Episode 32
How To Realize The Ultimate Rendition Of The American Dream (Journey From Indian Railways To SpaceX) - w/ Sanjeev
In this episode, my guest is Sanjeev Sharma. Sanjeev is a principle engineer at SpaceX and perhaps one of the most illuminative flag bearers of what the American Dream looks like in practice.
First moves to steal
- Realize The Ultimate Rendition Of The American Dream (Journey From Indian Railways To SpaceX) - w/ Sanjeev
- Hint: Gormint)(10:09) What was socialist India REALLY like?(12:45) Driving design and manufacturing in a world-class govt factory in mid 90s(16:47) Exactly WHAT was Sanjeev working on at the Rail Factory?(18:45) Dealing with bureaucracy and corruption(24:22) Problem with IAS and administrative roles in India(26:37) Why MS in US?(29:26) Did experience at Railways help during MS in UC Boulder?(32:50) Making THE biggest life decision - choosing between US and India(38:18) Path to US Citizenship(40:16) Impact of 9/11 (Unreal)(43:37) STRUGGLE of returning to academia after 10 years and being the oldest student(46:02) Going from designing trains to solid-state mini hard-drives at Seagate(49:16) SpaceX(51:37) Interview experience with Elon Musk, the man himself(53:58) On almost not joining SpaceX(55:40) Sanjeev’s advice on advice (and also the philosophy of Ready Set Do)(57:34) Role at SpaceX currently and the road ahead(58:24) The three I’s framework(01:00:53) Outro + Gratitude
Fast scan timestamps
Transcript-backed moments
A few lines worth stealing before you hand over the full hour.
well ELO was definitely there I had been going through a interview process with him you had decided that you would get this Masters come back and continue what you were doing with the relas but then
you were doing with the relas but then you were presented with this once in a lifetime opportunity I hear the two biggest detriments when it comes to that normally is either bureaucracy or
normally is either bureaucracy or corruption that was a time when the government was manufacturing everything from bread to Dairy drugs cars was your experience at UC Boulder in any way
experience at UC Boulder in any way benefited by your past experience with the Indian R I was lucky to be part of the Indian R I was lucky to be part of where we develop indigenous High speeed
where we develop indigenous High speeed rail back then being umit in Delhi you could have done this staying in the system and fighting the system are you willing to speak on your path to
Show notes
In this episode, my guest is Sanjeev Sharma. Sanjeev is a principle engineer at SpaceX and perhaps one of the most illuminative flag bearers of what the American Dream looks like in practice.
We begin with Sanjeev’s time with the Indian Railways in the early 90s, and he walks us thru the extremely socialist hangover India was just beginning to recover from at the time and exactly what that was like on the ground-level. During his decade with the Indian Railways, Sanjeev contributed to some of the most cutting edge design work and laid the cornerstone for high-speed rails, and then went to Uni of Boulder, CO for his master’s degree in Mech Engineering to deepen his engineering systems design expertise. While he had plans to come back and continue, fate saw him do cutting edge work at Seagate Technology followed by eventually ending up at SpaceX.
This journey from the Indian Railways to SpaceX is a fascinating snapshot in demonstrating exactly why the American Dream attracts tens of thousands of people towards itself, almost like a self-fulfilling prophecy.
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Resources:
Sanjeev - https://www.linkedin.com/in/sanjeev-sharma-21b17b5/
Timestamps:
(00:00) Intro + Background(02:34) Starting career with the Indian Railways(06:29) Why pick Railways Institute over IIT Roorkee? (Hint: Gormint)(10:09) What was socialist India REALLY like?(12:45) Driving design and manufacturing in a world-class govt factory in mid 90s(16:47) Exactly WHAT was Sanjeev working on at the Rail Factory?(18:45) Dealing with bureaucracy and corruption(24:22) Problem with IAS and administrative roles in India(26:37) Why MS in US?(29:26) Did experience at Railways help during MS in UC Boulder?(32:50) Making THE biggest life decision - choosing between US and India(38:18) Path to US Citizenship(40:16) Impact of 9/11 (Unreal)(43:37) STRUGGLE of returning to academia after 10 years and being the oldest student(46:02) Going from designing trains to solid-state mini hard-drives at Seagate(49:16) SpaceX(51:37) Interview experience with Elon Musk, the man himself(53:58) On almost not joining SpaceX(55:40) Sanjeev’s advice on advice (and also the philosophy of Ready Set Do)(57:34) Role at SpaceX currently and the road ahead(58:24) The three I’s framework(01:00:53) Outro + Gratitude