Solid place to work... Be prepared for Bristol, CT
Pros
- Tremendous experience... You get opportunities to do different things and acquire different skills. - You share a lot in common with your co-workers so you'll naturally build friendships - Variety level of egos you will deal with. This is a positive. You'll get to learn with people that think extremely highly of themselves and you'll learn with very down to earth people. - Top notch equipment, studios, technology - A rare media company that can literally do anything it puts its mind to - Try to experience everything possible. The natural thing to do is to stick on one specific path (especially if it's working out for you). But it's extremely uncommon where one media company has a campus where: TV, radio, print, digital, business, etc is all located in one place. Treat this like college in a way. Try to experience as many things as you're allowed to. - Pay is fine if you make your living in central Connecticut. I was personally able to make ends meet being part time for a couple years.
Cons
- If you want something to do outside of work, it might be tough. Bristol is a pretty limited town and unless you're from a small town, it can get boring. Couple decent towns surround Bristol, but be ready to hate Bristol. The state itself is dying and many businesses HQ'd there have left. Hartford isn't all that special. - Due to where ESPN is located, it is common that your social life is connected to work. So when you're at work, you obviously think about work. When you're outside of work, you likely will be talking about work. Once again, this is a Bristol problem. Make sure you find your escape from work someway, somehow. - TONS of gossip. Don't get trapped in that environment. You just don't know who will start opening their mouth. - The management typically are 15+ years ESPN lifers. So the managers are very pro ESPN. The other issue with this is if you start on the ground floor, in all likelihood, those managers last did what you did 10+ years ago. Things change, so it can be a weird relationship since they're trying to give you guidance on something they know very little about. - Upward mobility can be tough. If you consistently good work, you'll probably eventually get promoted. But it's a major company so politics will play a part in promotions. Don't let it get you down. - Figure out who the people you can't trust right away. If you find out too late, it might be too late for you.
