I worked at SpaceX where Elon Musk was a cubicle away. At Elon's companies, it's add value or leave.

• Vincent Peters worked in military compliance when he was poached to work at SpaceX. 
• He said the work culture was ruthlessly efficient and you could see Musk on the office floor. 
• However, if you need your hand held, the former employee said to avoid Musk's companies.

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.