Do you consider music your happy place? Then, you're in luck. Pandora can make it all come true. This music company started redefining music as far back as 1999. Today, it has exclusive grammy rights. Pandora was created by music lovers for music lovers. If you’ve been looking for the perfect opportunity to contribute to the growth of the entertainment industry using your analytical and creative skills, Pandora’s Demo Tape apprenticeship program is that opportunity. Pandora is looking for aspiring engineers from unconventional backgrounds passionate about expressing their creativity through technology.
As a Demo Tape apprentice, you’ll be provided with a supportive environment that allows you to harness your potential and launch a successful career in software engineering. If this sounds like an interesting opportunity, let’s dive in. In this guide, you’ll discover Pandora’s apprenticeship program tracks, Pandora's apprenticeship salary structure, the company’s apprenticeship hiring process, and reviews from former Demo Tape apprentices.
Pandora is an audio entertainment streaming platform that offers listeners a personalized music and podcast experience through a cloud-based multi-device application. Pandora also offers audio advertising services through its AdsWizz platform and third-party services like SoundCloud. Statista states it is the third most used online music service in the United States. Pandora held a 15% market share in the United States as of January 2022.
Pandora’s monthly active users declined from 52.3 million in 2021 to 47.64 million in 2022. Self-pay subscribers to Pandora Plus and Pandora Premium declined by two percent, from 6.3 million to 6.2 million, at the close of 2022. However, Pandora’s revenue increased by one percent to $2.1 billion, with advertising revenue accounting for $1.6 billion.
Before the acquisition, Pandora had 1,938 employees at the close of 2017. As a subsidiary of SiriusXM, Pandora had 5,869 full-time and part-time employees at the close of December 2022. Forty-one percent identify as women, and 38% identify as ethnic minorities. The company’s headquarters is in Oakland, California. It has six office locations across the U.S., including New York, Santa Monica, Atlanta, Boulder, Chicago, and Regional U.S.
The idea for Pandora came to Tim Westergren in 1999 while working as a film composer. He realized that there were many songs and artists that listeners had yet to discover. He saw the struggle musicians faced in trying to get their music to the right audience, as he was also a musician. Tim shared his idea of creating a music discovery software program, “Music Genome Project,” that could learn a person’s music taste and make recommendations accordingly with his former college classmate, Jon Kraft.
Together they created a business plan and raised $1.5 million in a seed round to launch their company. By 2000, they had created a highly skilled team, two of which were Will Glazer and Nolan Gasser. Soon, the team grew to 70. The company was initially named Savage Beast Technologies before the then CEO, Joe Kennedy, suggested “Pandora.” Despite having a good software product, the company was racking up debt as it licensed the technology to other businesses–retail stores–who used it to create consumer catalogs.
In 2004 after raising $9.3 million in series B funding led by Walden Venture Capital, the company shifted its business model to offer an internet radio service that allowed users to create stations and make personalized playlists. The Pandora service was officially launched in 2005. By 2011, the company had over 80 million registered users, creating over 1.4 billion stations. The streaming service contained over 800,000 songs from 80,000 artists and generated a revenue of $53.2 million in the same year.
On June 14, 2011, Pandora priced its IPO at $16 per share, from its original price of $7-$9 per share and $10-$12 per share in the previous week. However, it opened for sale on the New York Stock Exchange on the 15th of June, 2011, under the symbol “P” at $20 per share and closed at $17 per share, selling 14.7 million shares. The new price placed the company’s value at $2.6 billion rather than $1.3 billion. In 2013, its registered users had risen to 175 million, and the radio stations had grown to four billion. Pandora’s employees had also grown to 740 in the same year.
Pandora owns five companies, the most recent being AdsWizz in 2018. In February 2019, SiriusXM, a global audio entertainment company, acquired Pandora for $3.5 billion in an all-stock deal. Between 2022 and 2023, Pandora received positive reviews from brands like PCMag, ZDNet, and Consumer Reports as one of the best streaming services in the United States.
Pandora’s mission is to enrich people’s lives by enabling them to enjoy the music they know and discover music they’ll love. Anytime. Anywhere.
Pandora’s vision is to own the new era of audio by creating experiences tuned for the moment you’re in.
Pandora’s purpose is to change the way people listen
Pandora’s mission is guided by these shared principles:
Pandora offers music lovers an affordable way to discover millions of artists, songs, podcasts, and entertainment news through a cloud-based multi-device application. Pandora’s leverage is its Music Gnome Project and Podcast Gnome Project technology which uses Big Data to analyze each listener’s taste and preference to create a personalized listening experience.
Pandora generates revenue through user subscriptions and digital audio advertising. The company offers three subscription plans to individuals: Free Pandora (ad-supported radio service), Pandora Plus (radio subscription service), and Pandora Premium (on-demand subscription service). Its Pandora for Business subscription is for enterprise use.
According to Stackshare, Pandora has 30 technologies in its tech stack. The company uses 13 application and data tools, three utilities, eight DevOps, and six business tools. Pandora’s top applications and data tools include Python, jQuery, React, PostgreSQL, Java, Redis, Sass, and HTML5. Pandora’s utilities are Dyn, Google Analytics, and Twilio SendGrid. Its DevOps contain Jenkins, Bitbucket, Webpack, and npm. Pandora’s business tools include Slack, AdRoll, Jira, InVision, AnyPerk, and OneLogin.
In 2018, Pandora discovered that apprenticeships could solve its internal hiring needs and promote diversity in the tech industry. In union with Sirius XM, Pandora launched an apprenticeship with the belief that talent is equally distributed but opportunity is not, but the Demo Tape apprenticeship program could help bridge that gap. Dave Edwards, an engineering lead at Pandora, was tasked with creating and managing the Demo Tape apprenticeship program, which targeted aspiring software engineers without four-year computer science degrees.
Between 2018 and 2020, Pandora hosted three apprenticeship cohorts, all of whom converted to full-time employees through a partnership with Onramp, a talent solutions company. Onramp became responsible for sourcing the candidates who transition to full-time employees. It also upskills and manages the apprentices throughout the program to meet the specified engineering needs of Pandora.
Pandora is in collaboration with SiriusXM and offers a six-month apprenticeship program. However, before candidates can embark on the six-month on-the-job training, known as Phase Two, they must receive between one and six months of training from Onramp. During the classroom training with Onramp, candidates will improve their knowledge of object-oriented software development, team collaboration, and agile development.
You’ll work with technologies such as JavaScript, Java, TypeScript, Kotlin, React, HTML, CSS, Git, JIRA, SASS, JSON, GraphSQL, Jenkins, Bitbucket, Node.js, Groovy, and SQL. Full-stack engineers will learn to implement best practices such as unit/integration testing, code reviews, refactoring, and how to manage a product’s lifecycle. Candidates with shorter Phase One training may receive an additional month of paid training in Phase Two.
The apprentices are considered temporary employees of Pandora or Onramp and may receive technical mentorships and feedback, sit for pair programming sessions, and sprint planning exercises. You may be converted to full-time employees at the end of the training.
As a full-stack apprentice, you’ll be assigned to a cross-functional engineering team consisting of product managers and service developers. You’ll be tasked with maintaining the Pandora streaming app and adding customer-facing features to boost the app’s usability. You’ll work with front-end programming languages and frameworks such as TypeScript, HTML, CSS, and React as an apprentice. You’ll build Rest APIs and perform unit testing, integration testing, and data analysis to optimize the quality of the streaming app.
Demo Tape iOS apprentices work within the mobile development team of product managers, service developers, and quality engineers to maintain the Pandora streaming app. You’ll work with Bitbucket, Git, Swift, Objective-C, and Unix technologies.
As an Android quality engineering apprentice, your job is to help improve the quality of user interfaces for optimum user experience. Before products are deployed for public use, you’ll work with product managers, service developers, and quality engineers to conduct unit testing and troubleshoot issues identified in the Pandora app features. To qualify for this role, you should be enthusiastic about quality assurance automation and able to review multiple lines of code. You’ll work with technologies such as Java and Kotlin.
If you’re passionate about optimizing the potential of mobile applications using the Android operating system, this apprenticeship program is for you. Demo Tape Android apprentices work as part of a mobile development team to brainstorm new features and design and manage the Pandora mobile app using mobile programming languages and frameworks such as Kotlin, Java, and Git.
As a Java Services apprentice, you’ll work with an internal team of Java engineers to improve Pandora’s services code base. You’ll work with programming languages and frameworks like Java, Python, Gradle, and Git.
Candidates selected for this role will work at the Oakland and New York offices. As a full-stack Java apprentice, you’ll work with a team of product managers, service developers, and other cross-functional teams to improve the backend of the Pandora service app. You’ll use technologies such as Java, SQL, Git, Angular, HTML, CSS, and React to build innovative features for the SiriusXM x Pandora web applications.
Within the first three Demo Tape cohorts managed by Dave Edwards, Pandora had a 100% conversion rate. Based on Onramp’s statistics, the company still has a high conversion rate. Onramp has hosted 101 apprenticeships and has engaged over 51,000 candidates. It currently has a 95% conversion rate.
As a Pandora apprentice, you should expect to earn between $20 and $30 per hour. While the amount varies by cohort and technical area of focus, Pandora engineering apprentices may earn $23.50 per hour, $25.50 per hour, or even $29 per hour.
SiriusXM x Pandora apprentices have access to medical, dental, vision, and life insurance benefits. The company also provides a 401k matching program, 40 hours of volunteer paid time off, company holidays, regular paid time off, sick time off, and 12 paid leave for new parents. You should also expect to receive bonuses and subscriptions to all the streaming services as a Demo Tape apprentice. Apprentices may be offered free access to live, in-office concerts.
Pandora Apprenticeship Selection: How Are Cohorts Chosen?
SiriusXM x Pandora's Demo Tape apprenticeship program is for aspiring engineers without four-year computer science and related degrees. However, the ideal candidate may have received software engineering training from an accredited community college, a coding bootcamp, self-study, or an online education provider. Pandora is looking for candidates who are passionate about software engineering. You should also have a growth mindset, display initiative, be coachable, proactive, resourceful, and collaborative.
Pandora Apprenticeship Program Interview: Is the Pandora Interview Hard?
Glassdoor data shows that interviews at Pandora have a 2.8 difficulty rate. Some of the past candidates noted that the interview experience at Pandora was positive, while others admit receiving poor treatment from recruiters. Pandora's apprenticeship application period may span from the second week of January to the first week of February. Onramp Interviews may take place within the second week of February. Projects can be completed between February's fourth week and March's first week.
Pandora's interviews start in the third week of March and end in the fourth week. The training runs from April to May, and the apprenticeship from May to November. If you’re interested in participating in the apprenticeship, you must complete an online application by creating an account on Onramp. You’ll be asked to submit a resume, write essays, and participate in a technical assessment as part of your application. The technical assessment comprises multi-choice questions and coding challenges. It will test your version control, front-end, and backend programming knowledge.
If successful, you’ll be expected to complete a preparatory course before taking the final assessment. The interview is three-part, and it evaluates your past work experiences and interest in the role. It comprises video interviews with a recruiter, a technical project, and an on-site interview with the hiring team. If you’re successful, you’ll be invited to begin Phase One with Onramp in preparation for the apprenticeship with Pandora. You should visit Onramp to access a curated list of free resources to help you prepare for the apprenticeship interview.
While there is no official data to support this claim, we believe Pandora's apprenticeship cohort size is less than ten. Dave Edwards, former Pandora engineering lead and Demo Tape apprenticeship creator, stated that during the first and second Demo Tape apprenticeship cohorts, 87% of Pandora’s hires were women and 50% were from ethnic minority groups (people of color). This is in line with Pandora’s goal of promoting diversity in the tech industry.
Pandora Apprenticeship Cohort Frequency: How Often is a Cohort Hired?
SiriusXM x Pandora's Demo Tape apprenticeship recruits new cohorts every year through an ongoing partnership with Onramp. Each cohort begins the apprenticeship proper between May and June of each year. However, Candidates have to first undergo training with Onramp for a minimum of one month before they can commence the apprenticeship.
Yes, Pandora is a good company to work for if you care about improving the lives of others through music and technology. According to employee reviews from Glassdoor, Pandora has a 4.0 out of five-star rating for having a great company culture, work-life balance, tech job benefits, salary, remote work, and supportive colleagues. Seventy-eight percent of reviewers agree to recommend Pandora to a friend, and 91% approve of the CEO.
Yes, Pandora's Demor Tape apprenticeship is remote. However, that could change anytime, depending on the needs of the company. Nonetheless, the apprenticeship program favors candidates who live in Oakland, New York, and Atlanta for an easy commute. However, if you live far away and would like to take part in the apprenticeship, you could ask the hiring manager about Pandora’s accommodation policies.
How do I pass the Pandora apprenticeship interview?
To excel in the Pandora apprenticeship interview, you should visit Onramp to take advantage of its training plan for Pandora apprenticeship candidates. This comprehensive plan provides learning resources on all the important skills needed to land an apprenticeship spot. You'll explore Pandora's apprenticeship best practices, including technical topics covered in the technical assessment, interview preparation tips, and a detailed pre-interview project guide.
You should expect to expand your knowledge of object-oriented software engineering. You should also expect to build the skills and network needed to succeed in the industry. As a Demo Tape apprentice, you'll earn a sizable monthly stipend, and receive dedicated mentorship and coaching from industry experts. You also stand a chance of converting to a full-time Pandora employee at the end of the program. And even if you don't convert, you'd have built the industry leverage you need to land a good-paying tech job elsewhere.
If you want to know more about SiriusXM x Pandora’s values and policies, its technical stack, and details about Pandora’s employee welfare, you should visit the company’s blog and Pandora’s engineering blog. Pandora’s official Twitter page and Pandora’s YouTube channel are also great avenues to explore details about the company’s day-to-day operations.
You can get news about Pandora apprenticeship programs from Pandora's Careers page.
If you don’t want to track and monitor the Pandora apprenticeship program for yourself or are looking for support in an apprenticeship application, you can join apprenticeship.io to learn more and get support to land an apprenticeship program.
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