If you're wanting to make a break in the space industry then it looks like opting for Elon Musk's SpaceX as an intern is the best way to go, as it's revealed that they get paid a 'shocking' amount of money.
Tech and STEM salaries are in a golden age across the United States right now, and with the enhanced emphasis on space travel - especially within the private sector - there is plenty of money to be made even early on in your career.
Internships can be one of the best ways to get your foot in the door of a tough industry, yet they can often come with the burden of low pay, if there's frankly even a pay at all some of the time.
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Fortunately, if you've got Elon Musk's SpaceX in your sights then you're in luck, as the private agency pays a 'shocking' amount to its interns - and notably more than one of its government rivals.
SpaceX internships encompass a wide range of different roles and responsibilities including technology, engineering, design, and even business operations, giving you countless different routes into the company depending on what you're studying.
As detailed by Space Crew, both internships (for active students) and associate engineer opportunities (for graduates) are paid roles, and you even get a number of additional benefits like relocation assistance, daily 'gourmet' food, health insurance coverage, and even a free gym membership.
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Notably, Elon Musk has attempted to make the area surrounding SpaceX's Texas headquarters into its own city named 'Starbase', so you could have the opportunity to move there as part of your new role.
It's also revealed that anonymous submissions on job review website Glassdoor estimate that the average SpaceX intern makes around $63,716 per year, or $5,309 per month on short-term contracts, which is 57% above the US average for internships, and just $2,000 lower than the average annual salary in America according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
One currently available Business Operations Internship advert has its internship wages ranging between $43,680 and $54,080 per year depending on where you are in further education, whereas a Graduate Engineer role offers applications between $83,200 and $100,100 per year depending on what level of academia you've just graduated from.
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Comparatively, NASA offers quite a bit less for their internships for current and recently graduated students.
Their highest paying roles are for graduates during the Fall/Spring Internship Session, where they're paid $14,400 across the 16 week program. This is the equivalent of $46,800 across a year, and almost half of what SpaceX offer for people at the same point in their career. NASA do also offer a 6 week internship over the summer for high school students paying them $2,400, which is something that SpaceX don't offer an alternative to.
The reason behind this is likely because NASA is a government-owned organization, and is thus restricted by federal budget funding, whereas SpaceX is completely private - and owned by the richest man in the world no less.
In fact, SpaceX was recently estimated to be the most valuable private company in the world after a tender offer indicated that it's worth around $350,000,000,000. Certainly more than enough money to pay a few interns, whereas monetary restrictions are part of why it's been over half a century since NASA sent anyone to the moon.