Summer Intern Life at DroneView Technologies

With a month under my belt, there is one really good way to describe DroneView Technologies’ work culture: “work hard, play hard,” an environment that comes hand in hand with working at a startup. Having always been taught about the power of collaboration and first hand experience, I am constantly amazed at how the company addresses both topics by incorporating them in our work and play. Even as an intern of a few weeks, I have had the opportunity to sit at the table with VPs and CEOs in meetings helping decide workflow process, make informed decisions about the hardware we will use to process data, create deliverables for clients from start to finish, and best of all, fly professional drones.

In an industry growing exponentially, there is always so much work to tackle and experience to be gained. We work with such amazingly cool, kind, and innovative people that our office is always buzzing with collaboration--you can find interns discussing survey and software while making Ramen Noodles in the kitchen. With people of such different experiences and backgrounds in this industry, each conversation and project is a learning experience where everyone brings his own expertise to the table. On top of being a part of such a large industry, DroneView Technologies has a national presence which allows its employees to work on projects in locations like Florida, Michigan, California, Texas and more. Even in my first two weeks, I had the opportunity to fly to Florida with the drone pilot, gaining experience and helping with the project deliverable. In some jobs, employees of all levels work together on the same project from flying the drones and meeting with clients, to processing the data.

At DroneView Technologies, all employees are constantly collaborating on the newest project to most effectively create an accurate and timely report for the clients, yet when there’s free time we make space to toss a football across the office or fly drones across the desks. Often, the workplace organizes fun activities like bowling and lake time on the boss’s boat. DroneView Technologies has grown much in a short amount of time, but the office still retains the “work hard, play hard” culture of a startup, to the point where I find myself staying after hours to finish a project or further understand software with my fellow colleagues, because for us, it’s fun.

With three summer interns, two from University of Pennsylvania’s Jerome Fisher Program in Management and Technology, a coordinated dual degree from Penn’s Engineering School and Wharton School of Business, and one from University of Michigan’s School of Engineering, the competition is playful and fierce. While outnumbered, the Michigan Wolverine is lots of fun and is a great addition to our team.