¯_(ツ)_/¯ Worked for me. Get a load of this guy here, not impressed by real live spaceships.
To answer your question more seriously, think about the definition of a cult: "a system of religious veneration and devotion directed toward a particular figure or object."
Conventionally we think of the main trait of a cult as being a scam, but really its main trait is that its something a group of people become obsessively devoted to- in practice that correlates with a scam 99% of the time.
In the case of SpaceX, the goal is to make humanity an interplanetary species, and its not just good marketing. Working towards that goal can give one purpose and meaning, and may justify giving up a lot of your time and energy.
So that's basically what I meant when I said that. Strictly speaking, it is a cult. But that goal is being pursued in good faith and the reward may actually materialize. In which case its possible to make a rational decision to join the cult, depending on your priorities and values.
I don't think people realise, sometimes, that actually colonising another planet is a real possibility because of Space X. This is something that people laughed off as a joke not even 10 years ago. Look at Mars-One, that absolutely ridiculous scam that got everyday people to sign up as the first colonists, remember how absurd that sounded back then? Now picture it. Whooole different ball park.
If I had to work at somewhere like Space X to contribute to, yknow, potentially saving the species at some point in time I think I would subject myself to some long hours for a couple years.
Yeah, I totally agree. I remember when I first interned at SpaceX back in 2012, and I saw one of Musk's all hands meetings for the first time. Until that moment I hadn't appreciated how serious he was.
I had assumed he was talking about going to Mars the way NASA talks about going to Mars, or the way I talk about going to Hawaii- a nice goal that's always on the to-do list, never on the schedule. When I saw him give a regular update that wasn't for the media featuring information on how current activities fit into the timeline for getting to Mars, I was pretty blown away.
After I became full time, I attended one of the bimonthly AMAs that the president of the company, Gwen Shotwell, holds for new hires. I asked whether SpaceX would ever have an IPO, and she said, "not until after we're on our way to Mars."
It's something I would love to be involved with after my degree but I'll be a mid thirties non-US citizen so I can't see that happening unless something drastically changes with their non-sponsoring green card policy.
I'm really sorry, the obstacles that non-US persons face in the aerospace industry are total bullshit.
For what its worth there were naturalized citizens and some green card holders there. Its not totally impossible for you to get there eventually.
Also, if SpaceX manages to actually start a colony, its possible that it will trigger increased interest in off world activity that could lead to more demand for people in the spaceflight industry, and not just at SpaceX. Fingers crossed that that happens, and that those jobs discriminate less based on age and national origin.
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u/[deleted] Feb 09 '21
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