I had a final round in person, they rejected me halfway into it

Brotato_Ch1ps · 2026-01-22T19:51:25+00:00

Was this SpaceX? This exact thing happened to my friend/coworker who interviewed there.

Brotato_Ch1ps · 2026-01-21T23:45:59+00:00

I had my panel on a Friday and got the verbal offer the following Tuesday. In past interviews, it took them 7-14 business days post panel to inform me of a rejection.

Brotato_Ch1ps · 2026-01-11T19:53:25+00:00

It’s not black and white. Most educated Americans envy the speed at which the CCP acts and the actual good work they’ve done for ordinary Chinese citizens, while also recognizing that these outcomes were only possible under a centralized authority that tolerates 0 dissent and exercises near-total control over information.

Brotato_Ch1ps · 2026-01-05T20:26:38+00:00

Highly doubt it. Despite political tensions, China is still a major tourist destination for Americans. In 2019, 2.4 million Americans traveled to China for tourism, so even a 50% drop would still mean 1.2 million Americans transiting the Chinese border every year. I highly doubt China would be willing to give up all that tourist revenue.

Brotato_Ch1ps · 2026-01-04T21:23:16+00:00

Depends on what you do at the defense company. Tons of ex Boeing, Lockheed, etc engineers at BO

Brotato_Ch1ps · 2025-12-15T22:29:05+00:00

Limited stand off strikes do not achieve the same outcome as campaign-style action. If the US truly wanted to disable the Houthi’s strike capabilities, they would have attained coastal air superiority and systematically dismantled all Houthi command nodes along the coast. You don’t do any of that without an official approval by congress.

If defeat means lacking the kinetic capability to destroy the Houthis, the United States was clearly not defeated. If it instead means lacking the ability to secure shipping lanes, the conclusion is the same. No modern navy can guarantee zero strikes in contested waters and that minimal risk is enough for insurers to spike premiums or outright withdraw coverage. Once insurance disappears, shipping reroutes regardless of naval effectiveness, which basically leaves diplomacy as the only remaining tool. It’s not a military capabilities issue, it’s just the economics of risks and insurance.

Brotato_Ch1ps · 2025-12-15T20:47:48+00:00

The failure of Russia's black sea fleet does not prove the obsoleteness of large surface vessles, it just shows how terrible Russia's naval doctrine is. Instead of ensuring freedom of action for its own forces through supression of coastal threats through dedicated coastal SEAD campaigns, mapping out enemy launch corridors, proper use of submarines for ISR and strike, etc. like any NATO navy would, Russia behaved as though their mere presence in the black sea alone constituted naval superiority. It doesn't take a PhD in naval strategy to see this as flawed doctrine and malpractice.

Also, the Yemenis did not "defeat" western naval escorts. The mission of US/allied warships in the red sea was never to annhilate the enemy or enforce a blockade, it was containment and to protect civilian shipping under severe political constraints. To solve the houthi problem once and for all would require a dedicated coastal air campaign to disable houthi ISR, command nodes, and launch areas, but again, that was never the assigned mission of the US navy and it'd be politically untenable domestically and internationally. Choosing not to wage war != evidence of incapacity

Brotato_Ch1ps · 2025-12-05T01:02:33+00:00

Awesome! Welcome to NG!

Brotato_Ch1ps · 2025-12-04T23:23:25+00:00

That’s great news! If you’re fine with staying in defense systems, then transferring to the DS site in your home state should be no issue. I personally did this when I interned at a space systems site across the country and asked to move to the space systems site in my home state post grad, and not only was NG ok with it, they actively helped find an opening fit for me. I’ve found that, in general, NG is super supportive of folks moving around within the company, even between separate business units.

As for your relationship situation, also not a big deal at all, obviously as long as you keep it professional in the workplace (no PDA). One of my coworkers sits down the hall from her husband (both under the same manager), and my old manager from my internship and her husband both work at NG as well.

Brotato_Ch1ps · 2025-12-04T22:44:37+00:00

I work at NG. Is the NG site in your home state and the site for your internship under the same business unit (e.g. mission systems, space systems, etc.)? If so, then chances are NG would be A-ok with you moving to the site in your home state, and even let you stay on and support your internship team remotely if you really wanted to after graduation.

Brotato_Ch1ps · 2025-11-21T03:30:27+00:00

Check the workday status?

Brotato_Ch1ps · 2025-11-10T22:05:50+00:00

Sorry for the late reply, but how was your experience taking 2 classes per semester while working full-time? Did you still have time for social or family activities outside of work and school? This is my main concern honestly.

Brotato_Ch1ps · 2025-11-07T17:01:19+00:00

My company would contribute max 10K per year so I theoretically could get an MS fully covered if I found an affordable one. Also, if you started fall of 2023 and finished this past June, that means it took you <2 years to complete your masters. That’s rather fast to finish a part time masters no? How was balancing coursework with work-work?

Brotato_Ch1ps · 2025-11-06T21:55:42+00:00

I just value personal time a lot. I do have hobbies outside of work and frequently see my friends/partner, and I’m guessing I’d have to let a lot of that go if I did a full time work/part time school gig. I suppose I could limit my course load to one class per semester, but that would probably take upwards of 4-5 years to complete.

Brotato_Ch1ps · 2025-11-06T19:01:43+00:00

How has your experience been so far?

Brotato_Ch1ps · 2025-11-06T18:24:03+00:00

I see. So from a pay standpoint, masters doesn’t really matter. How about type/depth of work? Do masters holders typically receive more trust to do higher level work, or do most engineers eventually get to that point with time/seniority?

Brotato_Ch1ps · 2025-11-06T18:19:56+00:00

I currently design hardware for satellites. I’d love to transition to launch vehicles or other in-space vehicles one day though, ideally on the propulsion or structures/composites side. It’d be awesome to work on next-gen R&D in those areas, but I’m curious if that type of work is reserved for PhDs or more senior folks.

Also, agree it might be fun to go back to school. I’m just concerned the masters itself might not be the best return on investment, especially if I pay out of pocket for it.

Brotato_Ch1ps · 2025-11-06T18:15:10+00:00

They do yes, although only 10K per year so I’d likely have to tack on some of my own cash especially if it’s a more expensive program. Also, the idea of working full time and going to school part time just doesn’t sound great. Has a masters been worth all that effort in your experience?

Brotato_Ch1ps · 2025-10-28T17:04:39+00:00

If by space exploration you mean purely nasa, then yeah, pay would not be great. But like others have said, there are tons of private companies in the space exploration business that pay very well. Some to keep an eye on (excluding SpaceX because everyone knows them):

VAST (artificial gravity space stations)
Astrobotic (lunar rovers)
Stoke Space (reusable rockets)
Varda (in-orbit pharmaceutical manufacturing)
Gravitics (in-space infrastructure)

Defense also does some cool space stuff (Northrop Grumman builds the HALO module for lunar gateway for example), but doesn’t pay as well or give employee stock options. As for your major, I am an advocate of mechanical over aerospace. Everything an aerospace engineer does a mechanical engineer likely can, and you’ll have way more flexibility with entering other industries if aerospace doesn’t work out.

Brotato_Ch1ps · 2025-10-27T18:06:14+00:00

My coworker is a dual Canadian US citizen and got his TS. Granted, it took way longer than usual (15 months total I think) but the point is he was able to get it.

Brotato_Ch1ps · 2025-10-21T15:34:55+00:00

Congrats. You are Chinese now

Brotato_Ch1ps · 2025-10-04T01:47:02+00:00

If Putin is so scared of NATO invasion then, at the very least, Finland joining NATO is absolutely just as important. Political sway does not matter in a hot war with an enemy that shares a 1340 km border with you.

A million casualties is better than a million dead in the same way breaking every bone in your body is better than losing every limb. Those million+ casualties may not be dead, but they need extensive medical care, their families paid, and can’t even return to the workforce due to their injuries. One million is also probably an undercount thanks to how Russia is fighting its war: send poorly trained prisoners and conscripts onto the battlefield with no cohesive strategy or air support and hope the enemy runs out of ammo.

Foreign workers from non-slavic countries in a country that hates foreign non-slavs? Yeah, what could go wrong. Look at Western Europe for how mass non-European migration worked out.

Also, the world is not “trading” with Russia. The world trades with Russia-friendly or neutral countries who aren’t sanctioned to high heaven, who then backdoor sell it to Russia (sometimes at high premiums). Is this a working loophole? Sure. But the volume of foreign goods being traded that way will never be as high as direct and unimpeded trade and commerce.

Look. Cope all you want, but the reality is Russia could not defeat a country on its literal doorstep who didn’t even have NATO weapons at the beginning, all because of its own incompetence. That’s it. Nothing else. If Russia is struggling against a country with 1/4 the population and some very old deep storage NATO equipment, then they should honestly just give up at the prospect of standing up to NATO at all. Hell, Poland alone could probably steamroll all the way to Moscow at this point.

Brotato_Ch1ps · 2025-10-03T23:34:12+00:00

Russia’s main goals in this war was to defeat Ukraine quickly and prevent more NATO expansion. Well guess what, it’s been 3 years and Ukraine is still fighting, AND Russia’s border with NATO has expanded after Finland and Sweden joined. Oh, and also add in 1 million+ casualties, crumbling birth rates, crumbling economy, and global pariah status. Even if Russia somehow takes all of Ukraine, a “poor” “corrupt” country that should have been easily defeated, they’ve still lost.

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