BF and I are figuring out post-grad jobs, all EE roles. Either both going to SF for astranis or BO (me) and SpaceX (him) in Seattle. TCs are all comparable unless you think one of these companies is going to be more successful than the others and not really the main concern. We care most about where we can learn & grow and enjoy our time. Both interned at astranis last summer and really liked it but going back in this economy with their current status of things seems risky plus Seattle sounds promising. #electricalengineer #aerospace #career #blueorigin #astranis #spacex edit: we picked astranis and we're happy about it :)
"TCs are all comparable" Are you factoring in CoL? Washington has no state income tax and Seattle area housing is expensive but still cheaper than SF. Also, you should not value private stock the same as cash compensation. SpaceX stock has some liquidity but the others are still paper money for the most part. Regardless, it sounds like you are thinking about the right things. First job should be about growth and gaining experience. Plenty of time to optimize for comp or WLB later on. SpaceX is not a place to coast but it's a good place for early career people to learn, work hard, take on a lot of scope, and earn promotion. Can't speak for the other companies.
Yeah I am. Astranis is 120+5k relo+140 options/4 years (low but not zero historical liquidity). BO is 109+3.5 sign-on+full relo (idk how much this is going to end up being? never actually relocated lol, but up to 10k I'd guess)+33 options/5 years. SpaceX is 100+5 relo+150 RSU/5 years. Going to try to negotiate spacex and astranis slightly higher, but yes once you factor in different rent/CoL and higher California taxes it all ends up being very comparable. Astranis worked us pretty hard but it felt pretty sustainable at least while we were there last summer, helped a lot that they had a good environment and provided free dinners and other stuff that made it pretty easy not to leave the office til late. We liked the startup vibe, lots of responsibility and driven people to learn from but we also don't want to naively believe that we can't find this elsewhere. Also no "i miss my BF so I'm going to go home" factor was pretty sweet ngl
ultimately it feels like rationally Seattle is the right decision, spacex+BO are very legit and not risky and probably going to be interesting jobs and we like Seattle more. emotionally I was fully planning to go back to Astranis until very recently, I really liked it there last summer (good manager + team + environment + projects + level of freedom/responsibility + etc, checked basically every box I wanted and couldn't have asked for more out of an internship) and I miss the people a lot :(
For learning SpaceX is great Your quality of life will suck though. Since you’re at the beginning of your career, I’d definitely recommend going to SpaceX. You’ll learn so much in a short period of time.
Problem is SpaceX teaches you a ton of bad habits that you will need to unlearn if you leave. It is a lot of fun though.
That’s true. To me the worst one is pushing so much for progress that you literally end up doing things half ass. Keep running until you hit a wall, bounce back and keep running again.
Blue. Best wlb, and you can learn as much as you want. You may not be pushed hard, but opportunities are there if you seek it
Blue Origin has a great new grad program
Not going to vote since i dont know a ton about astranis (you seem to love it though), but will say as a generally new grad, BO has good wlb, decent growth, stock options will be worth nothing. There are several stories of shitty managers, but overall you'd have good mentorship and the ability to switch teams after a year in any role. SpaceX in Redmond will push you hard and both will have a startup vibe you can learn in. Seattle has a ton of places to explore and have fun, I love living here.
i think what I'm really looking for is someone who's worked at both astranis and one of spacex and BO to compare and contrast it, which is very few people who are going to be inherently biased towards whichever one they're currently at lol. good to hear some positive reviews of BO though :) ty for input
I’ve lived in both cities and seattle is significantly cheaper. That astranis package is very low considering you could get much more and stock at Tesla.
Obviously SpaceX. The other two may bankrupt anytime.
I'd be going to BO if we pick Seattle. I've heard it's got infinite bezos money getting poured in?
Don't bet on bezos or musk. The company needs to demonstrate itself.