'I joined ISRO at Rs 35,000 salary': Skyroot CEO's message to students dreaming of aerospace

Nearly three weeks before Skyroot Aerospace successfully launched Vikram-1, India's first privately built orbital rocket, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer Pawan Chandana revealed that he had joined ISRO on a monthly salary of just Rs 35,000.

Chandana, who holds a dual degree (B.Tech and M.Tech) in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Kharagpur, worked as a scientist at ISRO from September 2012 to June 2018 before co-founding Skyroot Aerospace.

Speaking to ThePrint in an interview aired on July 1, Chandana urged students to choose passion over pay, arguing that India's private space industry is only beginning to unlock opportunities.

The entrepreneur, who left the country's space agency to build Skyroot, said India's private space industry is opening up opportunities that did not exist when he started out. While salaries in aerospace may still lag behind sectors like finance, he said those willing to pursue their passion stand to benefit as the industry grows.

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'Never Think About Pay'

Responding to an IIT student who said many seniors discourage students from choosing aerospace because of limited opportunities and relatively lower salaries, Chandana said he had heard the same advice years ago.

"See, I joined ISRO at a salary of 35,000 rupees. We should never, never think about what the pay is. I feel if you want to make it big, just follow your passions, you'll have a most satisfying life."

He said success comes from pursuing work one genuinely enjoys rather than chasing the highest-paying job. "When you build your passions, you're automatically going to grow big in that sector for sure... It's going to be exponentially big, and it's going to be very fast growth in any sector you choose."

Chandana said India's aerospace ecosystem is no longer what it was when he entered IIT.

"When I joined IIT itself...the same talk, don't join aerospace engineering because there's not much opportunity there. The space sector today has created employment for 5,000 people in the last three to four years. I think that's just the beginning."

While acknowledging that aerospace professionals may not immediately earn salaries comparable to finance or other sectors, Chandana said successful private space companies could eventually transform the industry's earning potential.

"SpaceX has created... thousands of millionaires... when you have like five to 10 successful space startups in India... you'll have so many millionaires coming out from the country."

Building A Space Company Without Musk-Type Money

Asked how Skyroot managed to build a rocket company without the kind of personal wealth Elon Musk brought to SpaceX, Chandana said the company had to chart a very different course.

"I was a government employee. You can imagine how much money I made. I had zero money while starting."

Unlike Musk, who entered the space business after building successful companies, Chandana said Skyroot had to convince investors to back an idea that would require years of investment before generating revenue.

He said the company eventually attracted some of the world's largest institutional investors because of the size of the opportunity and its technology. "The business opportunity is massive...the tech stack which we're building is very unique."

He added that investor interest in the sector has increased as commercial space companies have demonstrated viable business models.

Mission Aagaman Milestone

On Saturday, Skyroot Aerospace successfully launched Vikram-1, India's first privately developed orbital rocket, under Mission Aagaman. 

The rocket placed multiple technology-demonstration payloads and postcards, including one from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, into low Earth orbit. Calling the mission a "grand success", Skyroot said the launch marked the arrival of India's private space sector in the orbital launch market.