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RemyRAD, post: 390544 wrote: Yes but if you had just paid $40,000 for a degree from Full Sale and your only job opportunity was a stocking clerk at Wal-Mart, you might get an employee discount which may better help you to feed your family. But somehow I might think you might feel slightly embittered by the lack of available professional studio jobs. No matter, you could always run a Barringer at the local bar for the simply awful rock bands coming through. Then you could make them sound their mediocre best. Then maybe you'd feel better as you pay off your student loan for the next 20 years?

I think college bound folks are some of the stupidest folks in the world. Why? Because they have in their head something they want to do but they haven't researched what employment opportunities actually exist for the degree they want. Sure, with some, it may just be the law of averages such as becoming a medical doctor. But a recording engineer when the technology changes yearly. If you don't use it, you lose it. It doesn't matter if you know how to use a large frame SSL. They'll be gone tomorrow. And everyone will want you up to speed on the latest and greatest stuff. And you won't be. If you want to go for a double degree in electrical engineering and audio engineering, so you could design new types of equipment, that might make a little more sense. If you want to get a double degree in business management and audio engineering that too makes you more viable for other opportunities. But some people just have one track minds while thinking they need at least 128 tracks for a four piece rock band demo. Even acoustic engineers can solve the acoustic problems I've solved. That's because I wasn't dumb enough to go to school for it. They take out their little test gizmos and put nasty sounds through the speakers and then tell you it's all fixed. And it still sounds like crap. Because they've done everything right as taught which is wrong. It's theory versus practice. The only thing you really have to know about learning audio engineering is just by doing it. Reading everything you can about it. Get subscriptions to the trade publications. And utilize cheap equipment until you can get a great sound from it. Then when presented with good equipment, you'll have no problems. If you like to blame your problems on the equipment, you're not meant to be in this business.

Flush the toilet put down the lid.
Mx. Remy Ann David

Do not think you are far from the truth.

Getting a degree in the recording arts & sciences is no different than getting a degree in music. People want to know how to do things better and to know more about doing them. That's certainly understandable. But the outrageous costs of the rising tuition fees it's almost turning into a academic sanctioned gun in the ribs. It would actually be more beneficial for those who really want to learn something about the recording arts and the recording sciences to seek out competent studio owners and inquire on private lessons. Just like a virtuoso musical student who would work with a single teacher. This is what my mother has done all of her life after giving up her career to have me and my younger brother. It's hard to beat one-on-one education. Learning extraneous information just to get a piece of paper to tell people you know how to move volume controls seems almost insane. And today, much can be learned for free on the Internet. If you can't make a good recording with a couple of crappy microphones and a crappy mixer, it's not the equipment's fault. Better equipment does not make better recordings. Better engineering makes better recordings. Of course prime pieces of equipment are like comparing a McDonald's hamburger to a steamed lobster. Both will keep you alive. Even though one may be oh so much better. Today that decision is more based upon budget and economy than decadence and opulence. Everybody today has to be so much more careful of their purchasing decisions. If, for example, you want to teach at a university you must have a university degree. If you want to record some rock 'n roll bands, you need lots of pizza and beer.

I had Mexican food for lunch
MX Remy Ann David

Remy, as always wise words. I would like to paint you green and call you YODA.

I think I'd rather look like the Geico gecko? At least he has a cute little British twang. Yoda sounds like he's had too much Jack Daniels and smoked too many packs of Chesterfield's. He almost sounds like the cookie monster on Sesame Street. LOL LMAO snort.

I'm trying to compose myself but I'm not into "modern music".
Mx. Remy Ann David

Well it is the same guy who did the voices of all the Muppets. Frank Oz, he also directed Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.

In this economy I wouldn't fork out $40K or more on a degree, not knowing if there is any future in the business.

It is a gamble with very long odds at the moment.

RemyRAD, post: 390799 wrote: ... Yoda sounds like he's had too much Jack Daniels and smoked too many packs of Chesterfield's. He almost sounds like the cookie monster on Sesame Street...

[[url=http://[/URL]="http://en.wikipedia…"]Yoda IS the cookie monster[/]="http://en.wikipedia…"]Yoda IS the cookie monster[/].

Hi,

I've just read through this whole thread and I really appreciate the vast amount of information given by experienced practitioners in this field. I'm a guitar player for the past 7 years(I'm 25 right now). I just want to ask if there's any point in going for a full-time 4 year B.S. degree in Sound Engineering from a good college in the US? I'm extremely interested to work in audio(of any form). I was a Science student in high school and scored quite well in Maths and Physics so wouldn't mind going into a scientific field and get into designing audio systems. I'm planning to apply at UMich, Indiana University, American University and USC for their courses in this field. My experience till now has mostly been in live shows(played over 200 of them) and I understand that the live music scene is extremely erratic in nature. I want to broaden my horizons and would love to work in television or broadcast if the need be so that I can keep making my own music on the side without having to worry about that being the only source of finance for me. I could teach guitar but frankly I'm self taught and I love to compose songs. It would be great if I didn't have to depend on it to live my life. Stifles the creative aspect of it for me.

My question is, if there's any hope for working in this field? I'll be 30 by the time I pass out and that itself is a little worrying. Looking forward to any replies from the experienced people like Ms. Remy. I'd also love to hear from any current students or recent graduates from any of the above schools.

Thanks! :)

rs1988, post: 407745 wrote: I want to broaden my horizons and would love to work in television or broadcast

I really hate to be negative all of the time.....but here I go again.

I officially retired in 2004. Until last year, I made some money doing freelance work at some television plants here in the Washington, DC area. One of the last things I did was to work on the installation of an SSL C100 at a television news facility.

Solid State Logic | Broadcast Sound | C100 HDS

This is a WONDERFUL console. It is just amazing. Easily the most advanced thing I have ever experienced. It can store audio clips. It has an automatic mix option that works great. The EQ & dynamics are very comprehensive.

They don't use it with an operator. There is simply one RJ45 ethernet connection from a Sony ELC system that controls the entire thing.

[[url=http://[/URL]="http://pro.sony.com…"]Sony Product Detail Page ELCMVS01[/]="http://pro.sony.com…"]Sony Product Detail Page ELCMVS01[/]

You may have seen pictures of TV control room with lots of people pushing buttons. Nope, that's history. All they need is one person. Robotic cameras, Chyron, video switcher, audio, & video playback from Avid Airspeeds is all handled by the director pushing a button that fires off the next ELC event. Even complicated transitions are stored in a template that the show producer just fills in before the broadcast. They have one other technical person hanging around in case something unusual happens, but most of the time that person does nothing.

There is very little hope for a career in broadcast technical areas. The only openings are for people with some IT networking skills to hook boxes together....and from what I have seen the pay for those people is not good.

I'm sorry to be so down about this, but the situation is not worth pursuing. There are a very few positions in large cities working on entertainment shows, but the chances are not good.

grim .

I cannot for the life of me understand why anyone would even consider this business anymore. Yet schools are pushing them out to go where? What a twisted and confusing industry. Something has to snap.

I interested in the automatic mix option but should I even ask what it does. What a stunning console.

We all need to go back to farming.
More and more people, all need food and a purpose to our existence but we keep building things that put people out of work. What a gong show.