The life of an Audio Engineer...

[GatzB the Track Layer]

Well, everyone here has given good tips, and you can check out my post in MISS DEBBIE BROOKS'S post about "regretting".

But most audio engineers don't make nearly enough to live off of (especially if you live in LA). A few ways that audio engineers do make decent to good to excellent money are:

1. Working as a perm employee for a motion picture, television, or radio studio, post house, or large venue or school, or touring company.

2. Working as an independant post house, recording studio, etc. while having steady contracts with production houses, institutions, or wealthy artist.

3. "Latching on" to an up and coming producer, artist, or other engineer that will turn out to be famous or a real hit-maker (more prevelant in the past, before producers and record companies got REALLY bad in the nepotism department).

See, back in the day, audio engineering was a mystic, magical art that not too many people new how to perform. Now, with all the schools and books and studios, record company execs like to stick thier friends or lovers or prostitutes (usually male prostitutes) into Full Sail and then into the studio as a favor, thus taking away from the number of open engineer positions (along with many other positions), and surrounding themselves with their own at-work harem.

GatzB

[Boom]

Go to school for something you can find a job in. When's the last time you saw an a wanted ad for a recording engineer? GatzB's right. Theres so many people wanting to do this **** , the studios can get it done for free. They only hire people they know. You can learn how to mix and record from books and some gear in your basement.

[XenosoniK]

Hell, it's all i want to do. I can't think of anything else that I can be doing. I don't want to be stuck with a job that I don't like just for the money. I don't want to waste 1/3 of my life doing something I don't want to do. What else CAN i do?

[NYC Drew]

Originally posted by XenosoniK:
Hell, it's all i want to do. I can't think of anything else that I can be doing. I don't want to be stuck with a job that I don't like just for the money. I don't want to waste 1/3 of my life doing something I don't want to do. What else CAN i do?

Find something else in life that you like, or excel at. Ensure that you are proficient at that skill as you are with audio.

Like investing in stocks, diversification will not hurt. Furthermore, if you have the means of sustaining yourself outside of your "true love", you will be less at risk of compromising your morals to earn a buck.

NYC Drew

[nave]

Xeno,

Juppu, has good advice, NETWORKING with others is your best bet for success in any profession.
2legged had good suggestions too man, MIT and RIT are great schools for this man... Whatever, you decide keep this in mind...

You want to go to school to obtain what is a "technical skill." What that means is that your average or even better than average university's bachelor degree programs will not help you in the end.

People who go for four year degrees for high tech skills at universities don't get the jobs.. You want to know who does... I'll tell you who, the kid who spends anywhere from 6 months to 2 years in a technical school that costs half the price of a four year university.

The reason is that most university's are behind as far as technology is concerned and employers don't like to train people.. They want the people with the current skills NOW!!Business moves fast compared to the old days why train someone when you got a guy with mad skills looking for the same job.

I am talking to you from experience man, I graduated with my bachelors degree in Music/graphic design (double major) from Rutgers which is a pretty darn good school but not for what I went for. I couldn't find a job if one fell out of the sky and landed on my freakin head man. Turns out rutgers is behind in Music, Video and computer graphics software applications and they are not unique in this way... Most schools are behind. The kids who got my jobs went to technical schools like Devry even though I was probably more educated in conventional terms. So there I was with my double major from a great four year university and what was I doing: delivering freakin pizzas man(god that sounds funny).

Take it from me bro, make sure you go to a tech school and you won't wind up in Graduate school(like me) hoping you'll be able to land a teaching job when you get out.


Happy New Year,

Evan

[ElectricAuntJemima]

Take your college degree
Roll it up and smoke it
You'll get nothing
Because there is nothing in it
College is just an exscuse for
not getting a job
Get out on the the street
And start hustling
You'll get a much better
Education

[ethereal1]

Originally posted by nave:
Xeno,

Juppu, has good advice, NETWORKING with others is your best bet for success in any profession.
2legged had good suggestions too man, MIT and RIT are great schools for this man... Whatever, you decide keep this in mind...

You want to go to school to obtain what is a "technical skill." What that means is that your average or even better than average university's bachelor degree programs will not help you in the end.

People who go for four year degrees for high tech skills at universities don't get the jobs.. You want to know who does... I'll tell you who, the kid who spends anywhere from 6 months to 2 years in a technical school that costs half the price of a four year university.

The reason is that most university's are behind as far as technology is concerned and employers don't like to train people.. They want the people with the current skills NOW!!Business moves fast compared to the old days why train someone when you got a guy with mad skills looking for the same job.

I am talking to you from experience man, I graduated with my bachelors degree in Music/graphic design (double major) from Rutgers which is a pretty darn good school but not for what I went for. I couldn't find a job if one fell out of the sky and landed on my freakin head man. Turns out rutgers is behind in Music, Video and computer graphics software applications and they are not unique in this way... Most schools are behind. The kids who got my jobs went to technical schools like Devry even though I was probably more educated in conventional terms. So there I was with my double major from a great four year university and what was I doing: delivering freakin pizzas man(god that sounds funny).

Take it from me bro, make sure you go to a tech school and you won't wind up in Graduate school(like me) hoping you'll be able to land a teaching job when you get out.


Happy New Year,

Evan

that said though, people tend to miss the point of liberal arts schools (like Rutgers, or Skidmore where I am now, contemplating the next step): they aren't designed to teach you a particular career path, but only to give you a general education about a variety of subjects. I think, Xeno, that the question for you comes down to the sort of chances you want to take. A tech school will get you to the engineering job faster, but if you end up not liking it, or worse, not finding a job, you're up **** creek without a paddle. A liberal arts school will give you enough grounding in a variety of areas that yes, you will have to go to a graduate school to find employment in most areas (except perhaps some businesses). But, you will have more choice about what fields to work in, and if, by some chance, you can't find work, you will be able to go back to school/get new training without starting at the beginning again. Good luck.

-Eric

[Audio Goomba]

Check out the Ontario institute of Audio Recording technology in Ontario Canada. They are extreamly helpful with international students and it i only a one year course, Check it out at www.oiart.org before dedicating yourself to 4years of University. I .oved the course and I got hired 6months later and am now the Head engineer at a busy studio.

[XenosoniK]

Awesome. I'd have to say, though, that I would rather attend a 4 year university because of the fact that it opens up more possibilities for me. i should be more dedicated to audio engineering but i don't want to end up doing something i don't like for a whole 1/3 of my life. sounds ironic because i decided to go for music after realizing that attending medicinal school like my parents wanted me to do (because of the money and becauase i have a knack for it too) wasn't what i wanted to use 1/3 of my life on. oh...and for those wondering where i get the 1/3 from....24 hours in a day, 8 hours work (average), 8 hours sleep (average), 8 hours free time.
wouldn't it still be possible to attend a 6 month total immersion course after college and after finally deciding to commit 110% to audio engineering? let me know and thanks for the help.

-X

[Audio Goomba]

Your forsight does you credit. I agree that attending a university level couse will open up other possibilities, electronics engineering, communications technology, Acoustic design, soforth and so on. I was faced with the same situation, I took the opposite time frame. I figured I was pretty sure I wanted to do Audio Engineering specifically so I took the 1 year course to find out if my decision was the correct one, fotunatly for me it was. If it turned out to be the wrong field than I was prepared to go to university for something else. Either way you are still gaining knowledge which IMHO is its own reward (the money is the icing on the cake). Whatever you decide I wish you luck

[nave]

Xeno, hi again

Ethereal also makes a good point that I neglected to make, I did not intend to come sounding as if my bachelors degree doesn't mean anything to me, even though thats what it definately sounds like when I re-read what I wrote. The fact is that I now have a very well rounded education, better than most, and I am very greatful for that.

Also, as you suggested, attending a tech school after you obtain a bachelors degree from a four year university is also an excellent idea as an alternative or compliment to going to graduate school. I have contemplated doing that myself even whilst going to graduate school. Bottom line, there are lots of options and you have a lot of time to figure things out. Do what ever you feel is best for you and most importantly just work hard at it. Try to be the best, and you will succeed.

I only suggested the tech school idea because in todays society skills are very important to businesses and perhaps more important than anything a generalized education can give you. They just want to know if you know how to work all the gadgets, doodads, doodaroms, knobs and tweakers and care not if you know what year the civil war started nor if you can factor all the numbers out 26,495,599.

On that note, I just wanted to make it clear that I am happy that I know the things a four year college has taught me. There are lot of people out there these days that know alot about gadgets and doodaroms but the number of people who have a good solid education is getting smaller. A higher education can reculture you and give you a piece of mind that will help you appreciate the better things in life!

Later on, and good luck

Evan

[bombastique]

ElectricAuntJemima pretty much hit the nail on the head - of ALL the engineeers, producers and other studio personnel that I know, only about 1/2 of them went to a university. Most of them learned by doing - take the money you're gonna blow on an overpriced college and spend it on some gear. Take on some REAL projects, see what you can do with them, have some engineer or producer friends 'play studio' with you and give you some typical situations they face and see if you're up to the task. If not, at least you'll know where your education is lacking.

Contacts and being able to get along with just about everyone are tantamount to a good career. A well rounded education is important too - I'm not talking book smarts, I'm talking studio smarts. Can you solder a cable (and do it well!) in a pinch? Are you familiar enough with both PC's and Macs to troubleshoot any problems that may come up? Do you know your way around pretty much every piece of gear that's out there? Do you know the layouts of enough consoles to get around no matter what desk is put in front of you? Can you work out sync, sample/bit rate and word clock problems? Do you know your way around all the major software programs?

These are the kinds of things that an engineer is faced with every single day - not to mention dealing with clients and producers. There's even a bit of headology that you must become familiar with to not get booted off jobs where the producer doesn't know how to 'talk tech' or simply just doesn't know what the hell they want - you have to interpret for them, do what needs to be done AND have it come across so that you don't seem uppity.

It's a bitch - there's long hours, for sure, the pay isn't great (there's even this thing called working on 'spec' - where you don't get paid until the studio get's paid, which may be months or years down the line - sometimes never!).

I did both routes - school and just buying the necessary gear, doing grunt work and bustin' my ass to work my way up. Coming out of school $50,000 in debt - man, that can buy ALOT of gear, plus you can work at your own pace and fill in the holes by taking single classes where needed.You have to be pretty self-motivated to take this approach, though - it's not for people that don't have initiative. I supplemented my engineer income by doing drum machine programming, computer troubleshooting, studio consultations and wiring and working on people's 'pet' projects. In the end, the 'odd job' stuff paid way better than the engineering - typically I was making $50 - $75 hour for the odd jobs, and doing engineering for $15 - $50 (averaged about $25). You work your way up - don't expect the top end of pay until you've been around awhile.

A smart engineer with hook up with a in-demand producer - it will pretty much guarantee having a good supply of work and you know you'll be working with someone you can get along with (this is assuming you get along with the producer in the first place...).

There's a million other things that could be said - looks like you've got enough to chew on already...

[XenosoniK]

Another question:
After you get out of school, whether it's college or high school, how did you get a job in the recording industry? and what are the hours for the audio engineering job as well as the "odd-jobs"?

-X

[bombastique]

The jobs I got were started by interning in a studio - you don't get paid, but if you're quick and have some chops, you can get outside gigs from the connections you make there. I got to know a producer or 2, a few musicians and another engineer and they liked my work, so i got asked to do other gigs at other studios or for live shows.

If you're working in a studio, you usually have set hours - 40 hours a week, but don't expect to get paid much unless you make a name for yourself. $10 - $20/hr is average. If you're independent, your hours are whatever the recording calls for - 12-14 hr. days sometimes. You usually make more, depending on who you get hooked up with - though sometimes you may get paid late or not at all. This is the hairier side of doing independent work - you have to know the ins and out of contracts and such and know when it's better to turn something down.

Alot of people make the mistake of doing side jobs too cheaply - thinking they'll outbid the competition. Unfortunately, it just means you make less and/or end up with people that are just plain cheap. If you do a great job, show up on time, be prepared and generally just make it easier on everyone else, people will want you back and they're willing to PAY for it - because they know good help doesn't come cheap.

Does that help?

[XenosoniK]

yes, sir. it does help a lot. thank you.

anybody else?