good luck and btw your www doesnt work.

Rudedog, I have a friend who's dad owns a studio in NYC. Email me...

Rudedog, by no means do I want to rain on your parade, but let me pass on a little of what I know about NYC. For starters, do you have ANY idea of the number of studios that are closing and/or going bellyup in NYC alone? You may be better off planning on building your own project studio and getting clients that way.

Take a moment and get yourself a copy of this month's issue of MIX Magazine (MAY-2006). The cover story is called: "Where's the Money?" The answers may surprise you. You SHOULD read this before making any moves anywhere.

There are TONS of good audio gigs in NYC, but dont' get your hopes up right away,. and few of them are in studios, and fewer still of them are going to welcome you with open arms. The audio industry is constantly shifting and changing, and you WILL be in competition with locals who are fighting just as hard (if not harder) than you to stay afloat. You may want to look into other avenues like broadcasting, a/v production, etc.

NYC - Manhatan specifically, is a TOUGH TOUGH town, and it costs a fortune to live there, let alone live comfortably. (Have you priced out what a single bedroom walkup will cost you and your GF per mo in lower Manhattan?) I can offer you one "insider" tip/advice, but you'll have to contact me privately for it. (Joe@WestonSound.com)

I dont know how old you are, or what creature comforts you're willling to forego until you make it. I also hope your relationship is strong and stable enough to handle the early years for you, too. ;-)

On the other hand, if you're tenacious, determined, and GOOD at what you do, who knows? You'll never know until you try........

Yeah interns get fired for showing up 37 seconds late and if you mess up a track sheet you'll never work in NYC in a studio for another 10 years.

Just to re-affirm what has been said, NYC is a tough, tough town, especially for anyone who wants to get into the audio business. There are fewer and fewer studios every month and, conversely, more and more kids coming out of the various colleges and audio trade schools. A buddy of mine runs a studio in Manhattan and in three days received over 100 applications for an UNPAID internship, and over another 400 during the following week. All this intern will be doing is fetching coffee, wrangling cables and answering phones; the possibility of doing anything more is remote and they still flock to these kinds of gigs just to say that they worked in a studio. BTW, he took on a kid who was more interested in business/management than in audio.

Think it over carefully; NYC is EXPENSIVE!!!!!!! and the surrounding 'burbs are not much better. Why do you think so many people commute 90 minutes, even over two hours - not counting traffic!!!

I live with my family about 45 minutes from downtown and the only reason we can afford it is we lucked into a foreclosure about 15 years ago which is now worth about five times what we paid for it. It's still a struggle for us. In fact, the only reason we're still here is the great schools and the central location to both our families.

Good luck!!!

Hi guys thanks for the tips... about nyc being expensive, yes, i understand that, and I have priced it out. I actually have some friends that live out there. I likely won't live in manhattan, we're looking to live in brooklyn in the williamsburg and surrounding areas. manhattan is just 2 stops down the L train.

as far as it being a tough world, i wouldn't plan on moving if I didn't have my eyes wide open as far as this area is concerned. i do have a friend that used to work at right track, and now he is working doing voice-over stuff and recording rock music at night. he gave me some tips, and his idea was to try to get a loft and try to make some money recording bands in the brooklyn scene.

one of my greatest gifts is the ability to network. here in san diego, i know a large majority of the studio business, and i understand what it is to be a full time freelance engineer (uh, hello credit cards).

i guess in the end, it's just one of the things i have to attempt in my life. i think it would be better to try and fail then to not try and live in regret of not attempting to follow my heart.

oh, and i am 26 years old for the record. i am a self taught computer network engineer, and i am very technically oriented, i can solder, make cables, repair circuit boards, troubleshoot computers, etc. so i might have some skills that a lot of studios would find useful. not to mention freelance web design and programming really helps fill in the gaps when you are attempting to start a new career path at 26.

steve

There is truly only one recipe for success in anything you do, and that is working hard.

There are tons of people out there with a better job than I have, they have better gear, record better bands, are better at recording, but I can guarantee that I'll outwork all of them combined. For that, I know I'll be successful even if it is in my own mind.

This might sound really stupid, but I'll take a guy that busts his ass to do an average job as opposed to a cocky "know it all."

This is a competitive field and the only way to come out on top is to outwork your competition.

Everything you said, Arthur, and I would add one more to that equation:
Good Networking skills. Not the computer kind, the people kind.

Sometimes, it really IS that simple.