Advice on finding audio-related work?

Bendybones

Hi All,

I am studying 'Music technology and Sound Engineering' (at FETAC Level 5) in GTI (Galway).

I already know the stuff being covered but wanted to get at least some music-based qualification on paper that might help me get a career going.

I'm not sure how useful this qualification will be in actually finding a job in audio though.

Ideally I would like to work as a mix engineer but I realise those jobs are thin on the ground.
I'm happy to take pretty much any job which requires using my ears.
(Although I'd like to avoid sound engineering for gigs so I can keep my hearing in tact.)

I've been told that having the Logic 101 exam and the first of the Pro Tools exams would be the most useful.

Can anyone add any other suggestions as to what qualifications are actually worth having?

Or any other advice in general would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Keith.

Ronan Murphy

Sometimes radio stations or government jobs will care about a piece of paper. Most of the time its just hustle, being at the right place at the right time and having the skill to deliver on opportunities.

If you are looking for a regular job where people would pay you on a regular basis and you do not have to go out and get the clients yourself, you will probably be looking for situations at radio/TV stations, government or academic institutions, or corporate jobs doing sound for conferences and such.

Getting hired by a company to "make records" is almost non-existent these days.

PaulBrewer

Ronan Murphy wrote: »

Sometimes radio stations or government jobs will care about a piece of paper. Most of the time its just hustle, being at the right place at the right time and having the skill to deliver on opportunities.

If you are looking for a regular job where people would pay you on a regular basis and you do not have to go out and get the clients yourself, you will probably be looking for situations at radio/TV stations, government or academic institutions, or corporate jobs doing sound for conferences and such.

Getting hired by a company to "make records" is almost non-existent these days.

+1 Yup

Bendybones

Thanks for the replies.

Ronan Murphy wrote: »

Sometimes radio stations or government jobs will care about a piece of paper.

So for jobs who would want qualifications, can anyone suggest which qualifications actually hold any weight?

Thanks,
Keith

PaulBrewer

From a Music Recording perspective (my own background) the qualifications, no matter how 'high' or 'official' will only play a minor part in your employability.

At least that is my experience.
A Studio environment is a delicate hierarchy that's easily imbalanced - and the impetuousness of youth can often be one of those things ! How I wasn't beheaded as a youth I'll never know ...

I know one well regarded Dublin engineer who refuses to have an Assistant on any of his sessions as they just annoy him !

The point is any knowledge you may acquire formally is of much less value to you than being a good bloke with kop on and enthusiasm.

As the studio ecosystem is 'delicate' the one who gets an A in 'Fitting In' and an A+ in 'Hustling' has twice the qualification as the lad who has the A+ alone in Protools.

Paperwork may well be of use in other areas of Recording - but the law of the Jungle pervades in the music recording side.

This is not to dis academia, in fact I'd have loved such an opportunity as a youth (in my day there was no such thing, certainly in Ireland ) but from my dealings with both Recording Studios and Colleges professionally there seems to still be a chasm between what one offers and the other requires ....

Ronan Murphy

PaulBrewer wrote: »

I know one well regarded Dublin engineer who refuses to have an Assistant on any of his sessions as they just annoy him !

I also know some studios that will refuse to hire anyone for an entry level position that has gone to some kind of recording school. (others prefer it) The thinking (true or not) is often that people that went to recording school feel that they have paid their dues by going to the school. The reality is that a good recording school can teach you about signal flow and recording techniques, but that is only a small part of doing recording professionally. knowing the etiquette and psychology of recording is a HUGE part of the gig and you can only really learn that in the trenches.

dav nagle

I was doing a session in a nice studio a while back and the intern didn't offer his seat, didn't offer to make tea or coffee, talked all the time. He didn't realise how lucky he was. He could of been the most over qualified sound man in the world but he was a PITA. Guys like this is ruin work experience for other guys IMO.

madtheory

Just to clarify what Ronan is saying, that's in the US, not here. I doubt very much that there's any studio in Ireland that's in a position to hire anyone, regardless.

My advice- You've picked a very small niche in a small business! If you want to earn a good living, look elsewhere, especially in the current downturn.

But if you love audio and music, you should really be looking to be an audio expert in as many different areas as you can think of. You can't afford to turn anything down in your position. You should do live sound if only for the experience.

Here's another suggestion- film and TV is a nicer and often neglected area of employment than "studios". Good location sound people are in short supply. If you were to phone around production companies, you'd get an idea of the situation. To do it you'll need your own car, an SQN, a boom mic (the Rodes are inexpensive), 2 radio mics and a pair of Beyerdynamic DT150 cans. This sort of work will get you known in the film and TV business, and you could get work in post, mixing, sound design etc. To learn about it, buy a few books, and sign up as boom op on a few feature films.

Theatre work is very creative, there's a burgeoning video games industry (well it's miniscule, not really an industry in Ireland at the mo), but you'll need musical ability for that kind of work.

So basically, broaden your horizons, take off the blinkers, get work doing anything at all, just to get started with networking.

petermaher

PaulBrewer wrote: »

A Studio environment is a delicate hierarchy that's easily imbalanced - and the impetuousness of youth can often be one of those things ! How I wasn't beheaded as a youth I'll never know ...

Can't imagine you like that P!(boll*x):P

Bendybones

Thanks for the replies folks.
All good stuff.
K