School for Audio engineering?

[cubefruit]

So I'm about to enter college. However I'm having trouble deciding my major. I originally wanted to major in IT. Not only have computers and computer programming long been an interest of mine, but I hear it pays good too. Not to mention, theres a huge job market for IT graduates.
However I've sort of lost interest in computer technology as of late and I think I'd be a lot happier if I majored in Audio engineering... Only I'm not sure if thats best for me in the long run. I'm not even sure if I'll be able to find a career in that field as easily as I would in the field of IT.
What do you think guys? What should I do?

[FAARE FACED]

It could be tempting to study in the domain you love (sound) but I think you are right not to forget about the money parameter. That's why I decided to do something solid myself, joining a business school. Safety first. I'll see where I am musically at the end of my studies in 5 years, and given my success or failure I'll either "tour" so do speak, and play, or apply for a regular job and keep making music on the side.
Even if my music is not great or doesn't get heard, I'll still have a solid 35k€ per year to live with for my 1st job, because I decided to play safe.

A friend of mine is studying audio engineering at SAE Institute. 2 days of classes per week, and even with this I think I know more than him about audio thanks to youtube (and I don't know much). I'm afraid he'll end up pluging cables at some nightclubs/festivals for a ridiculous wage...
It's also important to distinguish audio engineering from music making (and I think you did but I just want to clarify). I mean, no one made it through in the music industry because they had a diploma. But I reckon that it could be interesting on the technical side of music production (which is mendatory to master for us producers comparing to a random pop singer).

To sum up, it's your life and your choice. No one can decide for you. Do what you feel best considering all the parameters. All we can do is help to identify them. Remember you only have one shot, so don't miss it

[cubefruit]

I mean, no one made it through in the music industry because they had a diploma.

This is a great point and I've always kept it in mind. I'm not setting out to be a professional musician (if I wanted to do that I would take a different approach). I would, however, enjoy simply learning about the engineering process. Good points man. Tough decision though

[FAARE FACED]

How much time do you have left until you have to make a decision ?

And about being a professional musician, I don't think you "set out" to be one. It's more or less something that comes out of nowhere, depending on who listened to your work and what mood they were in when they did. Hardwork is an important part of success, but not the key factor. Being a professional musician is a dream to me, even though I decided to took a path made of totally unrelated studies. 99% chances i won't make it, but who knows

--
About your decision :

One "fun" way to decide would be to define what I want in terms of criteria, and weight them with coefficients, in a totally subjective way.
For example : Enjoyment, 10, Money, 7, satisfaction, 8, and so on.
Then you take all the possibility you thought of for college (Audio Engineering, IT, maybe others) and you grade them according to your criteria.
e.g.
IT : Money 7/10, Enjoyment 4/10...
AE : Money 3/10, Enjoyment 9/10...

Multiply the grade by the coeficient, and then do an average for each type of course at college.

It can sound a bit like an feelingless method, but at least it can help to determine what's supposed to be best for you. That's the kind of method that is used e.g. by a company to determine whether they should create a branch in country X or Y
If you decide to do that kind of table, make sure to have your OWN and personnal criteria, and rate them as YOU think.

Hope this helps. I got to go now but I'll catch up on that conversation tomorrow

[cubefruit]

How much time do you have left until you have to make a decision ?

And about being a professional musician, I don't think you "set out" to be one. It's more or less something that comes out of nowhere, depending on who listened to your work and what mood they were in when they did. Hard work is an important part of success, but not the key factor. Being a professional musician is a dream to me, even though I decided to took a path made of totally unrelated studies. 99% chances i won't make it, but who knows

--
About your decision :

One "fun" way to decide would be to define what I want in terms of criteria, and weight them with coefficients, in a totally subjective way.
For example : Enjoyment, 10, Money, 7, satisfaction, 8, and so on.
Then you take all the possibility you thought of for college (Audio Engineering, IT, maybe others) and you grade them according to your criteria.
e.g.
IT : Money 7/10, Enjoyment 4/10...
AE : Money 3/10, Enjoyment 9/10...

Multiply the grade by the coefficient, and then do an average for each type of course at college.

It can sound a bit like an feelingless method, but at least it can help to determine what's supposed to be best for you. That's the kind of method that is used e.g. by a company to determine whether they should create a branch in country X or Y
If you decide to do that kind of table, make sure to have your OWN and personal criteria, and rate them as YOU think.

Hope this helps. I got to go now but I'll catch up on that conversation tomorrow

Nice. Thats a good idea. Thanks

Also I have until this fall to make a decision.

[Hircine]

Actually producing and hanging around / working on studios / live gigs / radios > any music college unless we are talking some top grade school.

[OfficialDAPT]

unless we are talking some top grade school.

I don't think we are

[alphacat]

Are we talking like becoming an audio engineer in a recording studio, or engineering audio gear? If the former... I'd say no unless you're cuckoo-passionate about it; if it's something you enjoy, even love to do - then pursue it as a rewarding hobby or side gig. There's a very good chance that otherwise you might hit a burnout point very quickly, esp. given how competitive the field is for employment.

Places like SAE have intro courses and advanced courses: you might take an intro course (which i think is something like 9 mos.?) and see how you like it without having invested too much time or money to find out that the mundane and business aspects of production aren't worth it for you. Because trust me, there's not a lot of glamor, consistency, or hijinx happening in most pro studios... at least for the employees. It's a seriously hard, time-consuming job without a lot of accolades or profits for most people. They do it because they love it so much that they couldn't do anything else in a lot of cases. The ones that get into it for the rockstar factor usually drop out quick. You mention being attracted to IT because of the pay? Yeah, well... audio engineering is often a path to bankruptcy, LOL.

My serious recommendation is to try and integrate the programming and the audio stuff if at all possible - that will be lucrative if done right. Stuff like iOS music app development, plug design, etc. - things where you could easily go into business for yourself without massive outlay of cash required - that seems like the best of both worlds imho.

[cubefruit]

Thanks for the feedback guys . Btw no we're not talking about a top grade school, it's actually a rather small school. So I'm pretty much convinced audio engineering isn't the rout I should go :/. Although I like Alphacats idea about integrating the two somehow maybe I could develope some sort of audio software as a side project... hmm

[Hircine]

Are we talking like becoming an audio engineer in a recording studio, or engineering audio gear? If the former... I'd say no unless you're cuckoo-passionate about it; if it's something you enjoy, even love to do - then pursue it as a rewarding hobby or side gig. There's a very good chance that otherwise you might hit a burnout point very quickly, esp. given how competitive the field is for employment.

Places like SAE have intro courses and advanced courses: you might take an intro course (which i think is something like 9 mos.?) and see how you like it without having invested too much time or money to find out that the mundane and business aspects of production aren't worth it for you. Because trust me, there's not a lot of glamor, consistency, or hijinx happening in most pro studios... at least for the employees. It's a seriously hard, time-consuming job without a lot of accolades or profits for most people. They do it because they love it so much that they couldn't do anything else in a lot of cases. The ones that get into it for the rockstar factor usually drop out quick. You mention being attracted to IT because of the pay? Yeah, well... audio engineering is often a path to bankruptcy, LOL.

My serious recommendation is to try and integrate the programming and the audio stuff if at all possible - that will be lucrative if done right. Stuff like iOS music app development, plug design, etc. - things where you could easily go into business for yourself without massive outlay of cash required - that seems like the best of both worlds imho.

In the end of the day, recording some subcelebrity reading a book for blind people is what is going to pay the bills.

[Sharmaji]

If you're not already telling people to fuck off, I'm gonna be an engineer NO MATTER WHAT...

Then do IT.

[cubefruit]

If you're not already telling people to fuck off, I'm gonna be an engineer NO MATTER WHAT...

Then do IT.

EDIT: fuck wait nevermind lol sorry I mis read what you were saying

[NinjaEdit]

I think you should study sound. My solution with music technology is to continue with a postgrad education and lecture a university, but teaching is something I've had some interest in for a long time.

Evaluating things in terms of risk, both options are highly risky for different reasons. IT is a field that people often fall out of interest with and discontinue their studies, including myself, and you've started doing that already.

If you want to do something which is demanded in the industry, and that you aren't interested in, you would be better off a bricklayer.

[cubefruit]

I think you should study sound. My solution with music technology is to continue with a postgrad education and lecture a university, but teaching is something I've had some interest in for a long time.

Evaluating things in terms of risk, both options are highly risky for different reasons. IT is a field that people often fall out of interest with and discontinue their studies, including myself, and you've started doing that already.

If you want to do something which is demanded in the industry, and that you aren't interested in, you would be better off a bricklayer.

Thing is I would rather do something I am interested in and IT is one of those things, I just find sound more interesting you know

[NinjaEdit]

Maybe think of it this way: Imagine yourself several years after graduation. You're a professional sound engineer - now you're an IT professional.
In which situation are you happiest?

[RandoRando]

I actually went to SAE los angeles last year for a tour and info, the guys straight up told me that its near impossible to find a stable career in AE right out of college. Its more about gaining the knowledge and maybe landing a internship at a studio or a club. He told me its essential to have connections in that field if you plan on making a career out of it. Honestly i thought it wasnt worth 20k to learn from there, after teaching myself 60% of what they are gonna teach me there. To each his own though.

[cubefruit]

I actually went to SAE los angeles last year for a tour and info, the guys straight up told me that its near impossible to find a stable career in AE right out of college. Its more about gaining the knowledge and maybe landing a internship at a studio or a club. He told me its essential to have connections in that field if you plan on making a career out of it. Honestly i thought it wasnt worth 20k to learn from there, after teaching myself 60% of what they are gonna teach me there. To each his own though.

Yea I'm pretty set on finding a career as soon as I get out of college, so this option doesn't sound too good

[alphacat]

The other thing I was thinking about last night is that all of the core information is out there already and you don't have to take a class; hell, if you just read and absorbed this and this you'd know more than 90%+ of people in "the biz."

The problem being that just reading about something doesn't fully explain it for most - it has to be applied, and it has to be applied in a way that's relevant. Still, you'll have a huge leg up if you do start reading that stuff on your own time.

[CaveLvl]

That bit about plugging in inputs at clubs and festivals is spot on. Many SAE grads and the like wind up flipping road cases and driving trucks as much as they mix. Not a lot of cheese but still good fun. I would do something else design related besides music. Ahhhh if i could go back, architecture for sure. Or law.

[drake89]

i took summer classes in recording music at NYU. It cost an arm and a leg, but was well worth it just to be in a pro studio 40 hours a week. What I walked away with is that audio engineering is not something I want to pursue professionally. I would like to produce, but can do that from home right now, especially at the level I'm at. The kids that I was with were interning at some of the few big remaining studios in NYC. Yes, it's a shitty time in the music INDUSTRY. I was not as dedicated as those kids. To even get a foot in the door you literally have to be someone's slave for about a year. This one dude interned at some hip hop studio from midnight to 8am and then went to class 5 days a week. But after 6 months of that he's got respect from engineers and can get free studio time somewhere that would otherwise be super expensive. And even if you get a job as a pro engineer in a great studio- you're probably making hourly wages. That's why I'm not interested.