Well,
From my experience, I started as a musician, tinkered with basement recording as a kid - radio shack mics/cassette recorder, 1/2 track RtoR, and overdubbing, etc, then went to school for a music performance degree. I finished an undergrad, played professionally for a few years, and played on albums. Did a slew of those, then got the bug to go back experimenting with recording. Got an 8 track (R to R) and had a live sound board to mix thru, with the best mics being a couple of 57's/58's/421's, and made some kickin tunes sound like ass... Then as the doors started opening in digital, took the plunge to learn a new way of recording. Figured that instead of spending 20 grand on an album again, I could throw that at gear, and be able to make my own albums, and own the gear - what a dream that was! Almost 7 years later, I'm still throwing money at this bottomless pit, and wonder if the results are getting any better (even tho i know they are
). It took awhile to realize that gear is a small part of the equation, yet knowledge and experience count for more than I'd ever considered. I've gained new respect for AE's who are good at what they do, and know how to squeeze the best out of both the talent at one end, to the recorded tracks going to tape/HD: it's all in the chops, and tho we all get better at it, one thing's for sure - if you ever think you're work sounds the best it can, you're setting your sights too low...
PS - listening and (re)reading what some of the extreme talent pool contributes to internet BB's has made me a better AE - the wealth of knowledge here is unsurpassed, and a large portion of these people give up their secrets readily, and are helpful beyond belief! I'm awed and fascinated at the same time - Motown legends like Bob Ohlsson, to current heavies like Michael Wagener/John Paterno, to many anonymous, but extremely successful AE's are all over the net: the times are right for all of us to be as good as we can, and yet keep humble to the fact that we are all students in this area of ever constant change: embrace that, and you can expect to be challenged the rest of your life...
YMMV, greatly