I thought I wanted to to work with radios, so studied at college, got a job and hated it, started to sell and rent audio equipment, then got into commercial video which was just starting, became a radio ham and, on the side I carried on doing music, tv, live sound and video with my own little business and working full time on the sales thing. Went into a college for a one day session teach the students video production, got offered a job if I could qualify as a teacher, did that, and two years later was a real teacher, media studies then turned into music technology as it was new. Cubase on an Atari 520 in black and white. Became a course leader, started examining music technology and performing arts. Became the principal examiner for the UK, got promoted at college into management, hated it, so I left and reopened my old business, got a call a few hours later asking if it was true I’d left education. An hour later I was a theatrical company manager and that takes up maybe four months a year. I put shows on for another chunk of the year, and I joined a tribute band and toured the UK, Europe and the Arab states. In between that, and keeping me going during covid was my original career intention as a radio man. I sell radios to boat owners, hams and businesses. It’s ultra boring and dull, but fills the years up. Until maybe ten years ago and I left school in the 70s, music rarely made me much money, then it increased and I now get a steady but fairly low amount of royalties trickling in. Looking back, everything was fun for a few years but all my career changes came when you start to get promoted away from what you do easiest and best. I’m a really good manager and the education thing really helps you work with people, but moving from what you do best is always a bad move. Fifteen years of writing courses and setting up systems to examine them revealed that education is not about learning any more, it’s about money. Being told to wreck a great course because it’s too expensive to deliver, examine and verify kills you. I can look back at students of mine who have done amazingly well, but then you start to see success start to drop off as the years change. They always say every year people get better, but the exams get easier, or have less breadth. I still get the emails from current teachers and examiners and the courses now are pathetic and so shallow. All research is internet, so no substance, and misinformation is rife. One exam season just before I stopped, I changed a date on wiki by a year. When was MIDI introduced. After the exam, I put it back. I went to a college to check some standards of teacher assessment. They showed me some wonderful work graded top of the class. They asked what my impression was. I said it was excellent, but a shame the student had spelled luminaire ‘luminary’ on the next page, that we had not seen yet. Confused they turned over and thee it was. Stolen from one of my own web sites! What are the chances of that, stealing the principal examiner’s own words? The parents appealed. She got her qualification. I left in disgust.
Thats me, and I’ve discovered working for myself is the most rewarding, but certainly if I had stayed in education I would now be much, much better off with a huge pension. I’ll take what I have and smile.
