pulse music college

jon kirby

Hi. My 17 year old son is convinced he wants to study at pulse music college, ringsend , dublin for a degree in music production. Are there people out there who have studied at pulse recently, in particular for their music production degree course. What was it like for you. Was it worth 7,500 euro per year and what about career/job prospects at the end of 25,000 euro or more!!!!!!

DamagedTrax

i did the sound engineering course there.

there have been many discussions on this subject in here thru the years so ill stick to the facts and you can make your own mind up from them.

i qualified and got a job in a studio directly after finishing in pulse. im now about to go into business with another engineer and a PR/marketing person. we have a the beginnings of a beautiful studio and a growing client list.

when i went to pulse i'd already had a lot of years experience in studios both playing and recording. i went as a mature student, kept my eye on what i wanted and kept the socialising to a minimum. as a result i won a student of the year and mix of the year award. im not sure i could have done that in my early twenties if im honest.

i know of 8 other students from either my year, the year above and the year below that are working in the industry either here or abroad. (there may be more but thats all i know of from the ones ive kept in touch with).

on the other side of the coin there were many students who didnt apply themselves and are not working in the industry now.

1. the qualification will not get your son a job.
2. there are very very few jobs in the industry.
3. there are hundreds grduating every year in ireland.

BUT if your son has a noticeable talent, and if you recognise the unerring drive in him that it takes to succeed in music then it will be a good investment in his future as windmill lane is a special place. both live rooms are superb and the equipment is as pro as you can get.

the lecturers and staff will go out of their way to help a student that shows interest. like most engineers they'll happily chat away with you about equipment all day.

any student that goes to pulse (or STC or poppyhill or wherever) will get out of their course, only what they're prepared to put into it.

hope this helps.

jon kirby

Thanks for your honest appraisal. Really appreciate you taking the time to reply. Jon.

GTE

There are a number of routes that your son can take. The Pulse route is a good one. There are also degree level courses dotted around the island from Maynooth to Tralee. You can get into those by the standard CAO system.

A third route which is cheaper and by no means a less credible route is to do a Higher National Diploma in the music technology or music production areas. By achieving a good grade in those, your son will then have access to the UK degree system. What I mean by that is your son will be allowed to skip the first year of a degree course in the UK as they will have the HND under their belt. The HND is regarded highly from the practical education stand point however for whatever reason, Irish universities do not seem allow students to skip the first year. Your son is also open to the SAE group of courses through the HND too.

The HND will give you a competent practical background where many of my compatriots have gone into industry work in studios and live sound straight from the HND itself. With the HND finished, a decision can then be made whether to continue with the study in that area or go down a new career path because 17 is a very young age to have to make a decision like this which ultimately is going to cost a lot of money.

From the parents point of view, I appreciate you want the best for your son but at the same time, money is an object many people face. The main thing I want to get across is that money does not equal quality if you do your homework both in class and in what routes you research. Genuine educators based in institutions with a positive teaching mindset is worth more and I am sure you can find that in a lot of places, including Pulse. I got through the UK degree system before the course fees were raised so you will have to do some homework on that.

You can do a FETAC course which roughly is an Irish version of the HND, but I can not comment on any of those courses as I never saw it as an option for me.

Pulse do offer a degree now, accredited by Griffith College which is an interesting development.

Personally, I did a HND in Dublin then a 2 year honours degree at the Sonic Arts Research Centre in Belfast and then a post grad at MediaCity UK in Manchester. 5 years in total. I am looking for a job in teaching which makes me a tad different in terms of what I have been working towards.