Greetings! I just wanted to introduce myself and announce that Im new and will be absorbing everything you say and what i see here.

I am interested in pursuing a studio engineering career and from what i read and have heard, its all about hard work, but if I i'll love it as much as I think i will, that won't be a FRACTION as bad as I have it now.

I have an IT degree that pays ok, but Im not happy. I need to do something that I can care about and can be fulfilling. Reason Im interested in this career is that i LOVE music, love detail yet have an open mind and Im good with technology and cool with people (im very lighthearted). I realize that all of this does not a studio engineer necessarily make, which is why Im doing my research and would hopefully soon like to intern at a local studio and absorb as much as I can there too.

Not really asking for anything right now, just would love to hear people's experiences, where you come from and why you do this.

Welcome to the forums, great to have you here.

I'm a studio freak as well as an educationalist (a fancy name for a variety of teaching related activities I cover).

You are in a good hands here and we have some great people, with more coming along all the time.

Hope you have fun.
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Recording Studio Suntans

First and foremost -- DON'T do it unless you absolutely love all things audio and can't imagine doing anything else.

It's a difficult field - very stiff competition - long and odd hours - it can (and often does) greatly interfere with any family life - and you surely won't make nearly as much as in the IT field, at least not for the first few years, if ever.

Don't get into this full-time if you expect to make a lot of money - it won't happen... only a handful of AE's make the big bucks, the rest make enough to live on - possibly comfortably - but don't expect to retire early.

The other thing is that the industry is changing and jobs are very scarce, so unless you have plans to open your own faciility (with all the inherent risks of any new start-up business), you may have a tough time finding an employer.

That being said, IMO it is also one of the most interesting and rewarding careers in that every new project is completely different, so you're always learning new techniques and developing an ever-increasing critical ear. You also get to play with a sh*tload of high-end gear!
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Bruce Valeriani - Mix Engineer

AC wrote:

Welcome to the forums, great to have you here. I'm a studio freak as well as an educationalist (a fancy name for a variety of teaching related activities I cover). You are in a good hands here and we have some great people, with more coming along all the time. Hope you have fun.

Thank you for the welcome! I would love to hear how u got started, if you'd like to share.

BlueBearSound wrote:

First and foremost -- DON'T do it unless you absolutely love all things audio and can't imagine doing anything else. It's a difficult field - very stiff competition - long and odd hours - it can (and often does) greatly interfere with any family life - and you surely won't make nearly as much as in the IT field, at least not for the first few years, if ever. Don't get into this full-time if you expect to make a lot of money - it won't happen... only a handful of AE's make the big bucks, the rest make enough to live on - possibly comfortably - but don't expect to retire early. The other thing is that the industry is changing and jobs are very scarce, so unless you have plans to open your own faciility (with all the inherent risks of any new start-up business), you may have a tough time finding an employer. That being said, IMO it is also one of the most interesting and rewarding careers in that every new project is completely different, so you're always learning new techniques and developing an ever-increasing critical ear. You also get to play with a sh*tload of high-end gear!

Hmm, put that way, doesnt sound SO appetizing except for the love of it part, lol. Would you say that this industry is for the lone-hearted or is made up of many different people?

I wouldn't dare generalize, but the odd hours do make family life more challenging.

I think it's often more difficult for women, since they tend to be more social and MAY have stronger familial ties and needs that they aren't prepared to sacirifice.

I hope I didn't overstate the potential negatives, all I intended to do was paint a more realistic picture than most educational facilities tend to about the audio field. For me, the love of all things audio is worth the "price of admission" so to speak!

For myself, I own and operate my own facility, and my wife is extremely understanding and very supportitve of my business and chosen path, so the exceptionally strange hours haven't affected my family relationships in a negative way. Prior to running Blue Bear Sound, I was a Project Leader for a S/W and Web development team, so I came from an IT background as well.

I made the switch to a career in audio several years ago and absolutely have no regrets about the decision. Mind you, I'm one of these "love audio and can't imagine doing anything else" types of people.... I enjoyed IT, but really saw it as a stepping stone to getting the capital I needed to create my own facility!
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Bruce Valeriani - Mix Engineer

BlueBearSound wrote:

I wouldn't dare generalize, but the odd hours do make family life more challenging. I think it's often more difficult for women, since they tend to be more social and MAY have stronger familial ties and needs that they aren't prepared to sacirifice. I hope I didn't overstate the potential negatives, all I intended to do was paint a more realistic picture than most educational facilities tend to about the audio field. For me, the love of all things audio is worth the "price of admission" so to speak! For myself, I own and operate my own facility, and my wife is extremely understanding and very supportitve of my business and chosen path, so the exceptionally strange hours haven't affected my family relationships in a negative way. Prior to running Blue Bear Sound, I was a Project Leader for a S/W and Web development team, so I came from an IT background as well. I made the switch to a career in audio several years ago and absolutely have no regrets about the decision.

Did u find the switch from IT to this industry a difficult one? Do you find u spend more hours running your own facility rather than working at another's or vice versa?

Running your own business is ALWAYS going to mean longer/more hours per week than working for someone else, in ANY type of business, at least until things really get off the ground. If the business becomes very successful, then you may be in a position to hire a manager or supervisor to run the day-to-day operations for you, leaving you more free time, but that certainly doesn't happen at the start.

I've never worked for anyone else in audio - I left IT to run my own studio and been doing so ever since!
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Bruce Valeriani - Mix Engineer