Post high school decisions (A career)

  • Thread starter Thread starter classicrockman7
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This is how I went about it:

I went to a recording school. (The Conservatory of Recording Arts & Sciences in AZ) At the end of the program they set me up with an internship. I got lucky on my internship and got to do a lot of editing and actual audio work, I never once cleaned a toilet! I'm definitely in the minority on that one though. The certifications I earned at school made it all worth it. I came out certified in Pro Tools, Logic, Auto-Tune, Waves Plug-ins, SIA Smaart, JBL PA systems, and TC Electronics effects processors. These I put on my business cards and they help me get clients.

I'm not going to lie to you, it has been tough! It's slow starting in this business. I live in Phoenix, so there aren't a lot of big studios to get hired on at. Therefore I've been freelancing, and that is starting to pick up now a year after graduating. I still have to work a day job to pay the bills, but I have it planned out to be able to leave this job in 3 years and be able to do recording full time.

This is a tough business to get into, it takes a lot of hard work. You won't be able to support yourself off recording for quite some time. But if you're willing to put in the hard work it will provide you with a job you're excited to wake up for in the morning. I personally would rather struggle for a few years, and achieve that reward, rather than slave at a job I hate for my whole life; even if it pays well. There are a lot more important things than money.
 
You are 18 and still finding out who you are and what you want out of the life. Between now and 25 you, your interests and goals will change completely. Music may have a different place in your life down the road.

My suggestion to you is go to your guidance counselor and take a Meyers-briggs test and do some vocational inventory. Find out where your interests and skills are. Then visit a few campuses. Get a job and your own place. Pay some bills. Supporting yourself while pursuing your dreams is definitely part of the picture no matter what direction you go in life.
 
hey dude, im considering the same

hey man, i know where you are coming from. luckily i live in nyc where its very possible to getting like a million interships and stuff and i have my own gear at home. alot of people told me not do it in collge because you can learn alot of on your own or with interships. a lot of people told me do music business. also, "keep your hobby as a hobby". i am also an honor student, and i feel like i might end up doing soemthign different for a job, you can always run your own studio on the side. if it gets big, keep up with it man. im in the same boat man, and i just practice and come on this forum alot to get better at it. in school i might major in something else. more skils and being well rounded is important. keep thinking bud, you still have some time.
Josh
 
I'm 25. Is it too late for me to go back to school for EE? I'm finding my current degree isn't all that exciting.
 
EE degree can be helpful in a number of ways. And most of the pro's started off in that field. Plus it always insure work of some sort.


Schooling is good, you know the ins and outs. But you better off doing it on your own as far as buisness goes. Know your stuff and learn where you can. Cause there's always someone willing to do it for free just so they can say they "produced so and so's album" which means nothing more than "I recorded this band and it was good" and like most bands 3 months after they're done, they'll hate it and move on.

Seems to be typical. The professional recording industry is dead. And so are all the entry level jobs.

Be friends with everyone you can, and cut throat for those shitty no time, flat rate recordings, because it's your cheese.

JUST DON'T RECORD ANYONE FOR FREE! CAUSE YOU CUT EVERYONE DOWN IN THE PROCESS.
 
Youll probably have to be an intern ( be someones total bitch) for a while. Even then, theres no guarantees.You will learn a lot, but you cant count on getting in the biz. Be a doctor or something, instead. Do recording on the side.At least that way it doesnt become a job (jobs end up sucking eventually).
 
Don't forget that someday you will probably get married. Happy marraiges are ones where there is enough money to cover a decent place to live and take care of kids. A double-E degree will serve that eventual need. EE's are in pretty short supply, and the money is good. APL's advice is rock solid.
 
I'm going to college for AE right now, so I could probably give you some good advice.

I've got 3 more months to go before I get my 'diploma' and become a 'certified' AE. lol.... Alot of what I've learned has really improved my mixing and recording, but I've been doing this for 5 years now and if I was brand new to this school would have probably been alot more useful.

On the other side of things, school has been alot of fun. I'm excited to wake up every morning go to the studio and hang out and learn with people who have the same passion for music as I do. One great thing about school is you start to develop a network of industry people, something invaluable in this field. I've already got a job through school, with a local live sound company (hey its not a studio but its a start).

Definately, I don't see this as a sure fire way for anyone to get into the biz. After college I'm going to univeristy to get my bachelors in business.

Music + Business = ???? Well we'll see in a few years :)
 
Adam P said:
I'm 25. Is it too late for me to go back to school for EE? I'm finding my current degree isn't all that exciting.

No, but EE is very math and physics intensive.

I'm 44 and working on a degree.
 
One of my favorite true life stories is about my childhood friend. His entire career out of college was as an international flight attendant for American Airlines. He loved it beause it was easy, he got to travel all over the world and he got the hottest babes (he married two of them over his career.)

Anyway, long story short, he and his Sweedish blonde skiier of a wife had saved up their money over the years and at the age of 36 they both quit theiir jobs and went back to college full-time. By the time they were 41 she was a full-blown dentist and he was a doctor interning at a local hospital. By 42, she bought a dental practice just outside of Veil, Colorado and he got a job as an operating room anestheologist in a nearby hospital.

I just picture him slogging his way through medical school at U of W as a 40-yr-old battling against all those kids half his age. Especially since he was never the type to really enjoy school to begin with. A truely admirable feat.

It's NEVER too late.

G.
 
apl said:
No, but EE is very math and physics intensive.

Tell me about...just about all of my friends in college were EE majors and I got to watch them battle through their coursework every day.
 
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