Battelle Center Alum, Keith Contrera, Discusses His Time at SpaceX

Ohio State Battelle Center Alum, Keith Contrera, returned to our Air & Space Community Conversation series as a guest speaker. Keith spoke about his experiences at Battelle Center and the classes he thought were most helpful and suggestions for students as they move towards graduation.

Keith outlined his time in college and discussed the project-based work he was able to participate in while a student at Ohio State, including with the Buckeye Space Launch Initiative (BSLI), a student organization that is advised by Battelle Center. He noted how useful these experiences have been for him and suggested students find a space to get their hands on projects and commit to one or two extracurriculars rather than overwhelm themselves with a too many groups.

Of course, the students were curious about the culture of SpaceX and what Keith has experienced because of all of the media reports about a harsh culture. Keith noted how his superiors have made a sustained effort to ensure that he and his peers are enjoying their work and are not experiencing burnout from the culture at SpaceX. Keith said that while he works around 60 hours a week, much of that is due to his passion for his work and willingness to continue to work on projects that inspire him.

We love having our alumni come back to the center to answer the questions that students are most interested in learning about. Students get the opportunity to test rumors and hear about the places they most want to work directly from people who are in the industry. Especially people who were sitting right where they are now.

Thank you to Keith for returning and providing some guidance to our students and, as always, thank you to our students for your questions and engagement.