For this blog I would like to answer a question I am asked on many occasions: How do I get my career started as an audio professional? Well, I am going to try to answer this question by listing the top five reasons audio engineering schools can help launch your career in the audio engineering industry or music production industry!
1. I REALLY LOVE AUDIO AND SOUND, NOW WHAT?
Do you have a passion for audio and sound? Are you great at making music but the sonic quality isn’t there? Do you help your band with live sound at rehearsal or record your friends in your home recording studio? Well, these are all great reasons to check out audio engineering schools. If you want to turn a passion for audio engineering into a career, not just a hobby, attending an accredited Recording Arts School will present you with the tools needed to get ahead.
It’s awesome that we can find tons of information online. YouTube, Google, and forums make it easy to learn audio. But none of these online sources can give you the first hand experience and inspiration provided by a mentor, which leads to our next reason!
2. THIS IS STILL AN INDUSTRY OF MENTORSHIP
Knowledge is important and can be gained from reading and watching. But the proper use of knowledge is power, and only a good mentor can help you put all that knowledge to good use. So another great way to get your career started is to find a mentor. Nowadays, audio engineering programs can put you in direct contact with a mentor that has already been vetted for you.
It’s a very competitive and dynamic culture in the audio industry and you never know who you will come in contact with, either good or bad. An educator acting as a mentor at an accredited audio engineering school can be a safer bet when seeking your Yoda! Also, make sure you choose a program with small class sizes and educators still involved in the Recording Arts industry. This will ensure you get plenty of one-on-one time and are being taught relevant material.
3. I GOTTA GET MY HANDS ON THAT GEAR!
Another great reason to attend an audio engineering program is the direct access to industry standard gear (and the people to show you how to use it in the best way possible). It’s great to read about all the new and exciting audio gear or watch an online video of some big name engineer working on it, but the only way you are really going to get ahead is to get your hands on that equipment and turn the knobs! We must develop our muscle memory and motor skills to become efficient and productive in the professional audio industry. The more time you put in on the gear the better you will hear!
4. THE SOCIAL NETWORK… CALLED LIFE!
No one is an island unto themselves, or at least that’s how the old truism goes. You can be the greatest, most talented, and creative audio engineer in the world, but if nobody knows you it doesn’t matter. Audio engineering schools are a great place to network and build those connections for a successful career in the audio industry.
What could be a better place to find like-minded people, future partners, and creative peers than a school dedicated to teaching audio engineering? There will always be someone to network with at school, whether it be a guest speaker involved in the industry, your fellow classmates, or educators. They are all valuable partners in your future network of audio industry professionals. And they are all a captive audience. Who could ask for more?
5. DEVELOP THAT CAREER!
The last reason I want to talk about might not seem that obvious, especially if you are chomping at the bit to learn that new audio technology, but this is an extremely important, and often overlooked advantage of enrolling in an audio engineering program: Career Development. Any accredited audio engineering program should offer Career Development services to their students.
Career Development advisors can help you with building a winning resume, cover letter, and interviewing skills. These advisors will help you find internships (which many times turn into careers) point you in the direction of potential employers, and guide you in building an online presence. All of these skills are as important as the audio engineering skills themselves when launching your career.
THAT’S A TAKE!
So here are five of the many reasons an accredited audio engineering school can help launch your career. If you have found that you have a natural talent for hooking up your families’ home theater, installing a sound system in your car, making beats in FL Studio or Logic Pro, or are doing sound for your church, learning industry standard skills and techniques from qualified educators will be very beneficial to your journey of success. I can speak for myself as an audio industry professional of 20 plus years, having a good mentor and solid education will increase your career chances exponentially, and a quality audio engineering program will make this happen.
LEARN MORE ABOUT AUDIO ENGINEERING AT F.I.R.S.T. INSTITUTE
A quality education from a good audio production school like F.I.R.S.T. Institute, one of the best audio schools in Florida, can teach you the skills you need to succeed in the Audio industry. There you’ll learn what you need to get your new audio production career off the ground, you’ll even learn your way around a studio and how to make your own music. You won’t get our quality, hands-on learning experience with passionate audio industry professionals anywhere else!
Check out the Audio Engineering and Music Production program at F.I.R.S.T. Institute’s audio production school today. You’re only months away from your dream audio engineering job! Please reach out to us and let a member of our staff answer all of your questions!