Is Audio School The Best Choice?

In this post I am going to talk about whether or not audio school is the right path to take if you want to get into the audio industry. You will hear opinions praising both methods. I am going to approach those opinions unbiasley and let you decide which path is right for you. Then I'll give my opinion based on my own personal experiences.

Let's start with the School of Hard Knocks method. This method involves skipping formal audio school and diving into the industry head first. Many of the audio professionals from earlier generations did this method. They acquired an internship or mentorship and worked their way up from there. This is more of a learn as you go method. A lot of these professionals will argue that audio school doesn't teach you the real world experience that is needed in this industry. And that they just take your money and throw tests at you and don't teach you anything that you can't learn in the field as you go. While some of you may agree or disagree to this point, take that into consideration when deciding which path you want to take. Then there are those That favor audio programs and say learning as you go limits you to one area of the audio industry and that audio programs help to give a person a well rounded survey of the industry and allows the person to work in various fields of industry. So for example if you get an internship at a studio you are only learning what it takes to run and work a recording studio while all the other aspects of audio may not be learned, like live sound and all the science of sound.

Now for audio schools. Those in favor will say that audio schools help give students knowledge about a variety of jobs in the industry and allow the student to make better decisions. It also gives them a well rounded education and that extra knowledge may come in handy throughout their career. Almost any audio school professor will still say that an internship of some sort is needed to actually get your foot in the door. The school gives the student the tools to network and succeed but it is ultimately up to the student to do the leg work and make it happen. Then there are those that say going to an audio school is not needed and you can have the same level of success without it if you work hard enough. This may be true, but for some students they don't know what area they want to go in or how to do it so school provides them with knowledge and options to better make those decisions.

Now for my opinion. I personally think that both are important and it is possible to do well using both methods. It comes down to what area you what to go into and how much knowledge you care to have about the other aspects of the industry. If all you want to do is work in a recording studio and record bands then skip school and get an internship and learn that way. If you want to work in the science of sound like acoustics, then school is highly recommended although some have succeeded in this field without formal schooling. I went to school for two years and then got a mentorship at a recording studio. Through that I learned everything I needed to know about owning and operating a studio, but I wanted to know more about the industry and about the science of sound. So I went back to school to finish my degree. The school environment is a lot different than the intern environment. I mainly wanted to focus on the parts of audio I didn't know and the school helps me with that. It also opened my mind to parts of the audio industry I didn't know existed. Some of those are mentioned in my previous post. I think it's important for a person to be well rounded no matter what field you're going into. Knowing some physics and electronics helps alot when dealing with recording and mixing. Also completing school helps you be a better intern and employee. Knowing at least some of what it takes to mix and record is better than going in blind in my opinion. Real work experience is definitely needed and what you learn in school is rarely how it actually works in the real world, but the same principles can be applied. School let's you experiment and be creative so you can develop your own style and uniqueness that can be marketed to your benefit when searching for a job. I found that just learning how to record and mix wasn't enough for me, so I went back to school and haven't regretted it since. It is also important that if you do choose an audio school, you be active in the industry. Get out and network, shadow at recording sessions, do live sound for a local band. Do whatever you can to get some experience while at school. This will greatly help once you graduate as you will already have some real world experience and look more appealing to an employer. This will also help you apply the things you learn to the real world before you graduate and get you more real world ready.

So to sum up, there are two methods people can take when getting into the audio industry. I recommend schooling and then some sort of internship or mentorship. This gives you the tools you need to be successful and then a taste of real world experience to help get your foot in the door. I did mine in reverse. I did a mentorship and then went to school. I actually feel this is better because while I'm at school I can be working at the recording studio and freelancing. So based on what Ive said hopefully you can make a decision that best suits you.

-Jon

Making Money in the Audio Industry

     I'd like to start off by stating that these are just my opinions based on my experience and knowledge I have collected throughout my time in the industry thus far. I do not mean to offend anyone and in no way should my statements be taken as fact. If you are intrigued by something I say please feel free to do your own research and draw your own conclusion. And now, we're off!

     I always hear people saying that you can't make money in the audio industry. I hear this from students and pros alike. People say that you have to be constantly working and never sleeping, but they are only talking about a small sliver of the audio industry. In this blog I am going to go over a bunch of career opportunities that are different than the typical live sound or studio engineer roles people think of when they hear (pun not intended) audio industry.

     While these jobs may not be as glamorous as being an engineer, they are likely to be more stable and perhaps even pay better and be less stressful. So consider these as an alternative.

     It bugs me when people say you can't make a career out of audio. Think of a job and more than likely some sort of audio device is needed or involved in that job.  Someone also needed to install it, build it and maintain it. Well there's a job. You can make a career of installing and maintaining various audio system setups for churches, schools, and office buildings. All these places need someone who knows audio.

     Audio is a part of physics so any career that is physics based can have a need for audio experts. Like acoustics! There are many acoustic design firms that specialize in designing spaces for churches, theaters, auditoriums, conference rooms, and even recording studios. Nearly every space needs someone to do the math for the acoustics, and that could be you.  Another physics based career is doing sound proof testing for various pieces of machinery and vehicles.  Construction vehicles can't exceed a certain noise level, so someone needs to do the math to figure out how loud they are and how to quiet them down. Submarines need to be designed a certain way so the sonar works properly. These are audio careers that are outside the realm of art and more science based, but they pay good money and are reliable.

     Every audio person wants to be a big time live sound engineer or studio engineer. They tend to overlook the people that come before that. Some type of sound company needs to provide the equipment for the engineer to work with. There is always a need for sound companies. These companies provide sound and sometimes lighting equipment for seminars, concerts, weddings, trade shows, and more. Think of how many events get put on that need sound. Also in the live sound world someone needs to provide backline equipment like amps and guitars, as well as companies that repair music and audio equipment.

     Another market that is growing is video game music. Music and sound are becoming more and more important as video games become more like cinematic experiences. Game studios are beginning to hire in house sound and music people to cut costs on external studios. A lot of these game studios require you to know C++ programming which isn't very hard. So self learn and apply!

     Now some of you may be reading and thinking, "but I don't find the science of sound all that interesting." and I say to you, then why are you in the audio industry!? Audio is sound which is science.  If you are not interested in the science of sound then switch careers.  But...if you are thinking that you want a career that's more heavy in the art of audio and not the science then that's a different question.  With the growing affordability of audio gear and marketing towards the average consumer, a lot of people have no idea how to set up a home recording system or even what to buy.  Now, some professionals will say that home recording is killing the industry and not to endorse it, but those are all older professionals with an out of date way of thinking.  Home recording is here to stay and it's only going to get bigger, so you might as well accept it now and make the most of it.  One way you can take advantage of this growing market is to offer your services as an audio consultant.  I have gotten offers and calls from many people wanting to put together their own recording setup.  They don't know what to buy or how to hook it up and that's where I come in.  I take a trip to their place or they come to me and we discuss the details like, what are they using it for, what's the budget, how fancy they want to get, ease of use, etc.  Then I recommend some pieces of gear and they make the final decision based on my recommendations.  Then after they get it all I go back and install it for them.  Finally I explain to them how it's hooked up and how to operate it by going through a tutorial on everything.  Most of the time these people are musicians and know how sound and gear works so the basics of recording are already there. However; if they know nothing about recording but want a basic setup to record a guitar and vocals, I will give them a quick tutorial on the basics of recording and recommend some books to help them learn further.



    In summary all these jobs I have mentioned are great alternatives to being a sound engineer.  People may be right when they say that the need for sound engineers is dying, but the need for audio professionals is growing.  So based on what I've stated use your imagination and think of some other jobs that involve audio and try to find something that you will enjoy.  And you can still freelance as a recording engineer on the side, but at least you have that stable day job.  Thanks for reading and please post any other audio jobs you can think of.

-Jon