Jack-Flash-Jr +1 Manfred... The key is to do what you love, if you love it enough it'll work, that said there are many ways to skin a cat. You've only got one life.
andrewjbryson +1000 on everything that has been said so far. I would also like to add: I worked as a sound engineer for 2 years after completing my Sound Eng Diploma through a unnamed institution. 10 / 14 of the people that were in my class didn't manage to find work in the field (Eastern cape) are now working in other fields -> eg. Salesperson at Edgars / Working at a cell phone shop, etc. I have also changed to a different field now, since the remuneration in the industry in my area wasn't that great. I have found that the most "successful" sound engineers went into the field straight after school (in some cases, they didnt even finish their matric), they worked hard, long hours and they networked and developed various skills (lighting, sound, staging, video , IT ) throughout the years. Their knowledge and insight destroyed any 2 year diploma graduate. Moral of the story.... Doing something is better than reading about doing something. Having said all that, if you want to follow a structured course covering a lot of aspects involving sound theory, production software etc, it might not neccasarily be a bad idea to study sound engineering through a established institution. However, if you want to make a living off it and dont have time to waste, it would be a better idea to have a good internet connection and selfstudy (Google) lol, and then working as a casual, make contacts, take numbers, phone managers, etc.
Jack-Flash-Jr Andrew J Bryson wrote Doing something is better than reading about doing something. This is the secret of life (well, one of them)... you can spend your day doing and your night reading (UNISA).
Keira-WitherKay sound engineering is a biz where "owning a small studio" or prefferably a big one ..... is the ticket to the big time........ or even just the ticket to paying the bills each month ...... so what i'm saying it's like being any entropeneuor where you need start up capital, a biz plan and skills related to that biz......... so if you one of the fortunates who's parents have provided for a university education ...maybe consider spending that money on building a small studio instead ........... and like in any small bussiness , don't expect instant success and many small bussiness's fail repeatedly before taking off......... and some skill and a lot of luck is always needed........ but if you manage to record some artist who's cd (which you recorded) gets lots of airtime you will be noticed, and others will want to use you ....... on their cd's or in their studio's but you need to pay your dues and earn the respect for your skills....... but expecting to just walk into a paying studio as an inexperienced graduate of some recording acadamy is a bit ambitious note these days getting a pro quality studio together is cheaper than it's ever been , thanks to technology ...and if you select the gear you use in your studio correctly you can have minimal gear BUT get superior results ....rather than buy cheap sub standard recording gear ..and find your studio only qualifies as a demo studio and NOT as a professional studio option ....... so tech wise and gear wise the time is easier now to become a sound engineer ..... but as i mentioned chosing the preferred (by pro studio's) recording systems is critical ...........
Nitebob What Kierra said about the studio. So true. I was at a home studio last week. Very basic, but the guy is producing such great music that Maranatha studios said they cannot improve his recordings, and decided to only distribute for him.
