Key Of Grey

Photo courtesy of Tim O’Brien

November 11th, 2009 – Thomas K. asks “I read your article on school and audio engineering. I’m just wondering where you went to school, where you first started out engineering, and how you made that transition. I’m currently going to school, and learning about audio production, and interning (for free). I have pursued a lot of what have turned out to be dead ends in my search for employment in the field of audio production/engineering. I’m sure you’re a busy guy, but I’d really like to know about the finer details of the transition from the bubble of school into the real world of audio work.”

I went to a school in Toronto called Harris Institute for the Arts which is billed as one of the premier schools of its kind in North America. That being said, as you might have guessed from some of my posts, I’m not particularly a fan of audio engineering schools (including specific issues with this school which I won’t get into). While they are good for having on a resume when you start knocking on the doors of potential employers, in my case I didn’t feel like it delivered as much value as the tuition cost.

My real learning took place when I started working in a studio and I feel that this is where you’ll start to become a good engineer. I’m glad to hear that you are interning because, along with learning a whole lot (technical and business), meeting people in the line of work you want to pursue is invaluable. This is how you will get a job (though not necessarily with that company). Getting your name out there is the hardest thing to do and internships provide the connections that are so hard to get on your own.

To succeed in the audio field, especially with the fragile business state it’s in, you have to be focused and driven. As you’ve already discovered, it’s a pretty tough job market out there right now. To really get down to how YOU will succeed (there is no universal answer, everyone is different), here are two questions : (1) Why do you want to pursue audio production and engineering? (2) What aspect of it do you like?

For question one, I wanted to learn audio production skills because I enjoyed writing songs, and wanted to be able to take a song from idea to finished product. In the beginning for me, it wasn’t really about selling songs, or becoming a professional songwriter, I just wanted to know how to do it. For another person, it may be that they want to work with huge artists in a really nice studio. Or perhaps they really like playing with gadgets and gear, and want to combine that with their love of music. In each case, knowing why you are interested in audio production and/or engineering will help you can really narrow down which specific skillset to develop in the broad audio field. Schools will teach you a little bit of everything, but not enough of one thing to make you effective in that specific category. If you are driven, you must identify what you need, and develop your own abilities.

For the second question, there are many different diverse possibilities. From music composition (freelance composers need to be able to engineer and produce their own music, unless you’re Danny Elfman or Hans Zimmer), to owning your own studio that specializes in recording bands, or working at a facility that provides post-production sound services for the movie industry, you cannot afford to spread yourself thin; you must focus on a niche and pursue it. Of course, all of the above examples have overlapping skillsets, and you may (and probably do) enjoy aspects of each, but every job has a lot of specific skills and if you want to succeed, I suggest you first master one and then branch out later if you like.

I don’t want to sound grumpy or dissuade you from your dream, but if you want to work at a big recording studio, it’s pretty tough going these days. There are only small production studios (like Joe from HomeStudioCorner), or huge million dollar facilities. There aren’t any medium-sized studios anymore. The big studios take all the high end business and the small guys working in their garages have such low overhead that they price the medium studios out of business. I’m not complaining about it; it’s what it is. Working for big studios is hard because since the medium studios are out of business, all those experienced engineers are looking for jobs and there are only so many positions at big studios. It’s going to be hard for someone new to break into those companies.

If you are really interested in recording bands, I would suggest that you approach those you like and run your own home studio. You’ll get satisfaction, if you hustle you can get a decent chunk of business, and you’ll learn to do everything. If you really want to work for a big studio, there’s another way to do it; work for the video game and movie industry.

There are so many different engineering jobs you can get within the film industry, and it’s not hurting as bad as the music industry. Sound designer, ADR engineer, sound editor, are some of the jobs you can aim for. They pay well, and they’re a lot of fun. When I came out of school, I was determined to work in a music studio (and I got to), but nowadays I’m very interested in those industries as well. Problem is, I’m going to have to start from the bottom (which doesn’t actually bother me that much). If you are interested in it, you can start focusing your development there. I would say that for audio engineers, the film industry is probably a good bet for getting work.

I hope I answered your questions adequately, if not let me know what I missed. Thanks for taking the time to write to me. Answering your questions helped me articulate in my own mind, my position and where I want to be. If any one else has any questions, please post them up in the comments.