Debating two offers:

Work at NASA as a project manager for 100K or for private space for 170K as an engineer?

I like money, but I also like NASA

likesmart
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Wow NASA! Imagine business trips could be a rocket ship 🚀 to ISS or the moon 😆
Good luck

likefunny

Private space will still want you, possibly even more if you work at NASA first. Worst case scenario you go private after a couple of years. Regardless of which company is the most successful space company in the future, NASA will always have the legacy factor.

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170k all day. The fancy name ain't paying your bills.
70k a year is a lot. That's 50% down payment for a 1 bedroom in a low cost of living area which can put up as a rental .

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A good recruiter and a good company will look past the company name… namely what you e achieved! Go with the opportunity that will allow for more growth and personal satisfaction! Big names don’t necessarily tick all the other boxes…

likesmart

I had a similar choice a while back, went into industry and wish I had gone to NASA. Caveats - where will you be living? Will you be in a sufficiently low cost area that you can have a good quality of life on 100k? Can you adjust your QoL expectations accordingly? Education - do you have kids? What's the schooling like where you will live? Can you see a life in which you can provide your kids the education you want them to have on 100k?

I wish I had gone to NASA, but it would have taken a big mental shift both for me and for my partner about our quality of life expectations, where we were happy living, and how we wanted to educate the kids. It might have cost us our marriage because we weren't in a good position to have that discussion at the time, and I wasn't psychologically prepared for that as a possible outcome.

likesmarthelpful

Go for LCOL 170k

Dude, it’s NASA.

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I’d vote nasa too. Longer term I’d bet your total income over your career will be much higher with nasa on the resume.

likefunny

If it’s another big company like Space X, Blue Origin, etc go private. Or do a year at NASA and then go private. The money in private space will only go up with some NASA experience.

likesmart

I’ve asked this question to others in the Space industry and it was put to me like this. If you have an idea and want to be work on it, then private is the way to go. NASA is still funded by the government so everything is questioned and it can take years for you to be allowed to start on something new.

My advise is if you are early into your career, go to NASA. It looks great on a resume and perfect to get truly introduced into the industry. If you are later into your career, go private. Make that money.

likehelpful

This is actually tough. NASA’s pretty cool but 100k and 170k is huge. You stated you like money but you also like NASA but which do you like more?

Another thing to consider is the fact that it’s different types of work.

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Do you have to support anyone? If you’re a young college grad, do something that interests you. If you’re married so the kid, take the money.

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Well, what is important to you? Maybe write down the pros and cons and weigh them out. For instance which employer has more staying power, which one offers growth options, how’s the culture, etc. Choose the employer you feel will get you closer to your personal goals and happiness. I wish you the best of luck.

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That’s such a hard choice, congratulations on the offers either way. If you’re fairly early in your career I would personally take NASA, but only if you are really ready to leave engineering. You’re an engineer now and the higher paying job is continuing down that path, which follows well on your résumé. If you’re interested in PM then going down that path at a “cool” brand will likely help you get a PM job later down the road, but if you’re only looking at that career path switch as a way to get into NASA then I think you may want to pass.

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Thank you! I definitely worry about my technical skills fading a little but in a a more project management role, and it's something I personally don't mind but I am uncertain about the long term prospects of going down the PM path as opposed to a mechanical engineering path

likesmart

Who can say they work at nasa? That’s pretty impressive. While that is a big difference in pay, maybe you can counter for a bit more at nasa? I’m only leaning that way because it is super cool.

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I countered NASA from 76K to 100K, and they increased my vacation accrual

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Honestly I’d take nasa. That’s going to catch eyes like crazy on a resume, plus it’s NASA!!

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Go with NASA... The public to private revolving door is real and after 10yrs at NASA you can write your ticket in the private sector!

likesmart

Which private space and where? If it's space x , I wouldn't want to work there and I'd do NASA all day long

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Sorry just saw this when replying to another thread. Definitely go Blue Origin!!! This is a no brainer.

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Also, you know people who work at NASA are doing it because they love the work. If they just wanted a paycheck they could get a bigger one somewhere else.

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What about benefits? A single unfortunate health incident can become a life changer, bonuses, retirement plans, etc

Not to mention things like job security, size of offering company, ignore the rest just saw PM: work would be better/worse or same there

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If the benefits are better then the other company takes a lead in my mind. Line up as many relevant numbers in an excel just so you are as sure as can be - you’ll feel more confident with your decision.

And if you’re in good stead at NASA and leave in good terms I’m sure they’d be okay to bring you back another day. Just saw the other post and realized you are an engineer - then this needs to go into your excel too.

Do you want to change careers? Eventually you will make good money as an engineer as well.

And then ask your self where you see yourself in 5 or 10 years - if it still comes back as engineer stay here. Nothing beats job satisfaction - if you hate your job you might as well be picking garbage for 170k: that is eventually you will get fed up.

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Yeah it all depends on where you are at in your career and what your 5 year goals are. If you spend a few years at NASA, you will most definitely increase your future desirability with private space companies. Not only would you have the Prestige of NASA on your resume. You will also have industry specific connections (which I’d recommend investing as much time as possible to building relationships at NASA and Government agency’s) in the public section that can prove highly valuable when dealing with Regulatory Compliance and Approval. It’s not what you know it’s who you know kinda thing. And if you become an asset being able to streamline and expedite the biggest bottle neck in private space development (Regulatory Compliance & Approval), you will be invaluable and can write your own ticket in the sector.

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I chose my previous company for its name, it was my dream company but the job role was a bit off as compared to the other one which had an awesome job role, pay being similar. I still regret to this day not taking up the other company

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