Professional audio engineers..

[JamesChia]

posted this under general discussion...but no reponse...anyway...

anyone here? what is the highest qualification you've attained?
and what is your fulltime job right now?

i'm interested to know because i'm taking a diploma in audio engineering course...just wanna know more about the current local recording industry scene. i know it's a small market with little prospects..
just wanna hear what you guys have to say...Thanks

 

[Colarndo]

I think you can throw Singapore out of the scale. It's hopeless for recordings. Might survive on Live shows. I personally have an interest to go China or some non-racist European country after I've served my National Service. China's developing but they don't have the people for their Media side esp sound. And I'm chinese so going there would be a good choice. I would like to work in Behringer so i can learn how to rip off other ppl's technologies and resell it at a cheaper price though.

DVD authors get paid real good I heard. Might be interested in learning the art though.

 

[stalefish]

i agree - after NS (which i feel is a bluddy waste of life),
i'm gonna join my brother in LA and go to Fullsall for some certification and then work there.

 

[bongman]

Singapore

you can't just survive as an audio engineer in Singapore.
you need to do other things like composing and arranging
music, teach music and perform.

just doing sound, you can forget about driving a car!

 

[The-Warlord]

i agree - after NS (which i feel is a bluddy waste of life),
i'm gonna join my brother in LA and go to Fullsall for some certification and then work there.

Serving your country should never be a waste of time. Just remeber, if battle hits your shores, you will be glad of the training you recieve.

And for the recording schools...if you have the stuff go for www.mi.edu

 

[fixit]

if u understand y u take up the course then its good..juz go ahead..dun let people bring u down..who says u cant survive..u juz need to set a path thru strategic planning to keep u running..by taking up the course it does not mean u will only do sound in the future..u have a lot of choices..always have a business mindset in u to achieve ur dreams..

running away from singapore does not guarantee u success..u can succeed here in singapore too..i got something to share..there is a guy who graduated from singapore poly with a dip in mechanical eng..rely on mendaki to subsidise him for his sch fees..used to live in a 3 room flat..a family of 7..i cut the story short..during and after NS won a lot of proposals, now he's a successful businessman dealing with audio stuffs..he's only 23..he got a galant, 2 condos.......that's it..cant tell u much..

 

[seekz]

fuck singapore.

anyway, you're right on the NS is a bloody waste of time thing.

Anyone who'd served or is serving it will can tell you that during the period of your service only about 20% of the time you're actually doing REAL or PRODUCTIVE or RELEVANT activities.

War will never hit our shores. It will begin in the skies, and seas, if those 2 fails, we'll probably surrender. Come on, the bulk of our army are reservsists. You think you can depend on theses people chionging into enemy territory and win?

Not trying to make the glass look half-full. But try comparing Malaysia's laid back and outdated Armed forces(paid to fight), and Singapore's even more laid back reservist uncles(pay to not fight). These uncles really don't make any difference anyway.

Its a TOTAL waste of the time of ALL our young able men in Singapore. So many of these people developed medical problems during NS. Already a few men died from training this year. Surely this is a really ideallistic service to the country.

 

[soft]

anything and everything you do in life is not a waste of time. you are the product you make.

a man sat at the beach for 1 year and came up with a hit song. another man sat at the beach for 1 year but did not come up with anything. do you think he wasted 1 year?

if he had make good use of the time he spent on the beach, then, he has not wasted it at all. life is not a one goal journey. remember to smell the roses along the way. :wink:

 

[bongman]

NS

I could have spent my 2 years in MDC rather than the SAF.
I passed the MDC audition but because I'm combat fit --> no entry.
Have to carry guns?! WHAT IS THIS ??? *#$@#*#$@&$!&^$!#

 

[soft]

I could have spent my 2 years in MDC rather than the SAF.

so, if you had been in MDC, what do you thing you would be doing now? I mean, do you think your life will change much because of it?

it is easy to say what could have been but have you thought about what you could have done?

one thing i feel being a sound engineer is to be calm, respect all things around him and keep alert. once the technical stuff is done, the engineering become a very abstract thing. that is why no 2 engineers will mix the same.

ironickel, to answer your question. i did SAE(first batch) and later went to FullSail. I am doing lots of stuff I enjoy but no, I am not specialising in audio currently. it is part of what i do.

oh, i was from MDC too. :wink:

 

[fixit]

those waiting for enlistment pray hard that u get in singapore police force..u'll definite got alot of free time to do wat u want..can go jamming frequently and regularly..meet ur girl or ur frens..its like a long long break..met wif a lot of people with different backgrounds..exchanged ideas & much more..u noe war? some of my frens even have a part time job during NS to save up for their future studies..im realli glad i got into police..thinking back again..i only served 1 year 3 months..the other 1 year 3 months are my off days..fuhh..if u get into SAF..............i dunno wat to say but still depends on wat vocation u get..hehe....good luck guys

 

[bongman]

I could have spent my 2 years in MDC rather than the SAF.

so, if you had been in MDC, what do you thing you would be doing now? I mean, do you think your life will change much because of it?

oh, i was from MDC too. :wink:

of COURSE! it would mean a hell lot of a difference...
imagine wearing no.4 with a rifle than happy happy behind a mix desk
or playing music to fellows soldiers. WHAT DO YOU THINK ???

You from MDC, of course you won't know the tough shit the combat unit went through. WHAT DO YOU THINK? People DIE of training, charged and
do extra duties. WHAT DO YOU THINK? You never went through these and
you can say WHAT DIFF DOES IT MAKE ???

If I from MDC, maybe now I am a professional musician
doin the things that I like rather than a deskbound job.

BTW, are you a lobo? How you got downgraded?
Thank you for being honest about your NS status!


.bong

 

[soft]

bongman

reading from your post, i feel you must have had a bad time during your NS. I am sorry to hear that. There are many happening musicians I know who went through the same combat training as you. They too did not had an 'easier' time at MDC but they continue to practise hard and eventually become good working musicians.

you should stop what you are doing now and pursue your interest in music! hopefully 10 years down the road, you will say, "luckily i visited soft.com.sg and someone wake me up".

ok, let's stick to the original thread.

 

[bongman]

???

MDC gives you a path to the profession, isn't it?

Honestly, I didn't have a bad time in NS, I was lucky enough
to be posted to a 'switch off' platoon, though I still went through
the same IPPT, SOC, guard duty and so on...
but i did see people DIE during training, in exercises and even doing marshall work. (a young chap can be knock down by a car while guarding
the water point for a 1/2 marathon event) *sigh*

MDC alumni:
Jack Neo,
Gurmit Singh,
Terence Teo,
Najip Ali,
Darren Lim...

all the above mentioned were from MDC and they excelled in the industry now! what am I doing? carry rifle - cho bo lan - do nothing ??? WHAT is tis?

anyway, I'm always pursuing MUSIC all my life, be it hobby, pastime, friends
or money. I knew about your site moons ago, only that lately I've been posting.

Nevertheless, I woke up my idea before your site is up, so there's no need to thank anybody or what so ever... I THANK ONLY MYSELF!!!

err... anyway, some readers here REALLY very knowledgable leh...



.john

 

[HaMLeT]

Aha...NS yeah it is realy tough...being a GUARDSMAN myself..the training is realy physicaly n mentaly demanding but looking on a bright side it helps me to understand n apreciate life better... :wink:

 

[brundisium]

...overwork infantry, underpaid commando....... :lol: army now is no more the same. If siong, then last time had got to be physical abused already......

 

[sound_designer]

i wouldn't say itz all dat useless to be in an audio school... i would say knowing ppl in this industries would be an advantage...!!
anyway, yeah probably going into the recording studio or production house industries is kinda be the least possibility, more option to go into live sound engineering..
anyway.. SAE college is starting a whole new course abt live sound ..!!
it would be wise to sign up n it is so much cheaper.... !!!

 

[parablue74]

One other option:
Go set up your own sound company, meaning get some good PA and do roadshows and live sound engineering for bands, organisations and companies. Big $$ there, but big $$ investment too. You definately need a van.

 

[finalmix]

Im an engineer myself for almost 11yrs now.Did both live and studio and still going strong.Yes its a small industry here compare to other country and yes the pay is peanuts for starters.No, you cant be a millionaire and No, there is no glamour in it but ......what you can get is self satisfaction and recognition.

You have to have a passion in recording and not about making bucks coz if you do then you will be dissapointed.Not to say that you wont make money....you will if..you're good,talented skills and the most importantly is Patience! i have met newbies engineer or wannabe...they all have ego problem...like having a console stuck up their ass.In life you never stop learning even Me so my quote...When you think you know everything...thats when you know nothing!

Money!...im making $250-$350 a day of session of recording and bout $4k-$6k a month.I personally dont have a studio but as a personal engineer to my client in any studio they have hiired for post-production and also music recording.Good money actually but after spending all these years...again patience and passion.

Schools!..Actually it does matter where you go! better off overseas and check who is your lecturer coz you dont want an ex student teaching you stuff.I was a student myself in california back in 96.My lecturer are active engineer and have credit wit led zep,metallica,boys to men and many more....the thing is you need to learn from these plp who have the exprience to pass it down to you.It makes a lot of difference.

In singapore...Live sound and post-production houses is the way to go.For live sound..you can get about $60-$80 buck a day.Dont think that you graduate from sae you can be an engineer and start mixing on console/mixer.there's plenty of jobs around gain some experience for a couple of years learn the trade secret of live sound like system configuration,troubleshoot,maintenence,mixing live bands asmonitor engineer of front of house or even system engineer.
Then in studio...post production like sound design for movies,drama,video,voice-over,music arrangment,band recording and many more.Its a totally different ballgame for the two.

I have personally trained many guy who are now good engineers in many area and have worked with numerous artiste.The hardest thing is trying to get in the industry knowing plp and stuff...but when you are in....its easy as abc.

well that's my experience and im sharing wit you.Hope it gives you some inside out of the trade!

Cheers!!

 

[finalmix]

Oh by the way replying to bongman...regarding being a soundman you can forget about driving a car........

that's not true....im driving a brand new Ford Focus!

Cheers!!