Here's a recent email I received:
"I am interested in what you do and how you do it. I guess I am not the average person looking to get into audio engineering. I am 44 and I am an anesthesiologist looking for a second career. I am an audiophile, tone-freak, and gear-hound, and have more guitars, amps, pedals, etc. than most studios have on their gear list. What is the best way to get into the business and really learn? Do you enjoy your job? Is 44 too late to get into this? What is the job market and pay like for a newbie, on up to an experienced pro? Thanks for your input!"
Let's break this down:
"What is the best way to get into the business?"
Simply put, buy a recording studio and don't expect to make your money back. I'm not joking. There you go, now you're in the business. The other way in is to produce and/or engineer a top- selling record. Of course that involves the classic Catch-22 of, "How do I get to work on a top-selling record if I haven't done so already?" Welcome, again, to the music business.
"What is the best way to really learn?"
Study, practice, watch others at work, assist; and then throw yourself into every recording scenario possible. I don't think I was really rudimentarily competent at recording until I'd spent three or four years working full-time in a commercial studio. And by "full- time" I mean 12-hour sessions, 30 days a month, for years on end. I'm still constantly learning and striving to get better at what I do. The real challenges are way beyond learning recording techniques; they involve getting the most out of performers and really producing a session on a number of different levels. Note that this is also a hard skill to "sell" to your clients until they see you in action.
"Do you enjoy your job?"
Yes. Even the worst day of recording beats every other job I've ever had. But if you think professional recording involves sitting back while watching amazingly talented performers knock out great takes, one after another, then please think again. Most of my time in the studio is spent setting up gear, tearing it all back down, discussing takes and ideas, and solving problems. Sometimes it takes me four hours to set up a band to record a song; a song that might take them five minutes to perform. In other words, four percent of your time is spent watching a great take go down and the rest is hard work. I won't even mention that a 10-hour workday often becomes 12 hours. I always arrive early for cleanup and leave late after computer backups, more cleanup and packing all the gear away. Ah, the glamour!