Is Sound Engineering a good job?

If its what you want to do, go for it. I'm starting out at the moment in this industry and I'm working several jobs FOR FREE, just to put them on the CV, and....I love every minute of it. Cannot wait to make a proper living from this. Follow your heart I say.

Agree with many of the above posters except I don't even think its a question of hard work. To become a professional in any field requires that you meet certain standards, which are only achievable with years of structured learning and then years of putting that learning into practice.

Some professions have a very direct route from leaning to practice - eg. Medicine and other apprenticed professions like Law and Engineering. Law is down recently due to the economy and the reliance on buying/selling property that Irish law firms had during the boom years. So getting into this profession is a bit more difficult now as Irish law firms retool and build up in different practice directions. Many firms have been shrinking over the past 3 years making it harder for someone to get in with no experience. If you know someone who already works in the industry you will have a natural advantage because business in this country has a strong emphasis on sociability. There is also quite alot of nepotism, so if you are a known face or a related person, you are much more likely to pick up grunt work than any random CV. I work in a small law firm and 6 of the past 8 trainee solicitors were known faces before they even started (either relatives, or friends of relatives or friends/relatives of professional associates). The two random CVs were picked up prior to 2007 when the firm was still growing on the back of the housing market. At that point the firm was interested in taking on trainees to dump licensing and district court debt collection on so they could turn solicitors full time onto conveyancing and high court litigation which generated alot of fee income.

Sound engineering is also an apprenticed profession but its been hard to get into for a long time as commercial music sales trend down, industry lay offs trend up and as long as Ireland has banking problems because you are not likely to put up the venture capital required to start your own studio. The economy right now is also quite hostile to start ups and the self employed so if you can't make your business work, it will really hurt you.

I used to recommend skilling up in things you are good at and which you enjoy. Right now, I think its best to skill up in areas you are good at and which there is commercial demand for. In Ireland theres alot more opportunities in Biotech and Computer software design if you happen to have an affinity or an interest in these things. You can always learn sound design and engineering in your spare time. If you secure a good, steady wage, its money you can funnel into sound engineering training and eventually even your own start up if thats what you want to do.

I wouldn't put all your eggs in one basket however because plenty of people work very hard at getting into this game, and they don't get anywhere. Its not because they haven't worked hard enough, its just the way it is. If theres one contract up for grabs and 10 interns grabbing at it, 9 of them are just going to come away empty handed.

*NEVER* work for free. It pains me to see people value their time so little that they would give away their labour for nothing. It pains me to see people put faith in the inherent good in their employer not to take advantage of them.

Unpaid internships in the music industry are something I am very disappointed in because there is a culture of it in places like Gearslutz. You should be very wary about the terms of such employment and you should ask about performance criteria and whether you will be kept on, on a salaried or contract basis if you do well in your internship. You will probably be laughed at or they will point out that you don't deserve to get paid until you are skilled enough to provide value to the business. However, this is expressly against the point of an internship which is to benefit the intern, otherwise there are some difficult legal and ethical questions to contend with. I would be very wary of working for people that pull that logic on you because their interest is their business and they are skirting a fine line when it comes to minimum wage laws. If you find yourself displacing employees then thats a red flag right there.

In non growth industries the use of unpaid internships is a grey area that functions essentially as a substitute for paid employees.

I don't know anyone that can work for any significant length of time without remuneration so I don't think this is something that many people will even have the opportunity to do. You need to have fairly substantial financial security (rich parents or inheritance?) to work for nothing. I don't think very highly of people that are so willing to give away their only useful asset (their labour) for nothing. If you get something out of it, then I'm happy for you, but I rather believe that many others won't get anything other than more indebted.

In the end if the consumer demand isn't there, the work isn't there. If the work isn't there, then theres no need to hire. If theres no need to hire and you are looking for a job in that industry then good luck. If there has been no need to hire for a long time and the industry looks like its going to continue shrinking in the future, then god have mercy on your soul.

Thats ok, just don't let them use you. You may not know it when you are starting out, but your time and your labour is worth alot more than nothing. You got further in than I did so good luck dude and all the best for the future.

I would be in agreement with Hayte "never work for free" , If you looking to get into the studio and see what you can get from it, Is it primarily set up for a niche market? what are you going to get from it? better understanding of what process? go in for a couple of weeks learn what you need and move on. This way you avoid hanging around getting annoyed.

Maybe the DIY circuit is an option. But am guessing punk rock/hardcore is not every bodies cup of tea. If you take a look at most of the lasting engineers of the past 20 years you will see a vast majority have worked at ground level and earned their credentials by doing some amazing DIY stuff.

Live sound is a good job if you are competent and enjoy doing it. Keep one eye to the future, have a plan B and don't spend too long working for a sound company (like, learn what you have to learn and get out); unless, of course, they are an awesome company like Clair Brothers. You can do quite well if you go solo and create a client base. You'll end up having to buy your own gear if you work venues in Ireland as many of them are missing important components such as gates, compressors, proper EQs, decent FX, good DIs etc (even proper mics and stands!). Still, this never bothered me, I diverted some of the gig money back into my rig and ended up with a nice FOH FX rack and a bunch of mics, stands and other audio items. This collection will create your 'signature sound', word will travel and you'll get hired more often. I'm out of live sound now, but still have my FX rack & mixers and use them when location recording for a high-quality live room-mix. I wouldn't necessarily agree with the 'don't work for free' brigade. Internships can be valuable opportunities to work with great people. A good internship scenario benefits the intern and the host organisation. Use your judgment and instincts to assess whether the internship is a good one or not. I trained an intern years ago - now he's on tour with The Wall and we're still in touch. Oh, and wear earplugs - they're the only reason I can still hear :pac: