Is audio engineering school really worth it?

Is audio engineering school really worth it?

If you’re trying to decide whether going to audio engineering school is worth it or not, let me share my personal experience and break down some of the pros and cons to help you make your decision…

I studied audio engineering. Was it worth it? Well, maybe…

If you’re trying to decide whether to go or not, I want to share my personal experience with you and also lay out some of the pros and cons of going to audio engineering school so that you can decide whether it’ll be worth it for you or not.

Many people go to audio school for the wrong reasons – or, they simply expect something very different. Within the first 2 weeks, about 30% of my class dropped out. Out of all my classmates who completed the course, many went on to pursue careers totally unrelated to the audio industry.

Top reasons people decide to go to sound school:

  • They love making music and think it’ll be a fun career.
  • They can’t explain to their parents that they want to be a musician and play in a band full-time (one of my personal reasons for going!)
  • They want to be a famous “producer”.
  • They think it’ll be an easy gap year.
  • They think it’ll get them a good job in the industry.
  • They think they’ll be able to use the studios and gear to record their own music – free studio time baby!

Some of these reasons are good, some are a little misguided, and others are just a recipe for wasted time and money.

Whatever your reasons are, I want you to at least understand what you’re getting yourself into. I think studying audio engineering can be great – for the right person in the right situation. It can also be a big waste of your time and money. So, to help you make your decision, let’s start by looking at some of the pros on cons of going to sound school…

Access to some nice gear is a definite plus of attending a large audio school.

Pros – The upside of going to audio engineering school

1. Meet new people, make friends

Meeting people and making new friends is always an advantage of going to study at some type of institution. You’ll probably get to meet some cool like-minded people who also love making music… and who knows, you may even find the members of your next band.

2. You get to work on great equipment (hopefully)

Having access to some really great equipment is one of the best perks of attending a big audio school. This kind of experience can be hard to come by as big expensive sound desks and gear become less and less common.

One thing working on great equipment does for you is finally banish all those excuses you had before about how your gear just wasn’t good enough. You quickly learn that, yes, great gear does make life easier, but it doesn’t produce great sounding music all by itself!

“You quickly learn that, yes, great gear does make life easier, but it doesn’t produce great sounding music all by itself!”

Now, as tempting as that pristine audio gear may be, there are a few caveats I want you to be aware of…

Firstly, the standard of equipment varies enormously. Some places are so outdated, when you walk into the studio it feels like you’re walking back into the 70’s. One college I looked at was still using DAT machines as their primary recording device, seriously?! The reality is, the really good gear is typically only found at the big name brand schools – with the big name brand fees. Make sure that you check out the studios of any potential colleges before signing up.

Secondly, you’ll be sharing the equipment with all the other students. How much studio time you get depends on how much gear there is to go around, and how many students you’re sharing the facilities with. If the courses are crowded you may be lucky to only get a few hours a week. Before handing over any cash, ask how much studio time per student is typical so that you know exactly what you’re getting.

3. You get a solid grounding in audio

I must say, one thing that studying audio engineering did was give me a sense of confidence that I had at least covered all the essentials. Because the courses are well structured and laid out, you know that you’re learning all the basics.

Yes, learning the fundamentals of sound and signal flow may not be super exciting, but it does help give you a good grounding and understanding of all things audio.

Browsing blogs and YouTube can be a bit disorientating when it comes to learning something – because you’re just jumping from one random video or post to the next. There’s no sense of order or completion. That said, if you don’t want to go the college route, there are online courses (mostly paid) that can bring structure to learning about audio and music production.

4. You get to be a “qualified” audio engineer!

One of the main reasons people study at a major institution is to receive that little piece of paper that says, ‘you know how to do this thing’. It feels good to know that you can do something and you have the paper to prove it!

Being qualified is a benefit, but not as much as some people may think…

Firstly, as nice as it may be, that little piece of paper doesn’t necessarily mean you’re any good in the real world. Sure, you may be able to define impedance and phantom power, but can you produce a great sounding song?

The reality is, the majority of people in my audio engineering class became ‘qualified’ and got their certificate, but were not very good. Not only did they not know what was going on most of the time, they weren’t even interested. They saw the course as an easy gap year and did the bare minimum to scrape by.

“I can tell you from personal experience that no one has ever asked to see my sound engineering certificate…”

Now, to be totally honest, even though I worked really hard, when I got my certificate I wasn’t that good either! The course gave be a good grounding, but it took real-world practice to actually become any good.

The reason I put “qualified” in inverted commas is because it’s somewhat of a meaningless term when it comes to something like audio engineering. If you’re talking about doctors, pilots, or lawyers – yes, being qualified is essential to doing the job. But audio engineering… not so much.

I can tell you from personal experience that no one has ever asked to see my sound engineering certificate… in fact, now that I mention it, I haven’t seen it myself in about 10 years!

So, is an audio engineering certificate totally useless then?

No, there are some cases it can be helpful, or essential, to have some accreditation to your name. If you want to get a job with some big corporation working as a sound engineer, they’ll probably ask to see some credentials before they let you lose on their million dollar sound desk!

Note: The kind of jobs that would require accreditation as a typical audio engineer are almost certainly not to do with producing music, they’re typically more technical careers. For example, working in a broadcast truck at a sporting event.

5. You learn a broad range of skills

This could be viewed as a ‘pro’ or a ‘con’ depending on what you want to do. If you’re not sure what you want to do yet, then being exposed to various aspects of audio engineering can be a great thing. For example, apart from the basics of recording and music production, most courses will cover things like live sound, sound for film, surround sound production, and radio ads. You may find that you really love one of these things and didn’t even realize it before.

On the other hand, if you already know that you want to be involved in music production, then assignments like making a mock radio ad for MacDonalds will probably feel like a complete waste of time.

A typical cheesy college promotional picture featuring unusually attractive students laughing and giving the thumbs-up – looks like a dream come true!

Cons – The downside of going to audio engineering school

1. The cost

The biggest factor in deciding whether to study sound engineering is almost always the cost. The big institutions charge a lot because they have to. They’ve got big buildings, a lot of equipment to maintain, lecturers salaries to pay, big marketing budgets to justify, and they still have to make a profit on top of all that.

Tuition fees vary a lot, depending on where you are in the world and the kind of college it is. Top audio engineering schools can easily set you back tens of thousands of dollars – PER YEAR(!!). And although there are far more affordable options, in general, you do get what you pay for.

Apart from the tuition fees, don’t forget to factor in costs such as food and accommodation, especially if you plan on travelling to a school away from home.

Student loans are an option, but just understand that as soon as you take out a loan your future no longer entirely belongs to you. You’re obligated to pay that loan back in a certain time frame, and that may very well mean taking jobs right out of college that you don’t like.

2. You have to learn a lot of filler content

I’m just going to come out and say it: Big colleges / universities love filler content. They take a subject that could be covered in a few short months, and drag it out over several years by adding unnecessary filler content that has little to do with the main subject you want to study.

So much of what I had to learn was a total waste of time. I’m talking about things like memorizing different types of clock sync methods and compression algorithms – really?! In the modern world where a Google search is just seconds away, memorizing facts – especially facts that you’re not using right now – is a complete waste of time. It’s also been proven that we forget information that we aren’t currently using.

The college that I attended had a simple one year sound engineering course. I see they’ve now extended it to two years – with essentially the same content. It’s simple, if you make a course two years instead of one you instantly double your profits.

3. The time

The result of adding a lot of filler content is that these courses tend to be soooooo drawn out. We’re talking multiple years. Again, in a way they have to be, that’s how they make their money.

For me, the experience was especially frustrating because I had travelled across the country to attend an audio college. When I got there I was told there was only one main lecture per week and the rest of the time would be used for projects. The problem is, we didn’t get any projects for several weeks so I was stuck in a new city, not knowing anyone, waiting around to use the studios (which can take months).

I know, boo hoo, let’s all feel sorry for Rob! :) Seriously though, it wasn’t all that bad, it was just a bit frustrating. It makes sense, they can’t let new students get into the studios until they know you’re not going to blow something up. I just wanted to mention this to give you a better idea of what to expect. Make sure to specifically ask how long it takes to get into the big studios.

Also, the question you need to ask yourself is whether you want to spend all those years in sound school, or if that time could be better spent just getting into the industry and learning as you go.

4. Audio engineering school is not only about producing music

If your main passion is music, realize that most of what you’re going to be studying has very little to do with music. It’s a lot of technical jargon, general audio knowledge, and different forms of media production which you may not have any interest in at all.

A lot of guys drop out very quickly when they find out they have to learn circuit diagrams instead of programming beats.

5. Audio engineering jobs are declining

This isn’t exclusive to the sound industry, there’s plenty of Harvard graduates finding themselves serving burgers through the Macdonalds drive-through window because they can’t land the job they thought would be a guarantee.

“The fact is, a client doesn’t care whether you learnt from YouTube or the best audio school in the world…”

It’s no secret the big studio days are long since over. The technology needed to produce music is so affordable these days that you can just about buy an entire studio for less than the cost of renting out a major studio for the day. Because of this trend, there simply aren’t as many jobs as there used to be.

A lot of the big studio sound engineers who lost their jobs have since opened their own home studios to make a living that way, but every year there’s more and more people willing to do the job for less – kids who didn’t drop $100K on sound school and don’t have a family to support yet. The fact is, a client doesn’t care whether you learnt from YouTube or the best audio school in the world, all they care about is whether you can produce great sounding music. That’s it.

It’s not all doom and gloom though, there’ll always be jobs for sound engineers, there just aren’t nearly as many in the music industry as there used to be. The reality is, in many ways the role of the audio engineer is becoming more technical and less artistic.

Of course, you could always open your own studio…

6. Not as much studio time as you may think

I mentioned this before – yes, you get access to some nice studios but how much time you actually get depends on the school and facilities. So many people attend audio school thinking they’re going to get to spend all their days in plush recording studios, but it just doesn’t work like that.

“The reality is, there’s always more students than studios.”

The reality is, there’s always more students than studios. To try and cater to more students, most schools will have basic ‘workstation’ type studios in little cubicles which you can work on using headphones but you’re probably just as well off working at home.

What you really want is to spend as much time as possible in the main studios, that’s something you don’t have access to at home. Make sure to specifically ask how much studio time you’re likely to get in the main studio/s, and long it takes before you get access to the big studios.

7. Not all the techniques are practical for a ‘home studio’ environment

Not a major disadvantage this, but just something to think about… It’s all very well having access to a 60 channel sound desk, an acoustically treated live room, and cases of top quality mics, but unless you’re going to keep using that gear when you leave it doesn’t help you very much.

In other words, if you’re planning on doing most of your recording in a home studio environment, you’ve got to learn to adapt and make the most of what you’ve got. I’ve met plenty of sound engineering graduates who came out of sound school spoilt by all the gear, and couldn’t produce the results without it.

How to choose a good audio
engineering school

If you decide you want to study audio engineering, the next step is to find a good college that will be worth the time and money. Based on what I know now from having studied sound engineering and also having worked professionally in the industry for many years, this is what I’d look for in an audio school:

1. Access to great teachers

Find out who will actually be lecturing you. You want to be learning from experts with actual experience in the industry, not just academics or ex-students who have only just completed the course themselves.

My experience was mixed. We had some awesome lecturers… one guy had actually helped make the hand claps you hear on Queen’s Radio Ga Ga. Just listening to him tell his stories was fascinating. On the other hand, we also had some well-meaning, but inexperienced ex-students who basically just parroted back what was in the course books.

2. Access to great gear

One thing you can’t get in an online course is access to high-end audio equipment to learn and experiment on. If you’re going to go to sound school, make sure that they have the goods!

The audio college I attended had some awesome equipment. From big analog consoles to modern digital gear, it was great. We even had a reel-to-reel tape machine to experiment with.

Apart from the gear, find out how long you have to wait to actually get into the studios, and how much studio time students typically get. This is something a lot of people overlook and are disappointed when they find out they’re not even allowed in the main studios the first year.

3. Curriculum that lines up with your goals

As mentioned before, audio school is not just about producing music. If you know you want to produce music professionally, make sure that a good portion of the course actually covers this – don’t just take it for granted!

If you don’t really know what you want to do yet, but you think it’s probably something in the audio field, then being exposed to different aspects of sound engineering could help you to discover your passion.

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Some last advice

I often get asked some variation of ‘Is studying at an audio engineering school really worth the time and money?’. Hopefully, you now have a better idea of what’s involved. I’ve mentioned a lot of negative aspects not to put you off, but so that you can make a good decision with a balanced perspective.

I realize that this can be a tough decision to make, especially since it’s such a big investment of both time and money. Let me give you a few final words of advice. These are just my personal options so feel free to take them or leave them…

Don’t bother studying audio engineering through a ‘general degree’

General degrees are exactly that – general. Unless you like the idea of studying filler subjects like Geography and Biology, they’re best avoided.

I once had to tutor a girl who had spent 4 years on a degree majoring in audio engineering. She had virtually no clue about even the basics of recording, mixing, and mastering. And it wasn’t her fault. She was being taught things like ‘how microphones are made’ – useful if you want to produce microphones, totally useless if you want to produce music. No artist will ever come into the studio and ask you whether you know how the microphone’s diaphragm is constructed!

If you’re going to study sound engineering, choose the best course you can find that focuses specifically on sound engineering. Since you’re probably a musician at heart, make sure the audio engineering course has music production as it’s main focus.

Outdated colleges are probably not worth it

I hate to say it, but going to a community type college with ancient equipment and over-worked lecturers is probably not worth your time. The whole point of going to college is to get direct access to great teachers and great equipment. If it doesn’t have that, you’re better off investing your money in online courses – where there are plenty of great teachers.

Unfortunately, the reality is that the best gear and teachers tend to be at the best schools. The best schools charge the most money. That’s life.

There are always exceptions and you’ll have to check out the various options in your area, but don’t get suckered into some run-down school that wants to charge you a lot of money for hardly anything in return. The number of audio school scams (rip-offs) I’ve come across just in my area would astound you…

“The whole point of going to college is to get direct access to great teachers and great equipment…”

If you can afford it, it could be an awesome experience

College can be a lot of fun. It’s a new experience and adventure into something you’ve never done before. That said, what isn’t fun is a $100K student loan.

I was fortunate enough to be able to have the support of my family, and didn’t have to rack up some huge student loan in order to study. (I wasn’t spoilt, I was totally broke and had to work as a part-time barman just to buy food, but it was still fun!)

If you can afford it and you have the opportunity to go, go for it. But if you have to take on huge student loans, I’d think really hard about whether that’s worth it.

Big student loans not only put a lot of pressure on you, but they can also trap you into a career that you don’t want. Because you’re required to pay the loan back once you finish studying, you may have no choice but to take the first job you can find.

Consider the opportunity cost

A wise man once said, ‘the greatest factor to consider in any decision is the opportunity cost’. What is opportunity cost? It’s what you’re going to miss out on by taking a certain path.

“The opportunity cost is all the other things you could have spent that money on…”

Whenever you choose something, you give up other options. For example, if you were to spend $100K on audio school, the opportunity cost is all the other things you could have spent that money on. And it’s not just about money, often the biggest opportunity cost is time.

A good idea is to write down all the costs and potential opportunities so you have a better idea of the decision you’re making. If you work out you’re going to have to spend $50K to study audio engineering at a big college, what could you rather spend that money on? I can think of a few things…

You could very easily pimp out an awesome home studio. You could also buy pretty much every online course available. You could also spend those years that you would be in sound school learning first hand in the school of life!

Invest in online courses

Whether you decide to go or not, I recommend investing in some courses online – free or paid. I’m not saying you should buy mine – look around, see which ones resonate with you and fit your budget, and then try them out. (Make sure that they offer a decent guarantee so that you can try them out without worrying about losing your money if they aren’t what you were looking for)

There’s a few reasons I suggest this:

  • You’ll get a better idea of whether you actually like studying this audio stuff.
  • You’ll gain different perspectives and learn new things that you won’t learn at college.
  • If you do go and study at a big college, it’ll put you ahead of the game before you even enter a class.
  • The fact is, if you’re even considering studying audio engineering, you can find online courses for an absolute fraction of the tuition price that formal institutions charge.

Conclusion

Ultimately, the decision is yours. I hope this has at least given you a new perspective and some things to think about.

If you want to go study and have the means, go for it, have fun, and don’t waste it!

If you choose not to go study, realize that you don’t need a degree to make great sounding music! Start now, practice, be open to learning, and you will get there.

Whatever you choose, I wish you all the best!

Rob Williams

Rob Williams

In case you're new around here, I'm Rob – welcome! I'm the chief musician / producer / teacher / designer / coffee maker around here. Basically, I just try to make all this technical music production stuff really simple so that you can make your tracks sound great. If you want me to keep you posted with the latest trainings, click below to connect…

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17 Comments

  1. Tristan Aubron

    Hey Rob, once again that’s a great writing! Thank you so much for your time and patience you put into all your articles and videos.
    Well funny how you talked about it but I am studying to be an Airline Pilot, before that I studied sound engineering for 2 years before dropping out at the end to focus on my Private Pilot License (too much general courses exactly like you said…)
    So why am I bothering you? I moved to NYC for few months to work for my national airline (AirFrance, so you can guess where I’m from) and since my goal in life is to fly (of course) but I am also planning to start and manage a professional recording studio. I just wanted to ask you if from your experience in NYC you have any studios to recommend to contact. I would like to visit and see how they work. I am also willing to do some “non qualified volunteer work” if they need to but mostly I’d like to see them operating even if it’s just for an hour.
    Thanks again for everything I improved myself a lot on my home studio recordings and got many clients because of you and your nice training!!
    Thank you again
    Tristan

    Reply
    • Rob Williams

      Hey Tristan,

      Unfortunately, I can’t really be of much help. There’s lot’s of studios in NYC, but getting in the door of any of them is another story. The only thing you can do is ask – but of course, they get a LOT of requests.

      The best thing to do is just get your own little studio up and running and start getting clients – start with people you know and it’ll spread from there. Good luck!

      Rob

      Reply
  2. Dangenoir

    Right on F..k the system. Punk attitude.
    Laugh at the loudness war geeks and too proud silly diploma owners.

    Ms. Smithiacias

    Reply
  3. Samee

    I love reading your contents. I’ve been following you for couple of years now, and I have to admit your online mix and master courses completely changed my life as a musician. This article is so precise and I have never read these facts so elaborately before. Thank you for all these. I am hoping to meet you someday and tell you how grateful I am in person :)

    Reply
    • Rob Williams

      Thanks Samee, great to hear it’s helping you!

      Reply
  4. David

    Ok, so I know that if you want to be a music producer or work in a recording studio there are other cheaper ways to accomplish that, but what if I want to work as a sound designer/editor/mixer for film, TV and/or video games? I already know the theory but I don’t have any formal training (like a diploma or such) and need to improve my skills by practicing on a profesional environment, plus I am from Mexico and recently arriving to Canada with no contacts at all on the audio industry, I have worked here and there by doing minor sound design jobs but I don’t have a portfolio to show because I wasn’t allowed to use any of the material I worked on, so, how do you suggest to start my career on sound design? or how do you suggest I can “put my foot on the door” sort of speak?, is school worth it in this specific case? I’m 32 YO BTW, so i cannot afford wasting any more time to really get a career on sound design (if that’s ever gonna happen at all) great article, Cheers!

    Reply
    • Rob Williams

      Hey David. Yeah, in your case going to audio school could be a good thing – you’d make connections and get to put together a basic portfolio. If you work hard and do a great job you may even be able to get job referrals from the lecturers.

      The only catch is, IF you can afford it. I also wouldn’t waste my time on a long multi-year general music degree – if you know you want to do sound design, try and find a place that teaches that and not too much else.

      IF you already have the skills (mostly) and can do good work, then it really is just about doing whatever it takes to get your foot in the door. Offer to do projects for free. Try and find someone who does what you want to do and offer to do the ‘grunt’ work for them for free. Ask if you can shadow them for a few hours.

      Also, if you want to start putting together a portfolio, it’s not that difficult. Get a movie with some type of action scene in it (just a part without dialog), mute the audio, and then make your own audio mix to it which you can use to show people.

      Bottom line – unfortunately, there’s no set way of getting in, you’ve just got to hustle and try a bunch of stuff!

      Hope that helps!

      Reply
  5. Jake Kiser

    hey,
    I just read your article today Sept. 12th 2017 not sure if the comment page is still active or checked but i wanted to give it a try. I am currently doing research on attending an audio sound engineering school and with that I am going to be making a career change. I love and appreciate the article, I find it very helpful and straight to the point. I found a school that is an 11 month program, 5 days a week and 4 hours a day classes. You also have the opportunity to get certified in 17 additional programs of certification with some of those 17 being a part of the program of study as well. Classes are small, I believe 12 per students per class, meaning I will learn and be with those same 11 students for an 8 month period and then the last 3 months of the program you are put into a internship of your choice to get 280 hours of internship work to complete the program. Relatively low cost compared to most other programs i believe around 20k and its an on site school no online, also it has 6 studios. Music has been my passion from around the age of 12. When i went to college for my first degree i did not really know you could go to college to become a sound engineer or that would have been my first choice for a career. I love music entirely mostly stuff no one listen too or is not in the mainstream top 40 pop radio, I also love instrumental stuff simply put if it swings I dig it lol. Music is a part of my everyday and I just thought that why not make it my profession. I am not looking to become a big time famous music producer or make millions of dollars in the music industry. I just simply want to be around people making music and be a part of the process of them making their music, whether that in a recording studio or live sound venue or in a small jazz club in Seattle, where a jazz band has a monthly residency. I am 30 years old and its now or never for me to make a change. I would love any help or knowledge you could pass on or mostly just please tell me if i am crazy or not to want to turn my life upside down to pursue a life in music.

    thank you for your time,
    Jake

    Reply
    • Rob Williams

      Hey Jake, it’s never too late to make a change if that’s what you’re passionate about!

      The biggest question you’ve got to ask is ‘what is stopping you getting involved in music now WITHOUT studying?’ Everything you’re going to learn there can be found on Wikipedia. I’m not trying to talk you out of it, I just always point out to people that you don’t always have to drop everything and make a drastic change. You can just get involved – go down to a jazz club if that’s what you like and ask if you can just help out doing whatever – making coffee, rolling cables – just say you’re eager to learn. Ask the sound guy if you can shadow him for a night.

      All I’m saying it this – go dive in and see if you actually like that vibe and lifestyle.

      After I studied I went to work for a live sound company and lasted three weeks, I hated it! I was a glorified speaker carrier and cable roller. To get the live sound gigs you gotta make contacts with bands and artists.

      Anyway, I’ve gotta run, but I’m just re-enforcing what I said on this page, getting a certificate in sound will do nothing to open doors for you. It doesn’t matter how you learn the stuff, you just gotta learn it, and then it’s about making connections and figuring what you want to do with it. So go and shadow some people and see what it’s like. Then if you’re sure it’s for you, weigh the options between self-study and going to school.

      Good luck!

      Reply
  6. Kevin

    Learned so much being here in so little time I know there is more to come brother I appreciate it keep it up

    Reply
  7. Fred

    Hey Rob. im doing some research regarding uneducated and educated audio engineers and wanted to use your article as one of my references. could you tell me when this article was written?

    thanks :)

    Reply
    • Rob Williams

      Hey Fred – I wrote this about a year and a half ago. Hope it helped you!

      Reply
  8. J

    is live sound engineering as hard to get into as studio and is a one year diploma adequate to at least get someone to look at you as a candidate.
    Cheers

    Reply
    • Rob Williams

      It depends what you mean by ‘get into’ … What most people don’t realize about ‘live sound’ is that all the top artists / bands already have their own engineers, so if you work for a live sound company, you’re basically going to be rigging, de-rigging, packing trucks, unpacking tracks, etc. I know because I did it!

      I’m not trying to discourage you, I just think you should understand that going in. The fact is, there are SO many bands, including pretty good up and coming bands, who are LOOKING for good sound engineers they can trust. They’re often willing to pay a bit, not much, but something.

      If you want to get into that, go out to a band venue and just talk to the guy doing sound, ask if they mind if you just stand by and see what they’re doing. If they seem cool and willing to teach you some things, offer to come help them set up next time. Offer to help pack-up. Ask questions. Learn.

      The point is, when it comes to sound – especially live sound – it’s mostly just about showing up. This is just as true if you have a diploma or not. So learn however you want to learn but just know that you’re going to have to get your hands dirty to get in the game so you might as well start now!

      Hope that helps!

      (Btw, if you happen to go to a church, that’s an awesome way to learn – most churches are practically begging for volunteers to do sound.. and some big churches will even train you and give you someone to shadow and teach you)

      Reply
  9. S

    I want to pursue sound engineering, not because of sound engineering itself, it is because I am so much passionate about music and singing. But honestly after reading you’re article, I’m just confused, I mean I don’t want to disappoint my parents. After so many requests they’ve said” yes “. I’m gonna take a loan to study sound engineering course. But after reading you’re views, I don’t know whether it will worth it or not. Plz help me out.

    Reply
    • Rob Williams

      Yeah it’s not always an easy decision, I was in a very similar position. My advice would be to go on a tour of the college and have them show you around. If it’s not in your area, find one in your area. I did this for a few places and it helped me decide. Good luck!

      Reply
  10. Paul

    Hello Rob , Thank you so much for time . You’re indeed amazing .

    Reply

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17 Comments

  1. Tristan Aubron

    Hey Rob, once again that’s a great writing! Thank you so much for your time and patience you put into all your articles and videos.
    Well funny how you talked about it but I am studying to be an Airline Pilot, before that I studied sound engineering for 2 years before dropping out at the end to focus on my Private Pilot License (too much general courses exactly like you said…)
    So why am I bothering you? I moved to NYC for few months to work for my national airline (AirFrance, so you can guess where I’m from) and since my goal in life is to fly (of course) but I am also planning to start and manage a professional recording studio. I just wanted to ask you if from your experience in NYC you have any studios to recommend to contact. I would like to visit and see how they work. I am also willing to do some “non qualified volunteer work” if they need to but mostly I’d like to see them operating even if it’s just for an hour.
    Thanks again for everything I improved myself a lot on my home studio recordings and got many clients because of you and your nice training!!
    Thank you again
    Tristan

    Reply
    • Rob Williams

      Hey Tristan,

      Unfortunately, I can’t really be of much help. There’s lot’s of studios in NYC, but getting in the door of any of them is another story. The only thing you can do is ask – but of course, they get a LOT of requests.

      The best thing to do is just get your own little studio up and running and start getting clients – start with people you know and it’ll spread from there. Good luck!

      Rob

      Reply
  2. Dangenoir

    Right on F..k the system. Punk attitude.
    Laugh at the loudness war geeks and too proud silly diploma owners.

    Ms. Smithiacias

    Reply
  3. Samee

    I love reading your contents. I’ve been following you for couple of years now, and I have to admit your online mix and master courses completely changed my life as a musician. This article is so precise and I have never read these facts so elaborately before. Thank you for all these. I am hoping to meet you someday and tell you how grateful I am in person :)

    Reply
    • Rob Williams

      Thanks Samee, great to hear it’s helping you!

      Reply
  4. David

    Ok, so I know that if you want to be a music producer or work in a recording studio there are other cheaper ways to accomplish that, but what if I want to work as a sound designer/editor/mixer for film, TV and/or video games? I already know the theory but I don’t have any formal training (like a diploma or such) and need to improve my skills by practicing on a profesional environment, plus I am from Mexico and recently arriving to Canada with no contacts at all on the audio industry, I have worked here and there by doing minor sound design jobs but I don’t have a portfolio to show because I wasn’t allowed to use any of the material I worked on, so, how do you suggest to start my career on sound design? or how do you suggest I can “put my foot on the door” sort of speak?, is school worth it in this specific case? I’m 32 YO BTW, so i cannot afford wasting any more time to really get a career on sound design (if that’s ever gonna happen at all) great article, Cheers!

    Reply
    • Rob Williams

      Hey David. Yeah, in your case going to audio school could be a good thing – you’d make connections and get to put together a basic portfolio. If you work hard and do a great job you may even be able to get job referrals from the lecturers.

      The only catch is, IF you can afford it. I also wouldn’t waste my time on a long multi-year general music degree – if you know you want to do sound design, try and find a place that teaches that and not too much else.

      IF you already have the skills (mostly) and can do good work, then it really is just about doing whatever it takes to get your foot in the door. Offer to do projects for free. Try and find someone who does what you want to do and offer to do the ‘grunt’ work for them for free. Ask if you can shadow them for a few hours.

      Also, if you want to start putting together a portfolio, it’s not that difficult. Get a movie with some type of action scene in it (just a part without dialog), mute the audio, and then make your own audio mix to it which you can use to show people.

      Bottom line – unfortunately, there’s no set way of getting in, you’ve just got to hustle and try a bunch of stuff!

      Hope that helps!

      Reply
  5. Jake Kiser

    hey,
    I just read your article today Sept. 12th 2017 not sure if the comment page is still active or checked but i wanted to give it a try. I am currently doing research on attending an audio sound engineering school and with that I am going to be making a career change. I love and appreciate the article, I find it very helpful and straight to the point. I found a school that is an 11 month program, 5 days a week and 4 hours a day classes. You also have the opportunity to get certified in 17 additional programs of certification with some of those 17 being a part of the program of study as well. Classes are small, I believe 12 per students per class, meaning I will learn and be with those same 11 students for an 8 month period and then the last 3 months of the program you are put into a internship of your choice to get 280 hours of internship work to complete the program. Relatively low cost compared to most other programs i believe around 20k and its an on site school no online, also it has 6 studios. Music has been my passion from around the age of 12. When i went to college for my first degree i did not really know you could go to college to become a sound engineer or that would have been my first choice for a career. I love music entirely mostly stuff no one listen too or is not in the mainstream top 40 pop radio, I also love instrumental stuff simply put if it swings I dig it lol. Music is a part of my everyday and I just thought that why not make it my profession. I am not looking to become a big time famous music producer or make millions of dollars in the music industry. I just simply want to be around people making music and be a part of the process of them making their music, whether that in a recording studio or live sound venue or in a small jazz club in Seattle, where a jazz band has a monthly residency. I am 30 years old and its now or never for me to make a change. I would love any help or knowledge you could pass on or mostly just please tell me if i am crazy or not to want to turn my life upside down to pursue a life in music.

    thank you for your time,
    Jake

    Reply
    • Rob Williams

      Hey Jake, it’s never too late to make a change if that’s what you’re passionate about!

      The biggest question you’ve got to ask is ‘what is stopping you getting involved in music now WITHOUT studying?’ Everything you’re going to learn there can be found on Wikipedia. I’m not trying to talk you out of it, I just always point out to people that you don’t always have to drop everything and make a drastic change. You can just get involved – go down to a jazz club if that’s what you like and ask if you can just help out doing whatever – making coffee, rolling cables – just say you’re eager to learn. Ask the sound guy if you can shadow him for a night.

      All I’m saying it this – go dive in and see if you actually like that vibe and lifestyle.

      After I studied I went to work for a live sound company and lasted three weeks, I hated it! I was a glorified speaker carrier and cable roller. To get the live sound gigs you gotta make contacts with bands and artists.

      Anyway, I’ve gotta run, but I’m just re-enforcing what I said on this page, getting a certificate in sound will do nothing to open doors for you. It doesn’t matter how you learn the stuff, you just gotta learn it, and then it’s about making connections and figuring what you want to do with it. So go and shadow some people and see what it’s like. Then if you’re sure it’s for you, weigh the options between self-study and going to school.

      Good luck!

      Reply
  6. Kevin

    Learned so much being here in so little time I know there is more to come brother I appreciate it keep it up

    Reply
  7. Fred

    Hey Rob. im doing some research regarding uneducated and educated audio engineers and wanted to use your article as one of my references. could you tell me when this article was written?

    thanks :)

    Reply
    • Rob Williams

      Hey Fred – I wrote this about a year and a half ago. Hope it helped you!

      Reply
  8. J

    is live sound engineering as hard to get into as studio and is a one year diploma adequate to at least get someone to look at you as a candidate.
    Cheers

    Reply
    • Rob Williams

      It depends what you mean by ‘get into’ … What most people don’t realize about ‘live sound’ is that all the top artists / bands already have their own engineers, so if you work for a live sound company, you’re basically going to be rigging, de-rigging, packing trucks, unpacking tracks, etc. I know because I did it!

      I’m not trying to discourage you, I just think you should understand that going in. The fact is, there are SO many bands, including pretty good up and coming bands, who are LOOKING for good sound engineers they can trust. They’re often willing to pay a bit, not much, but something.

      If you want to get into that, go out to a band venue and just talk to the guy doing sound, ask if they mind if you just stand by and see what they’re doing. If they seem cool and willing to teach you some things, offer to come help them set up next time. Offer to help pack-up. Ask questions. Learn.

      The point is, when it comes to sound – especially live sound – it’s mostly just about showing up. This is just as true if you have a diploma or not. So learn however you want to learn but just know that you’re going to have to get your hands dirty to get in the game so you might as well start now!

      Hope that helps!

      (Btw, if you happen to go to a church, that’s an awesome way to learn – most churches are practically begging for volunteers to do sound.. and some big churches will even train you and give you someone to shadow and teach you)

      Reply
  9. S

    I want to pursue sound engineering, not because of sound engineering itself, it is because I am so much passionate about music and singing. But honestly after reading you’re article, I’m just confused, I mean I don’t want to disappoint my parents. After so many requests they’ve said” yes “. I’m gonna take a loan to study sound engineering course. But after reading you’re views, I don’t know whether it will worth it or not. Plz help me out.

    Reply
    • Rob Williams

      Yeah it’s not always an easy decision, I was in a very similar position. My advice would be to go on a tour of the college and have them show you around. If it’s not in your area, find one in your area. I did this for a few places and it helped me decide. Good luck!

      Reply
  10. Paul

    Hello Rob , Thank you so much for time . You’re indeed amazing .

    Reply

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