Full Sail (simple question)

[Nemesys]

Its easy to get into fullsail grades in high school dont matter... for the people saying going to a 4 year accredited college is smarter tell me why?

I agree with just about everything you wrote.... however I'll address the underlined quote above in regards to why a 4 year program is 'better'.

.... It all depends of course what your idea of "better" is.... Out of all the points you listed, the one thing you didnt cover was overall quality of education. 4 year schools allow for more comprehensive curricculum. Trade schools try real hard to provide accelerated programs, and the one area they succeed is by eliminating all of the useless childrens courses aka 'general studies' courses... However, you still can't realistically squeeze 4 full years of education into a 1 year trade program, no matter how intense that program might be.

In addition, many colleges allow people to have "real" majors such as electrical engineering (EE) or computer science (CS), with recording engineering being a minor. While other 4 year colleges also reciprocally allow you to minor in electrical engineering or computer science while majoring in recording engineering....... and THAT is the difference between a trade school versus a 4 year school. Are trade school graduates trained to rip open an SSL or Neve console or other outboard equipment and repair it? Not likely....

Having a minor in electrical engineering or majoring in EE with a minor in recording engineering puts the student so far ahead of the trade schools in terms of overall knowledge..... that well..... you really cannot compare an electrical engineers knowledge to a recording "engineers" knowledge.... This gives the student a back-up plan for life since if he can't score a job in a studio, or maybe if the student just decides that he doesnt want to do recording as a living but yet they still want to work in the technical aspects of the field..... the 4 year college major who studied EE or CS can always get a job with an equipment manufacturer and he'll end up designing the audio equipment instead of using it.... and probably make a hell of alot more money to boot.

[Distone]

Hey, I have a couple questions for the experts in this buisness. I was curious as to, how hard it is to break into this industry, and make a good living. I read all your posts etc. But I wish to know it more clearly. How would I start at making a good career. I'm currently a Junior in High School. I live realitvely close to Cleveland, and I love music. This is something I think I could, and would enjoy doing, but I need to know if I'll be able to live good, and not have to restart my life if I foul up. Thanks!

[therecordingart]

Here is my 2 cents and I think a lot of people are going to rip on me for it, but here it is anyway:

I started looking at recording schools a few years back, and found a really good one (Columbia College) here in Chicago. Before enrolling I started calling area studios to see how difficult it was to get an internship. I found out that there was zero chance of getting an intership because all of the studios are/were overrun with interns. So I bit the bullet and took the money I'd spend in school and bought my own gear. I started recording bands for free out of my bedroom and told them that the outcome might suck, but it is free so don't bitch.

I bought a lot of books, recorded a lot of bands for free, and started realizing that I don't suck that bad after comparing my work to that of area studios that charge $25-45/hr. The only major difference was that their mixes were a lot tighter and had a few steps up in the sonic quality department.

So I started charging $10/hr (better than an unpaid internship), and began recording high school aged bands.....a lot of crappy emo and punk stuff. They started spreading the word, and now I charge about $20/hr and have been recording bigger names that are happy to pay that rate. Slowly I've been getting more gear, learning more, and getting more confident in what I can do. I've already recorded some signed bands and things are starting to go places.....I've never been in a classroom.

Does this mean you shouldn't go to school....no I'm not saying that....but for ME...I learn better by doing than having something explained to me. If I would've gone to school it would've been a gamble just the same as dropping $15k on gear to build a home studio. Now I have two rooms in the house dedicated, and even though I still haven't made my money back....I'd only bee in my second year of school right now and not have any of the experience I have now under my belt. I'd also be like $28k in debt from school expenses.

[maintiger]

hey arthur you are learning by doing but also looks like you have the vocation and dedication... that's the main thing, to be dedicated and put in your time to develop your chops-

-one thing though, you should develop a relationship with other experience engineers- they can show you things that otherwise it would take years, if ever, to figure out-

[soundfarm]

One recurring theme in this whole discussion thread is "not wanting to go into debt" Well, it's almost unavoidable for any type of education, especially a 4 year degree. State schools and ESPECIALLY private univiersiities are constantly hiking tuition costs (you can almost set your watch by it). It won't be long before even going to a state school will be a 6 figure deal. Also, if you plan on opening a studio and don't have the necessary capital amassed, then you are going to approach some type of fianancial institution for a loan.

Ultiimately, the value of an accredited bachelors degree is determined by the job market. Does having a degree mean that you are more intellligent and capable than someone who does not? NO! What a degree shows to a potential employer is that you took on a 4 year project and completed it. They know full well that you don't remember half of what you studied. It's just an easy, legal way for employers to filter resume's and potential job candidates.

HOWEVER, if you are approaching a group of 3rd party investors (i.e non-personal aquaintences), then you are going to have to have a solid business plan together. You also have to demonstrate some functional business administration knowledge. (sales, marketing, accounting, etc..) and how you plan to handle these aspects. To run a full service commercial studio, it takes more than solid technical knowledge and a good ear. You have to understand the business aspect of it as well. This is what an accredited 4 year degree can give you.: the fundamentals of business management. But make no mistake. As with starting any viable business, it is long hours and a lot of hard work. It's really a labor of love.

So, my two cents for the soon to be high school grads is this: Go to a nationally accredited 4 year college or university that offers a viable audio production major with decent facilities and minor in business management (or even entrepreneurialship). There are mentoring placement programs out there that also will arrange an apprenticeship for you with a local engineer in a studio (for a fee of course). The engineer gets a cut of this fee, so they are compensated as well. These programs are completely flexible and you can work them around your school schedule. When all is said and done, even if opening a studio turns out to be not what you hoped for, you still have employment options open to you because of that little piece of paper that took you 4 years of your life to earn.


and yes, I'll shut up now!

[fontane]

i graduated from full sail in 97... i loved every moment of it... you CANNOT get hands on experience on these real consoles NEVE, SSLs, etc at other schools...

It is also in FLORIDA... .. palm trees, chics, etc

When i graduated, i was told by each and every studio i interned at that i was chosen over IAR students just because it said full sail...

you have to put into it to get out of it...

i went for the learning experience not to pursue a career as an engineer... i like to produce and write music but though it would be a great get away, meet like minded people, play on gear and learn all about sound...

it was all of that...

and as for high school grades, etc... blah... i got a GED and sucked in high school... .062 GPA but in full sail i averaged a high B low A... cause I LOVE MUSIC

GO... and HAVE FUN

I just sent my friends daughter and her friends down there... you will love it...

[HMNP]

I find that if your going to start your own studio, put your money into your studio instead of Fullsail. Believe it or not I make better sounding recording than many Fullsail graduates I know that operate their own studios. Where do I learn all my stuff ?, techniques ?, what gear to buy ?, how to set it up ? how to deal with sessions ? I go to my 4 universities www.gearslutz.com, Recording.org, taopeop.com and 3daudio.com. Here I learn evrything that i need, just know who to ask.

Put your money in Fullsail if you plan to work for other people that smile on seeing a paper that reads "Fullsail".

Good Luck

[fontane]

Put your money in Fullsail if you plan to work for other people that smile on seeing a paper that reads "Fullsail".

Good Luck

well, unless you can afford a console that costs 1 million dollars, yeah, starting your career in america's pop industry starts by working within the industry :D

[BrianAltenhofel]

well, unless you can afford a console that costs 1 million dollars, yeah, starting your career in america's pop industry starts by working within the industry :D

Please refer me to a console that costs $1,000,000.

Anyway....

[ken_m]

You don't need a console that cost a mil.. signal flow is signal flow.

" you CANNOT get hands on experience on these real consoles NEVE, SSLs, etc at other schools... "

Oh, Really? which schools would those be.

I'm glad you liked Full Sail as I know many people who enjoyed it. But damn that's a lot of money. I paid a lot less to go to MTSU and the gear and experience was great too.

I'm not knocking your exp or skills, glad you had a good time with it.