Getting a job that will get me somewhere.

[tyler657recpro]

I have no idea where to put this post, so I'm gonna stick it here.

I'm trying to find a part time job that will get me some possible connections, as well as valuable experiece, and some cash. Aside from the guitar center, which im sure i could get a job at, what would you suggest? The GC wouldn't give me much experience, and would most definately give me no connections at all.

I live in Modesto California if that helps at all. There are a couple of local radiostations, which I might be able to get a job at. I don't know what poossible positions are available at radiosatations, so if anyone knows, please enlighten me.

There are also a couple of local studios, which I have not been to, and I'm sure suck, (no Neves here), but would provide experience, and maybe a little money, but I doubt connections.

The radiostation seems like a good bet, depending on how they're run, as it would provide all three of the above, and I think I can get around my age. People are usually pretty impressed with me right away, (not trying to sound snobby or anything). For instance one of the top live sound installers in the state offered me a job, although I could not take it for various reasons which are irrelevent. I forgot his name, but he could provide some valuable connections. He said he can get me a job when I move to L.A., but that won't be for a couple of years.

But thats not for a couple of years. As of now, I need a job, in town, and would like to get the best job I can. Any input would be appreciated. Oh yeah, I have a pretty good resume for my age, so if that'll help. If worst comes to worst, guitar center here i come!

[subtractor]

I told you to get a job at a music store along time ago!

[subtractor]

But it won't get you anywhere...
But at least you'll get a discount!

[tyler657recpro]

lol, that's my problem. Well its not really a problem, I just think it would be more beneficial to my career to get a job somewhere else. Where else, is the question.

[Jamal Bucket]

not that it matters ..or has anything to do with this thread...


but i was born in Modesto.....



i bet we arent related!!!


jamal

[littledog]

My folks lived in Modesto for eight years, although I was in Ann Arbor Michigan at the time. But i used to visit a lot.

My strongest memory is trying to drive back from concerts in San Francisco through some of that Central Valley fog! Couldn't even see the lines on the road!

[M.Brane]

Chances are your not going to hit any good connects in Modesto no matter where you work.

Take whatever you can get and get whatever you can out of it. When you get down here to LA LA land in a few years it'll be a whole 'nother experience, trust me.

Maybe you could hook up with monty in the meantime. He lives in your neighborhood.

[ambi]

Unless your living inside of a tv show it's a lot harder to get decent jobs than you think. Unless you have a really valuable education or a lot of worthwhile experience that people will respect. Don't look down your nose at guitar center at your age, cause for all you know you may apply and they'll look down their nose at you!

[DigitalDon]

Damn man - you're what? 16? Quit sweatin' it so much. Any part time job you get can lead to connections. People who can turn you on to something better also go to GC, Burger King, Circuit City or whatever to shop, eat, etc. The whole point is being out there somewhere meeting different people. At your age no job is permanent. Use that to your advantage. If you don't like working somewhere then quit. You can do that because you don't have a house payment, etc making you stay there. I'm not coming down on you believe me. Just my 2 cents worth.

DD

[Gidge]

I was in one of the stores I manage one day talking to a customer who happened to be a music publisher from Nashville just passing through.....i ended up being offered a deal on a song....of course i passed it up because he was a very small time publisher and he suggested where i make changes in the song


moral of the story : connections can be made anywhere

2nd moral : be wise enough to recognize an opportunity when it stares you in the face

[Uladine]

I'm from Modesto too!

Well actually Oakdale (15 minutes away). I'm in the same boat my friend. There doesn't seem to be anything around here. What kind of music are you into? There are very rarely any good shows that come nearer than San Francisco and that pretty much makes it seem like this area is not very good for audio jobs. I'm stuck working a factory job right now. The pay is good, but believe me, I'm trying to plot a way out as fast as I can. Who is the sound installer that you know? What were the reasons you couldn't accept the job (if you dont mind me asking)? I'd love to get paid to work with audio equipment in pretty much any way possible. PM me and maybe we could "holla" back at each other.

[tyler657recpro]

Ok.. yeah I figured I wouldn't hit any good connects, I was hoping for small connections that could lead to bigger ones. Avril Lavigne stopped by about a month ago by the way. We apparently had a previous contract with her before she "made it big", and forced her to perform in Modesto. But B93, which is the local radiostation, hosted it. If had been working for them, I could of had an oppourtunity to meet someone. I don't know. I'm not really expecting anything big, just something that might possibly get me somewhere, or give me something of value besides money.

As far as GC goes, like I said, I have NO problem working there. I'd just rather work somewhere else that might be more beneficial to my career. And not a permanent job either. I don't WANT to work at a radiostation for the rest of my life. Especially not Guitar Center. I don't think getting hired at the guitar center will be a problem at all. If it is, it would very much surprise me. I have people that would be able to vouch for me and such. Besides, I can sell anything to anybody, no matter how much they don't need it.

Uladine, this area really sucks don't it? lol Uhm, I basically love any music, except maybe country. I mean seriously, everything. Even classical. I can stand some of the Rap crap. But thats not realy music is it?

Hey my aunt is really good friends with Randy Travis. So I could meet him really easily. Anyway...

Thanks guys.

Oh, does anyone know what specific positions are available at radio stations usually?

[Chris Shaeffer]

Oh, my...

"I forgot his name, but he could provide some valuable connections"

FAMOUS last words, there...

Forgetting names is the first thing to overcome before you get a job that will give you connections, I would guess. In the business (any business) EVERYONE is a potential contact and deserves to be treated that way. Forgetting a name or losing a phone number is a MAJOR loss.

If you really want to play the games involved with trying to make connections you can pretty much start anywhere. At this point, I would expect to NOT get paid. Try offering to volunteer at a local studio. Be polite, on time, helpful, respectful, and professional- and get to know the people who work there and the clients that come through.

If what you are after is contacts, concider that your payment instead of cash. There is precious little cash to go around for music pros.

Then get a job anywhere. Good idea, though, and a great question to ask.

Take care,
Chris

[subtractor]

I'd just rather work somewhere else that might be more beneficial to my career.

What career? You've probably got dozens of jobs to go through before you even find out what you want to do as a career. And even then a "career" is cultivated over years, not just had...
Stop worrying about a career and get a j-o-b.

[subtractor]

And what does this have to do with mixing/mastering?

[ambi]

Originally posted by tyler657recpro
Besides, I can sell anything to anybody, no matter how much they don't need it.

Have you ever sold anything before? Since you're going for your first job i'd assume not. Get that ego in check or you may have problems. I don't mean to come down on you either, it's just something that generally causes people problems.

Originally posted by tyler657recpro

I can stand some of the Rap crap. But thats not realy music is it?

Not to nit pick but that's called ignornace.

[Middleman]

If I were you I would track down the location of every gear store that sells high end stuff to all of the big studios. Start off at GC put in a year or two with the goal of getting to one of the high end gear shops, preferably in LA.

Every pro engineer, producer, mixer and musician hang in these places to pick up their Pultecs, Drawmers, Neves, Manley etc. This would be the best place to run into the top dogs. Another alternative would be to learn everything you can about 4-5 great peices of studio gear and try and become either an engineer or sales rep for one of the top gear companies. They sell to all the big studios so your travels would get you into places others only dream about.

Talk to everyone you meet and take a genuine interest in others and you'll get to your goal.

[M.Brane]

This guy started out at GC. I think he's done pretty well in the biz, don't you?

[djc]

Originally posted by Jamal Bucket
not that it matters ..or has anything to do with this thread...


but i was born in Modesto.....



i bet we arent related!!!


jamal

My wife knows a guy whose cousin married a girl whose father's brother may have lived in Modesto for a brief period of time in 1978.
Wow, small world.

[Middleman]

I went through Modesto last fall and it had the best pawn shops I have seen in a long time. Do you see any good equipment up there?

I am down here (south of LA)

[Hard2Hear]

In this order:

1. get a crap job and save up your money

2. do what everyone in the biz does and move to NYC/LA/Nashvegas

3. work for nothing and kiss alot of asses

4. be REALLY nice and be REALLY good at what you want to do (as in, you put your skills against anyone on the planet)


You then will have a 1% chance of ending up in the music industry.


H2H

[tyler657recpro]

ok...starting out. I said I forgot his name because his last name is a pain in the ass to remember. It's Travis Cjorskis or something like that. But I can find it out very easily, as I have it written down somewhere, or I can just give his brother-in-law a call. I almost never forget anybody's name, unless I really don't like the person, and I'm pretending anyway, just to piss them off or something. I know, I'm a bastard. But anyway, that is not the case here, but anyway.

As far as giving up cash for contacts, I'm not really in the position to do that right now. I need to get a car and start saving for college. So I basically ruled out the studios that are located here right off the bat, as I figured that would be the case.

Have you ever sold anything before? Since you're going for your first job i'd assume not. Get that ego in check or you may have problems. I don't mean to come down on you either, it's just something that generally causes people problems.

<ego>Hell yeah, I sell things all the time. I've rebuilt POS computers which I got for free, and sold 'em to people for like 200 bucks a piece, basically all profit, and made a bundle. I've done all sorts of things like that before. I can sell stuff. </ego>

As far as GC goes once again, I understand the possibilities, but the likelihood is very small. And even then, if a somebody was shopping at GC, I don't think they'd really care that much about the person standing behind the counter. So I'm not really expecting to get much out of it.

In this order:

1. get a crap job and save up your money

2. do what everyone in the biz does and move to NYC/LA/Nashvegas

3. work for nothing and kiss alot of asses

4. be REALLY nice and be REALLY good at what you want to do (as in, you put your skills against anyone on the planet)


You then will have a 1% chance of ending up in the music industry.

Yeah that's basically how I figured it. Just trying to see if I can sorta warp those around a little bit. I don't think it'll work though. But hey, at least I tried. The thing is I'm really not willing to work for free, at least not at this point. Well, it really depends on the circumstances. If I had another source of income, and knew somehow that my hard work wouldn't be in vein, then I'd work for free. Otherwise, it'd be too much of a risk. I'll tell you right now, I have NO intention of majoring in recording in college. I'll probably major in business or something like that, and then minor in recording, so I have something to fall back on.

Well, that's all for now. Thanks guys.

[Cave Dweller]

do you see the pattern here??? if you want to get "IN" you have to do your time first. that might mean working for free, or cleaning a studio or radio station at night, or working at GC. maybe if you strive to be the best at GC, you will get some respect cause you will know what you are takling about. LISTEN to the people who are posting here. lots of them know what the hell they are talking about. i started working in a little crappy music store when i was 16. what did i do? not much. i tuned all of the guitars in the store. i polished all the guitars in the store. actually the first 5 months i worked there i didnt get paid at all cause it was a Co-op position. when i was 17 i started doing sound for a jam night at a bar. it was pretty crappy. i did it for free for the first little while. they started paying me a little, and asking me to do sound on other nights of the week. at this point i was going to high school all day, going to my job at the music store till 7 or 8 pm, then going to a bar to mix till 2am, getting home around 3 and going to school again in the morning. i met lots of people doing those jobs. i met one sound tech who let me come along to his gigs. i'd basicly just push cases around and load trucks and stuff. after a while he'd let me do more advanced stuff. this was all for free. this past summer he landed me a job on a tour. 6 months of solid work. pay was pretty crappy, but i got lots of experience.

any ways do you see where this is going? you cant just jump to the top of the pile. you need to put in your time and get some experience. pretty much everyone i know working in the industry came about it by working for free doing some crappy job that no-one else wanted to do. if you are really dedicated you will see that and you will want to work for free. if you dont understand, im afraid you will turn out to be just another asshole who works in this industry. and i mean that in the nicest possible way

[tyler657recpro]

Yes, I see the pattern here. I just said that I did in my previous post. I said that Hard2Hear's post was right on the money. Well not exactly that way, but that's what I was implying.

When I think about it, I sorta already did that already. I've been doing gigs for about 3 or 4 years now. For the first 6 months or so I was really just watching. And I didn't get paid. Then after awhile I got to take the wheel, and all that crap. But anyway, I guess I'm not wanting to have to start all over again. Even though I know I have to.

Oh yeah, cavedweller, I don't understand that last comment, by the way. What you're saying is that if I don't understand that I'm gonna hafta pay my dues, then I will somehow, miraculously make it into the industry, AND be an asshole. It doesn't make sense to me.

[chessrock]

Originally posted by tyler657recpro
Hell yeah, I sell things all the time. I've rebuilt POS computers which I got for free, and sold 'em to people for like 200 bucks a piece, basically all profit, and made a bundle.

Is this something you think you could expand ?

When I see you post things like this, it makes me think you're not just some cocky twerp, and maybe there is some latent talent in you somewhere. Honestly, though, if you have some unique skills that set you apart, and you think it can be applied in some way to the music or broadcast-related industry, you should waste no time developing that skill to the max.

My guess is that, in time, you could make a decent living building or modifying customized DAWs out of standard PC's and the like.

If you can eventually get yourself to where you can put together a smokin' PC or Mac that processes audio at twice the speed of a typical DAW, DSP power to the max, etc. then I think you've got the basis for your career. One that can potentially make you money and contacts. Think about who some of your clients might wind up being. You might get called in to a major studio to set up their Pro Tools rig . . . or whatever it is that is going to be popular 10-20 years from now, that is.