Gearslutz.com - View Single Post - interesting... I'm not so sure this is a good or a bd thing...

RScott · 28th September 2009

I came from a film Sound Design degree at a decent film school.

We had, at the time, good access to equipment and studio time. The gear and equipment we had access to was great and matches industry pretty well. The quality of instruction was pretty good. More than enough to shape someone with the attitude and drive into a very productive and worthwhile hiree.

The number one biggest problem with going to a school like that is the fact that you are surrounded by many, many different types of students. Some want to be there, some don't. You aren't really told that most of them won't make it. A friend who did some work for the school calling alums to ask for donations told me that about 60% or more did not currently work in the field they had majored in. There is no discussion or very little discussion about what the job market for your major is, and the only way to find this out is to ask some alumni or businesses who go through a lot of these graduates in their hiring process.

If a student keeps his/her head on and can filter out the 90% of students who aren't going anywhere, a specialty school may work at producing the end product (getting you into a specialized industry.) I still don't know if it is worth the cost, but it does give you a great trial/error environment to tackle recording and mixing jobs that are well above what you could expect to do at an entry level position.

Many of the above comments are 100% correct. The difference between student projects and real world day in day out work is a big step. Someone who has done what they should in their school should be able to tackle it, though, but I couldn't imagine walking into an interview and trying to sell myself as a seasoned pro because of my schoolwork assignments!

28th September 2009	#51
RScott Gear maniac Joined: May 2009 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 272	I came from a film Sound Design degree at a decent film school. We had, at the time, good access to equipment and studio time. The gear and equipment we had access to was great and matches industry pretty well. The quality of instruction was pretty good. More than enough to shape someone with the attitude and drive into a very productive and worthwhile hiree. The number one biggest problem with going to a school like that is the fact that you are surrounded by many, many different types of students. Some want to be there, some don't. You aren't really told that most of them won't make it. A friend who did some work for the school calling alums to ask for donations told me that about 60% or more did not currently work in the field they had majored in. There is no discussion or very little discussion about what the job market for your major is, and the only way to find this out is to ask some alumni or businesses who go through a lot of these graduates in their hiring process. If a student keeps his/her head on and can filter out the 90% of students who aren't going anywhere, a specialty school may work at producing the end product (getting you into a specialized industry.) I still don't know if it is worth the cost, but it does give you a great trial/error environment to tackle recording and mixing jobs that are well above what you could expect to do at an entry level position. Many of the above comments are 100% correct. The difference between student projects and real world day in day out work is a big step. Someone who has done what they should in their school should be able to tackle it, though, but I couldn't imagine walking into an interview and trying to sell myself as a seasoned pro because of my schoolwork assignments!