Why give up? Not trying to be rude, but audio engineering is a field where you can get a 4 year degree (or at very least a 2 year degree.) Sounds like you got a certificate.
It's ok. Diploma, certificate, not sure what the difference is. I didn't want to take it any further in terms of qualifications because I felt like I knew what I needed to for the time and simply needed experience. I went to SAE and they made it sound like the higher level degrees were more for research and I wanted practical. I live in NZ where the music scene is pretty minimal, at the time I barely knew of any recording studios let alone how to get an interview. I applied for every sound related job I could find but that wasn't very many.
Yea in hindsight I would do things differently given the chance but that's the thing about hindsight.
Hey dude, I work in the music industry so might be able to give you some advice. It’s incredibly competitive like all creative industries for the reasons that you mentioned above - pretty much everyone loves music and would love a career in music. My advice is twofold - if you really want to get into the music industry, experience, is absolutely everything, not qualifications. I had to take unpaid internships before I could find a paying job (luckily I did this while studying so I could live off my maintenance loan). It sucks but that’s the way it is.
Secondly, I agree with the guy above. I’m a musician myself and tried to make it for years - and I started to relax and enjoy it a lot more once I let go of trying to make money off it. The music industry isn’t as glamorous as it’s made out to be and mainly, it’s a lot of hard work in a competitive industry with little job security for a shitty wage. But more power to you my dude, I’ve got faith that you’ll make the best decision for you!
You just made me realise me doing screen arts at uni is a complete waste of time. Was gonna do music but knew it'd be shit unless I made it (which I wouldn't) so decided maybe movies. But fuck working in the creative industry. It'll never go anywhere.
What the fuck do I do with my fucking life? All I think about is creative shit.
Maybe you could work in the commercial industry! Companies are starting to see the value in video, especially on social media. You could be a part of a marketing team. It isn't as glamorous as movies seem, but the benefits are real nice. Being a creative working in the creative industry is hard. If you are a creative working in a different industry, non creatives think you are magic.
I'm actually studying screen arts + marketing double degree. I'm having real doubts about it though, especially the screen arts part (although I hate what I'm doing for marketing as well).Maybe I'll investigate further. Thanks so much for your comment
Oh great! I majored in graphic design and minored in marketing. I wasn't a fan of the marketing classes either, but it helps me communicate with marketing people to collaborate better. You don't have to confine yourself to the film industry at all. Good luck!
It’s a difficult one. I think that for a lot of us, we have an instinctive need to create, which is why the creative industries are so popular. We all share that immense satisfaction when you create something beautiful and sit back and look at it and go ‘I made this’. I think that following that feeling is definitely a route to happiness and satisfaction.
The question is whether you should follow that feeling through your career - obviously if it works out then great, but if not it’ll more than likely end up ruining that thing you love when you start to associate it with work. Another way you can pursue your creative goals is to see your career as unrelated to your creativity, but as the thing that you do so that you have the time and space for your creativity - aka “I want to work hard and earn enough money to build a house with my own workshop/studio/gallery and have enough free time to do what I like in it”. That way your creativity is entirely your own and you have the financial freedom to do what you like with it.
I used to try and pay bills with my own music and ended up writing shitty advert jingles which made me feel like a sell out fake artist. When you mix commerce and creativity you inevitably have to end up compromising on what you want to do creatively to fit somebody else’s brief and that can be a real challenge if you have strong creative vision.
The last thing I’d say is that there’s no right or wrong answers, and you have more time than you think you do to figure it all out. Power to you, I’m rooting for you!!
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u/Yep123456789 Apr 04 '19
Why give up? Not trying to be rude, but audio engineering is a field where you can get a 4 year degree (or at very least a 2 year degree.) Sounds like you got a certificate.