Excellent internship program where you have tons of freedom and responsibility to solve problems how you see fit.
What I wish was different
Advice
Take the initiative to find new ways to solve problems and use all available resources you have.
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Aerospace Engineering Intern
May - August 2018 • Hawthorne, NJ
What I liked
Learned personal management and exposed to a fast paced industry
What I wish was different
Less stuck in details
Advice
Do your job. What is asked of you is more important than what you think is important
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Flight Reliability Intern
May - August 2018 • Hawthorne, CA
What I liked
I really enjoyed working at SpaceX! It was fast paced and I was able to work on a lot of exciting projects. All of the individuals are so ambitious and passionate behind the company's goal: to make humans an interplanetary species.
What I wish was different
I wish there would've been more of a work life balance.
Advice
Ask your manager to try out different projects in different groups. It helps you learn more about the company and explore new areas you might not have known a lot about. The worst they can say is no.
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One person found this helpful
Space Operations Intern
June - September 2017 • Hawthorne, CA
What I liked
SpaceX gives their interns a lot of responsibility and autonomy. You are really contributing to the company's goals.
What I wish was different
You have to work hard to meet other interns, but it is definitely worth it.
Advice
Your time there is what you make it. SpaceX gets a bad rap for working Its employees to hard, but it's up to you to balance life and work. I was always encouraged to take my time and was never pressured to work more than I needed to.
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Product Design Engineer - Production
March - June 2017 • Hawthorne, CA
What I liked
The culture of SpaceX is really energized and upbeat, also every decision you make feels like it matters a lot since you are literally putting a rocket into space.
What I wish was different
I spent all day at a computer, it's hard to prototype something so big.
Advice
Study up on your mechanics of materials and be ready to struggle with the learning curve. SpaceX expects you to operate on a full time level off the bat.
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vehicle engineering intern
June - September 2017 • Hawthorne, CA
What I liked
This internship gave me a lot of responsibility. I learned so much about the company and developed new skills.
What I wish was different
You work a lot of hours.
Advice
Take advantage of connecting with different groups within the company so you can find the right fit.
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Satellite Development Intern
June - September 2017 • Redmond, WA
What I liked
Quality but friendly team working on a really cool project
What I wish was different
More money would always be nice
Advice
Ask questions and explore!
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Vehicle Engineering Intern
June - August 2018 • Hawthorne, CA
What I liked
Super fast paced environment with really cool projects. I learned so much and gained a lot of hands on experience
What I wish was different
Advice
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Manufacturing Engineering Intern
June - August 2018 • Hawthorne, CA
What I liked
The experience was very challenging but taught me a lot about what I need to know about industry and how I can leverage my academics to better prepare me for my career.
What I wish was different
I wish I had more assistance either from the university in terms of paying for housing. It was rather expensive, even with the monthly allotment provided by the company.
Advice
Ask questions about everything early, and write down notes if you can. Asking a question once is expected, asking it twice is a bad sign. Don'e be afraid to ask someone for what you need to complete a task/project, even if they have been at the company 10+ years and are a director/VP, if it's what you need find a way to get it. Find ways to grow and learn things you might not have access to unless you're there, don't focus too much on things you can learn outside of the internship.
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Avionics Mechanical Design Intern
June - September 2018 • Hawthorne, CA
What I liked
Awesome technical learning experience, very challenging work in an exciting company.
What I wish was different
Advice
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Computer Science Intern
May - August 2018 • Seattle, WA
What I liked
Working on exciting and valuable projects and meeting new and interesting people.
What I wish was different
Nothing.
Advice
Focus on what you can do to make the lives of your employers easier. If you have a question, research it first. If someone does not instantly give you work, seek it yourself. I am so grateful for this experience. I had the best summer of my life. I would not change a thing. I learned so much, and I feel like my work was valuable and very exciting!
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Satellite Development Intern
May - August 2018 • Redmond, WA
What I liked
it was great from a technical perspective
What I wish was different
the hours could be a bit long sometimes, but the work was always fun
Advice
2
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Build Reliability Engineer Intern
May - August 2020 • Hawthorne, CA
What I liked
Overall, my experience was really great and I got to work on projects very hands-on. I felt like everything I worked on was important and would help benefit the company. I got to take charge of one of my projects, which really helped me showcase my skillsets.
What I wish was different
Unfortunately, due to COVID, I wasn't able to interact with many co-workers at and outside of work. A lot of social events were cancelled and many of my co-workers worked from home. None of this could have been changed due to the pandemic, but was the only big damper during the summer.
Advice
Make sure to let you manager know you want to take on big projects and that you're willing to step up and into roles wherever needed. A lot of my big projects came from filling in gaps I saw, and it ended up being really rewarding.
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Vehicle Engineering Intern
May - August 2020 • Hawthorne, CA
What I liked
Loved the people there and the location. Great work experience. You work on things that actually matter to the company, and have tangible results. I had good mentoring.
What I wish was different
Work-life balance is very very difficult, and the work environment can be extremely stressful.
Advice
Meet lots of other interns and employees! They are your best resource in your work and also in your work-life balance!
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Avionics Test Engineering Intern
May - August 2020 • Hawthorne, CA
What I liked
Hands-on experience, great work community, people passionate about their work.
What I wish was different
Would have been better without COVID.
Advice
Work hard, play hard.
1
One person found this helpful
Design Intern
June - September 2021 • Hawthorne, CA
What I liked
The company clearly values learning and offers many opportunities to learn about aerospace outside of your direct project
What I wish was different
The culture and work life balance were a little jarring-- people are expected to make sizeable sacrifices in their personal lives in order to get work done on time, without much benefit or appreciation for what they're doing. There's a mindset that everyone should want to work at SpaceX, so SpaceX shouldn't need to work hard to retain their employees.
Advice
Be mindful of what you're getting into before you sign that offer, no matter how shiny or glamorous the company might seem.
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Software Engineering
June - August 2021 • Redmond, WA
What I liked
The work and work culture.
What I wish was different
The overtime hours.
Advice
Be prepared to work a lot and learn a lot quickly.
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Supply Chain Intern
May - August 2021 • Redmond, WA
What I liked
This was the most amazing place in the world to work. Everyone is so incredibly motivated and passionate about the mission they are working on.
What I wish was different
There isn't much time outside of work during the week and there can be days where you work a lot of hours, but oftentimes it didn't feel like it because it was always so exciting to be at the office.
Advice
If you have the opportunity, definitely take an internship at SpaceX! Even if it ends up not being the right fit, it will give an incredible experience that will tell you what you like, and don't like, about working in the space industry.
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Launch Intern
June - September 2022 • Cape Canaveral, FL
What I liked
Lots of responsibilities, doing real work that was used in actual builds, fast-paced
What I wish was different
Shorter hours, more structure to work
Advice
Be ready to learn a lot and work on tasks that you have no experience in. Know exactly who you can ask for help from.
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Starlink Production Intern
June - September 2021 • Redmond, WA
What I liked
I enjoyed the high level of responsibility, interns aren’t just doing paperwork. Also loved the fast pace and dynamic work environment, every day was different and it was super hands on.
What I wish was different
Not much I can think of.
Advice
Document your projects well and keep your team updated so that when it comes time to leave they don’t waste time repeating your work.
