Confessions of A Distrophonix Intern
If you are reading this you are probably considering going after an internship at Distrophonix. I wanted to give you some back ground about my experiences there so you can decide if it would be a good place for you. Also, I know that this internship is a hard one to get because so many people apply to it every semester. So hopefully my tips will make it a little easier for you to be accepted.
What To Expect:
If you are expecting a corporate type of internship you will be very surprised about how Distrophonix is run. This is probably the most fun and laid back work environments you have ever been in. For example, Bryan, the head mastering engineer always brings his dog, Turk, to work with him. How many jobs can you do that at? Even though Distrophonix is a decent size company, they make a real effort to not have the typical corporate culture.
Expect the unexpected all of the time. Something random always happens at the office. One time I came into my internship to find out that they were filming a Hollywood movie right outside the office. Another day I came in to find out that we were all taking a field trip to a local studio for the day.
Every Friday at 5, after work is done, they host something called “Beer Friday”. That is when all of these local musicians and Distrophonix employees get together at the Distrophonix office and have a few beers in the courtyard and hang out till all hours of the night playing music and talking.
The Type Of Work You Will Do:
I went in to this internship thinking that I was going to be doing clerical work. Not at all what ended up happening. They believe in finding an interns strengths and interests and then designing the internship program around that. I am really into Social Media so my job ended up being in charge of Facebook, Twitter, and helping out with contests.
How To Get The Internship:
When I applied for the internship there were 20+ students for 3 spots. Here is what set me apart. I went in there knowing everything I could about the company. I asked a lot of questions during the interview and I think that ended up showing them that I really was interested in the company and not in just getting a few credits on my transcript.
Other suggestions: They seem to like energetic and outgoing people. They also want people that have some sort of music background obviously.
Things I Liked:
-Take everything you learned in school and throw it out the window when you go to Distrophonix. The methods they use when it comes to organization and marketing are extremely innovative. You will get real world experience there. This is not stuff you will learn in any book.
-I liked how much they cared about their clients. No client was a number to them. They make a real effort to get to know every client they work with. That is something very rare in to corporate world.
-The office location is awesome! Great restaurants, museums, and coffee shops are all around the area.
-Being a woman coming into Baltimore I was obviously a little nervous at first because lets face it, the city does not have the best reputation. But the area where the office is in is very safe and I always felt comfortable walking around the area even at night.
-The people you work with are awesome! This is much more of a family then a company. Even when it 5 and the phones go off people just don’t leave the office. I think because it is such a fun environment to work in, people don’t mind staying late and putting in long hours.
Things I did not like:
-The office is in downtown Baltimore. That means that parking can be a huge pain and expensive! If you can, I would seriously recommend using the Subway or Light Rail to get to the office. There is a stop just 2 blocks from the office.
-I wish it paid. The work is fun, but it would have been nice to get paid and not just earn college credits. I never felt like they took advantage of their interns in any way though and I really did learn a lot.
Written By: Samantha Bradstreet
University of Maryland, Class Of 2012
