The exciting innovation that SpaceX promises is lower flight costs by making reusable rockets. This is motivated by the desire to land on mars (which factors into their marketing and recruitment). Many people who work there have issues with work life balance and to work there and the pay is lower than other similar aerospace companies.
In contrast ULA is higher cost but is more reliable. A great deal of their technology is older than SpaceX because they are the incumbent launch platform. They don’t really market themselves the same way due to the fact that they are profitable. The pay I believe is average and has better work life balance than SpaceX.
> Many people who work there have issues with work life balance and to work there and the pay is lower than other similar aerospace companies.
which is really saying something, as a lot of aerospace employers prey on the cool factor of doing space stuff to keep folks working absurd hours, for well under what they'd make doing similarly difficult work elsewhere.
In contrast ULA is higher cost but is more reliable. A great deal of their technology is older than SpaceX because they are the incumbent launch platform. They don’t really market themselves the same way due to the fact that they are profitable. The pay I believe is average and has better work life balance than SpaceX.