Since leaving school in July, after passing 3 Alevels in Electronics, Engineering and ICT, I have bin unemployed and looking to find a job in sound engineering, but its been difficult and I so far, have not found any thing. I am a keen musician, been playing guitar and drums for around 3 years and played many gigs with my band. I have a huge interest in sound engineering, both live and recording and have set up my home studio, and taught myself alot of the processes of recording. I have recorded my own bands, and other musicians music and I am currently in the process of acoustically treating a room and making it into a purpose built studio to improve the quality of my recordings. I have knowledge and experience of micing drums and whole bands and have sound engineered for school productions. I have also made arangements to sound tech and a gig for a local music managment company soon.

I have been searching for some way to get into this industry, but up till now, people have said they are not in need of anyone, or have wanted me to work for free for upto a year, with no promise of employment after that, which I cant do, seeing as all my time would be devolted to that and I would have little chance for any other part time employment. If somebody could suggest something I could try, or give me an opportunity that could help me, it would be appreciated. I dont mind working for free initially, as long as I have time to find part time work elsewhere.


Thanks

have you tryed phoning up reputable recording studios?

I have emailed alot of studios, and I have either got the reply that they are not looking for/not in a position to employ anyone, or that they have alot of enquiries for work and they will keep my details on record

hi got your email thank you well i have a friend who also play in a band who told me that the trouble is.that a lot of the recording studios are not so familiar now adays. and that most people are doing it like yourself cos i wanted to do the same. i wanted to go to college and do a music tech, course do be what you would call a studio assistant, so im looking at trying to do it myself obviously i would still have to go to college. well it sounds as though you are halfway there without you trying to get in to a studio for someone else i think maybe you should do it on your own, i mean you could advertise that your a recording studio and bands will come to you some of my friends are muscians, and one of them works for the bbc recording music for programmes i will have a word with him and see what he suggest.
many thanks.

Cool, thanks alot. Yer I realise that alot of people nowdays are producing music and recording at home, as it is easier with equipment becoming cheaper and more readily available all the time, which is why traditional studios are closing down, or cant afford to employ assistants.

I have been recording local bands, although only recently for money, as I did it for free just to get some experience, although I do not think it could be a main source of income. Doing it aswell as a main job would give me some extra money which would be excellant, however I do not really have the space to build a dedicated studio. It is my parents house and currently half my studio is taken up by my bed, I could sleep in another room but still It wouldnt be practical to have bands coming and going all day and night, neighbours may get a bit upset too lol


Cheers for your suggestions!

okey dokey you could always put out flyers, advertise yourself,put your self on a website, then when you earn aenough money you can rent somewhere for you to record, also a magazine called future music sometimes they have jobs in there.soon as ive spoken to my friend i will email you many thanks,

Ok, thanks very much. Ill do some market research, see how much money I could make!

go to www.sae.edu.

Dont' waste money on overpriced courses like SAE.

Unfortunately "the grind" is where it's at. You've written to studios - great. Now carry on with that. You have to write almost every month - sooner or later there'll be a job going. You have to make sure your CV is well presented (judging by your posts, might be worth having someone else read it over for you - not being pedantic, but if a CV has simple misspelt words in it, it doesn't give a good impression - would you misspell client's names on a production master?!).

Ask for work experience - many studios offer shorter periods of work experience.

try and find a band to take into the studio - if you're bringing in clients, you're more likely to get work should they need freelancers.

Unfortunately, most studio work of any quality is in london. There are studios of major-label quality dotted around the country (where are you?) but they're exceptions. If you're in Ipswitch and looking for studio work whilst still living at home, you're probably going to be out of luck.

hi there,

I did the same path as you and still can't pay all my bills, but I'm starting to and also get inside "the system".. the first step is the most difficult.

unpaid job isn't that good, we all know that.
but the good thing of it is you'll meet people inside the industry and they will see your face.
networks, is worth only for that and it is VERY important!

a studio will never take someone if they don't know anything about him and pay him without being sure he can really do what they need him to do.
so unpaid job give you references, people that can guarantee you can do the job!

SAE is a GOOD SCHOOL (!) if you already have a decent background in recording or mixing or producing etc. it will help you allot but you can pretend to find job straight after as thousands of other people are doing the same path you are doing.

when you'll choose your course, remember anyway that a good facilities and gear without a great teacher are nothing!

good luck for everything.

best wishes.

SAE is an unscrupulous rip-off - I'd go so far as to say immoral. If you've got rich parents - maybe it's ok for you. If you have to take a loan to do it, it pretty much guarantees you won't be able to afford to work as an engineer.

The only thing that's worthwhile is the access to gear. If you apply yourself you can of course learn a lot.