Is this right or wrong? Going to school

[Henchman]

$33k for a 9-12 month course.

Jesus.

[Osbar]

yea!! sorry ..
Including a loan for living expenses

[steveswisher]

Don't spend money on a course that doesn't reward you with any degree. Education is always good but get an associate or bachelors degree out of it. It gives you something to "fall back" on. In my experience a lot of places don't care where your degree is from or what you studied. All it tells the employer is that you're trainable. Places giving certificates for their course are worthless outside of the specific field.

[Hxd Ped]

Originally Posted by steveswisher

Don't spend money on a course that doesn't reward you with any degree. Education is always good but get an associate or bachelors degree out of it. It gives you something to "fall back" on. In my experience a lot of places don't care where your degree is from or what you studied. All it tells the employer is that you're trainable. Places giving certificates for their course are worthless outside of the specific field.

This.

Don't do it. It's too expensive and a rip off. You will get nothing out of it you can't get from a real school. A real school is acredited. Use your money on a real education from a tech school or university.

[denniskersten]

I had the same doubts two years ago. I thought about going to Vancouver filmschool. 40k for one year. I know it is a ticket for a possible internship at a filmsound studio I would really like to work for. I decided to not do it and continue working hard as a sound editor and see where it will bring me.

All ways lead to Rome the saying goes..

[Osbar]

Thanks a lot for your answers.

Hoping to see some other people suggestions..

[Pedantic Sound]

This question pops up a lot, I went the route of going to school and I spent roughly the same (~$30k) including living expenses for a year. Was it the right choice? Maybe... I'm in a good place now, but I think I could attribute that to work ethic more than schooling, because in this industry, no one gives a shit where you went to school, it's about what you know and who knows you.

If you can get that without spending the $30k, more power to you.

[JWalkerPostAudio]

All the classes teach straight out of books. It would be much cheaper to by used copies of the books on your own, and do your own reading. Spend some leftover cash on some gear and plugins and use them so you are familiar to them. Create projects on your own for practice. For example, download a movie trailer off Apple's site and replace the audio with your own. And go to whatever meetups and events you can to meet like minded folk and make contacts. Take on film school projects that need sound work. Meet more people. Take an internship. Meet more people. You may find you'll have to take on a freebie if you have trouble finding paid work at first but keep yourself busy and keep learning and maybe, hopefully, it will pay off sooner rather than later.

And I too went to a school for audio. They promise you job placement but all they do is blast emails of Craigslist/Mandy posts. But I did gain one very valuable contact that I work with regularly with so there is always a chance of making good contacts. Of course there are cheaper ways to do that though.

-Justin

[Henchman]

I went to Vancouver, where I knew no one, and got into post, after having done music production, and with a platinum record. I started at the bottom, and ended up in one of the top facilities of Vancouver.

5 years ago, I moved to LA, where I knew one person that I had met in Vancouver.
Everyone else I met through this forum and the DUC, and cold calling. And I have done quite well so far.

Moral of the story?

You don't need to spend $30k on a school to develop contacts.
Just don't thnk you'll be starting at the top.

And also network. Become a member of things like the television academy, and those kind of things. Go to social mixers etc. meet, meet, meet. And keep doing that.
Because you won't develop a career, sitting at home waiting for the phone to ring after sending a couple of emails.

[Osbar]

Wooow!! These have been hugh advise from you guys.

Can't tell how grateful I am.. This have just cleared my mind and helped me set a path.

Now.. time to start practicing and networking today.

Thanks again.. ; )

[iluvatar]

Originally Posted by Osbar

Hi !! looking for some advise please.. ; )

I'm thinking about getting into an Audio for Video Games (9-12 months) course , because I believe that the classes offered in this programs, will help me with my music as well, as I'll be taking classes in music theory, piano, pro tools, ableton, sound synthesis, etc.. I'm more interested in Film Scoring, Sound Editing and Sound Design for tv / film than for Games really. (but again, I believe it is all in the same page) not sure, but..

Aesthetically, they're similar. Technically, they're quite different. Film/tv guys don't have to worry about any of the integration or scripting stuff I do, but I don't have to worry about any of the video format/delivery spec stuff they do.

But as everyone else said, $30k for a certificate is a rip off. You'll probably get more out of going to a real school and studying composition with a heavy emphasis on electronic music and engineering than you will taking a certificate program that'll barely give you an overview of the stuff you need.

Plus, it's easier to get grants and loans for real, accredited, degree-granting schools than it is for certificate programs.

-Dan.

[Andrew Mottl]

Hey there,
slightly different situation here as I was lucky and fotunate to pass auditions/entry exams to one of the big sound engineering courses here in Germany. It's not a private school and I spent a few good years there (4yrs minimum here). Of course I was taught a lot, broad basics in some topics, details in others, went into more details and film sound through own motivation/work/projects etc. But like others said, the networking, getting to work with fellow creative people and seeing who working with works out has brought more contacts and eventually more work. Plus my credit list and the odd (small festival) award here and there.

As for the 30k for one year - that is a lot and one thing I see as a "danger": It takes time to develop your art, your techniques and especially your hearing. After about 2-3 years of studying (and even still today) I started getting these "I hear sth isn't ok, my guts tell me this doesn't sound ok" etc. moments now and again and they always showed there was a problem somewhere. Be it mic stand dropped/lav slipped, wrong routing etc. The first few months and years into the course everything was only starting to develop. It's like learning a language, or any artistic or technical profession - it takes time to get even the most basic feel for it.

Long story short - a year will not be enough to fully exploit what the one-year course could offer you (equipment and studios, projects etc.). Interning and starting out to get a feel for your art by experimenting on your own might help far more.

It's like taking up an instrument. You wouldn't go to Berklee without having spent a few years learning and practicing and playing your instrument, as the cost and level of teachers would be way over your current abilities. Learn all you can first and see if you feel the need to take it to the next level through a course.

Just my two cents, I'm pretty much "starting out" in the real world myself.

Hope you find your right decision!

[Osbar]

Thanks to Dan and Andrew . .