This is an as-told-to essay based on a transcribed conversation with Vincent Peters, founder of Inheritance AI and former SpaceX employee discussing his career path and experience at SpaceX. It has been edited for length and clarity.
I graduated from West Point in 2005 at 23. Shortly before graduating, I was diagnosed with allergy-induced asthma. So I graduated on medical leave, couldn't be deployed, and continued on medical leave for another six months before being discharged.
Because I didn't have any internships or corporate experience, it took me a while to transition into the workforce. Once I did, I went on to work in many different industries.
I got a contractor job with the Federal Aviation Administration through a friend and gained experience doing business administration, research, and development.
From there, I got work more aligned with my degree in systems engineering and technology as a security project manager at Freddie Mac. I stayed in banking but moved into working on compliance and risk management.