he had a disagreement with the Job Description v. Title and didn't do anything about it, then left the company shortly after I did. You can't rely on people at SpaceX because basically everyone who isn't making a career out of it is working on their escape plan and any work put forward can just disappear with that person.

Explore other reviews about SpaceX

5.0
29 Jun 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business outlook

Pros

* **Unmatched Mission & Impact:** You are literally working on rockets and spacecraft. The cool factor is 10/10. * **Brilliant Coworkers:** You will be surrounded by some of the smartest, most driven engineers in the world. * **Insane Career Growth:** SpaceX on your resume is a golden ticket. You will learn more here in 3 months than in 3 years at a normal company. * **Hands-on Experience:** They actually trust interns with real, critical hardware. No boring coffee-fetching tasks.

Cons

**Cons:** * **Zero Work-Life Balance:** 70-80 hours a week is the norm, not the exception. Say goodbye to your social life and sleep. * **Extreme Burnout:** The "hustle culture" is toxic. You are expected to treat the company as your entire life. * **Mediocre Pay:** The hourly pay is average, especially when you factor in the insane hours and the high cost of living in LA/Hawthorne. * **Chaotic Management:** Decisions can change overnight based on whatever Elon Musk tweets or feels like doing that morning.

4.0
6 Apr 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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