Too big to generalize - Avionics Intern SpaceX Employee Review

5.0
Sep 10, 2016
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

-Coolest people, projects, and sense of purpose of any company I have ever interned with. -Knowing insider info about Falcon/Dragon manufacturing and testing is really awesome. SpaceX has horrific internal encapsulation of projects so basically any employee can read about anything SpaceX is doing on the internal network. -Some groups (specifically mine) have a good work/life balance. People regularly worked 50-60 hours, but not much more as far as I know. -LA is awesome -Intern program is well run. Other interns are generally cool.

Cons

-This company is seriously white and male. I never felt unwelcome, but I imagine some do. In fairness, it might be harder for SpaceX to get diversity because of ITAR stuff. -Compensation is competitive, but below average. Particularly for the location (LA) and the fact that their employees are generally top-notch. -I think some groups go way over 60hours/week, mostly in manufacturing and MechE stuff. This is probably fine for a few years as a ~25 year old. Not a con for many space geeks but worth knowing for an outsider. -As an aspiring boglehead considering coming back full-time, Y u no 401K match?

Explore other reviews about SpaceX

5.0
Jul 3, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Learn alot, helpful people, cool mission

Cons

long hours, ambiguous, high turn over

5.0
Jun 29, 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.

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