School Project

[Marcheese]

Hello,

I have a class project about which career path I'd like to follow and I have choosen the area of audio specifically, sound recording and mixing (creating?). I've been searching around the net and I thought I'd ask the experts. For the project I need information on:

1. Skills/ Knowledge required
2. Transferable skills from high school
3. Education/training required
4. Current need for people in the field
5. Potential for personal and professional growth
6. Salary range
7. Potential for promotion (applicable?)
8. Potential employers
9. Related occupations

I'd appreciate any help. Thanks in advance.

[jayrose]

1. Skills/ Knowledge required

Music. Physics. Electronics. Politics. Language. All of these have helped one or more post audio people / sound designers make their reputation. If you want to do production mixing or booming (i.e., location sound) add agility, strength, and the ability to survive without much sleep.

Most important thing: the ability to hold sounds in your head, remember them, evaluate them, analyze them, break them into component parts and put them back together.

Other most important thing: a passion for sound.

2. Transferable skills from high school

See #1. If you haven't started hacking with sound by the end of high school, this isn't the career for you.

3. Education/training required

Look up 'tonmeister'.

4. Current need for people in the field

Field is over-crowded. It's considered a glamor field, so people are falling over themselves to get into it. I don't know why.

And yet there are a tiny number jobs not being filled, because of a lack of qualified people. These are the more technical ones - you need all of the above, plus the ability to install and repair complex electronics.

5. Potential for personal and professional growth

It's been great for me. See dplay.com.

It's also being great for my younger son, who graduated from a tonmeister program about four years ago, and found one of those technical jobs a year later.

6. Salary range

Free to about $100k

7. Potential for promotion (applicable?)

Depends on what you're doing and how good you are. Many practitioners are free-lance, and until they've built a strong reputation have to apply for a new job every few days. Even those with reputations are at the mercy of industry conditions.

8. Potential employers

Depends on what you're doing, how good you are, and where you want to locate.

9. Related occupations

Galley slave, composer, equipment reseller, janitor, psychotherapist, magician.

[/i]

[Marcheese]

1. Skills/ Knowledge required

Music. Physics. Electronics. Politics. Language. All of these have helped one or more post audio people / sound designers make their reputation. If you want to do production mixing or booming (i.e., location sound) add agility, strength, and the ability to survive without much sleep.
I row. This is not a problem

Most important thing: the ability to hold sounds in your head, remember them, evaluate them, analyze them, break them into component parts and put them back together.

Other most important thing: a passion for sound.

2. Transferable skills from high school

See #1. If you haven't started hacking with sound by the end of high school, this isn't the career for you.

3. Education/training required

Look up 'tonmeister'.

4. Current need for people in the field

Field is over-crowded. It's considered a glamor field, so people are falling over themselves to get into it. I don't know why.

And yet there are a tiny number jobs not being filled, because of a lack of qualified people. These are the more technical ones - you need all of the above, plus the ability to install and repair complex electronics.
Does computer programming count?

5. Potential for personal and professional growth

It's been great for me. See dplay.com.

It's also being great for my younger son, who graduated from a tonmeister program about four years ago, and found one of those technical jobs a year later.

6. Salary range

Free to about $100k

7. Potential for promotion (applicable?)

Depends on what you're doing and how good you are. Many practitioners are free-lance, and until they've built a strong reputation have to apply for a new job every few days. Even those with reputations are at the mercy of industry conditions.

8. Potential employers

Depends on what you're doing, how good you are, and where you want to locate.

9. Related occupations

Galley slave (giggle), composer, equipment reseller, janitor, psychotherapist, magician.


Thank you for your help! I've been doing a lot of research and now know how to work may programs and make many sounds but the information on how to get there wasn't there. I also need and interview with a person from the field. Would you mind being interviewed?

[jayrose]

Computer programming is a worthwhile skill, but not the same thing as being able to install and maintain complex electronics at the component level.

Sure you can interview me, if you do your homework first. Explore my website, read the online tutorials and the linked artcles. Then google my name for what others have written about me.

The email me, using the contact info on my site.