The general question is "now what?". I think I already know the answer, but I want an experienced opinion (or several experienced opinions). If a similar scenario question has already been answered, please forgive my re-asking it.

The background is as follows:
Graduated from Art Institute of Houston (AIH), when they still had their Music & Video Business program (now non-existent in Houston) in 1997. Associates Degree. Over the past 10 years or so, I've run sound for some live shows as well as recorded a few demos for various bands. I've also helped a couple of sound companies setup stage for gigs here and there.

Since I graduated from AIH, my actual jobs have mainly consisted of sales jobs at different electronics retailers including Guitar Center (musician's shop) and Tweeter (home a/v gear). Currently, I'm unemployed and am trying to find work in what I went to school for (sound engineering)... let me rephrase that.... I'm trying to find regular paying work as a sound engineer.

My experience in the past is that in order to have regular payed work, I have one of two options... open my own business or work for free (intern)for an undetermined amount of time before receiving any wages. Neither of those seem to be viable options for me at the moment.

Actually, there is a studio I can intern with currently but I'm hesitant to get started on any projects at the moment in case my regular paying job (when I find one again) requires me to relocate. I live in Katy by the way (west Houston).

The job opportunities that I have come across are usually in California or New York, and require more experience than I currently have. My experience is more limited than I'd like, due partially to being distracted from the music career by real life (yes, that's my own fault). I have a good foundation of knowledge to work with, but haven't trained my ear enough to be able to create CD quality or radio-ready material.

On a side note to others considering the Art Institute for schooling... my experience there was that even though you have people that work in the industry teaching the classes, they're not the best teachers. Meaning, they have the knowledge, but you need to ask lots of questions to get the information from them sometimes. I believe I learned more there by what I did on my own time than what I learned in class. Their job placement after I graduated was non-existent, probably due to the Music & Video Business program being taken off the curriculum right after I graduated. Doing pro audio sales for Guitar Center seemed to be a larger stepping stone for me personally.

I've currently got applications in at a couple of places, including a church and a a/v company that hosts meetings/conventions. Both of those jobs do have have sound engineering as a fraction of the job description, so I'm hoping to use those as the next stepping stone for me. If those come through and I'm able, I'm hoping to also do some interning at the studio I mentioned earlier. I'm using Nuendo (1.6) at home to record my own music around the edges too.

My apologies for the long-winded commentary. My basic question is, can someone point me in a direction that can land me a job as a studio engineer (that I haven't already thought of)? I'm pretty discouraged about how everything is going, but am still not willing to give up and pursue a different career.

My thoughts are that I need to do more free work to gain more experience before I'll be able to get a regular paying job as a studio engineer. I intend to get back to interning (I was at the previously mentioned studio four months) once I find another paying job to support me in the meantime.

Thank you for your time and any constructive suggestions.

Well thanks for the background, sounds interesting.

Now may I ask how old are you?

I'm not wanting to spoil your dreams or make it seem harder than it already appears but I do know for a fact so many studio engineers who might be in a position to take on a "new guy" do in fact look for a "new guy", a person they can mould into their own culture.

Where it differs is when they look to outsource slightly and need a specialist for certain occasions, which incidentally is becoming more normal with digital technology, where the mix is created by many engineers with specific tasks, rather than one.

Another way you might think about is starting your own local business offering "niche" products, which could be jingles for a local radio station or demos for bands.

Just a few thoughts to chew over.
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Recording Studio Suntans

I'm 30.

I guess whether or not I'd classify as "the new guy" depends on your definition. I'm old enough not to be the guy fresh outta high school, but my experience is limited enough that I don't have many projects under my belt. I'll make it real easy for you to see what I've done:

http://4entjobs.resumemaker.com/MarkRogers1.resume

That's my online resume. Obviously, that doesn't have any sound clips from the projects, but it'll give you an idea of where I'm at. If you've got any websites you can recommend to look for work, I'd appreciate any help there too.

Thanks for the response.

In terms of sites, in my experiecne "the job" simply doesn't get advertised as do regular jobs. Most of the employment takes place between known connections, hence the working up the laddar concept which all recording studios still seem to adopt.

There is a site though which is more film related, and I know many jobs in the film and TV sound field DO get advertised, one site is:


http://www.mandy.com/
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Recording Studio Suntans

Thanks for the site info. I know what you mean about the engineering positions not being advertised like a regular job - I've struggled against that for years, not knowing where to look for employment ads and making cold calls to various studios hoping they have something.

That's actually how I met with the studio I can intern with now... a cold call that happened to turn into an internship. The only downside being that it isn't paid, and therefore doesn't pay the bills. It's a place to start though, assuming my next "regular" job is still within reasonable driving distance. (The studio is probably 40 miles away currently, which I still consider reasonable.)

Here are a couple of other sites I've found that occassionally have postings:

http://www.entertainmentcareers.net
http://www.4entertainmentjobs.com
http://www.backstagejobs.com

Thanks again for the help.

Well, I'm still stomping through the trenches. I've made some progress, but not what most people in the USA would call a living. I'm still keeping my eyes open for the next step into something that can support me.

The "regular jobs" fell through as well in February. Being out of options, I moved in with the relatives until I can get on my feet again. Since February, I've been doing freelance work in south Texas doing basically anything audio-related that I can get my hands on. About half my work is stage hand work, and the other half is live sound.

You can see more of what I do at my website:
www.southernproductions.com

I've had a couple of decent months, and a whole lotta slow months. To give you a better idea of what that means, I'm averaging about $420 a month. But I'm stubborn, so I keep sticking with it. If anyone knows of more audio job websites since my last chat here, they would be most appreciated.

Mark B. Rogers
Southern Productions