tell us about your job

[ua1176]

What do you do? Freelance audio engineering/music production, along with 6 hours/week of teaching recording to college students, and the occasional recording session as a guitarist.

Do you like it? 90% of the time i love it. 10% of the time im exhausted/jaded/wishing i was making real money doing something else.

What makes you in particular well-suited or poorly-suited for your work? I'm a good musician with a significant intellect and a strong work ethic. im not a people person but i can convincingly pretend. i learn new things very quickly and i have no problem working long/strange hours.

What kind of people do best in your work? the really talented + hard working + lucky ones.

What qualifications are necessary for people considering work in the same field as you? none. but intelligence, people skills, and a strong work ethic are pretty much mandatory. i graduated Summa Cum Laude with a B.M. in music composition. one of my gigs is assisting a producer who dropped out of college after 1 semester but has about half a dozen platinum records on the wall. his business partner got rejected from the colleges he applied to but has 3 grammy awards on his desk.

What is a typical day like? depends. usually up around 9 or 10. breakfast, browse web/check emails. most of my recording sessions start around noon and go until 8 or 10. i occasionally do late night recording but i try to minimize that. i occasionally do very early recording (8am or 9am) for corporate voiceover clients.

What kind of problems do you encounter? bad studios. stereotypical music industry liars/cheats. musicians with no capacity for critical self-evaluation. musicians who "know a little bit about recording" and want to have opinions about what im doing on their record.

What are the biggest (most common) sources of frustration and elation? frustration: sometimes going for 2 or 3 weeks without a day off. clients being cheap and trying to hire my services for cheap/free because their project will be "good" for me. general music industry nonsense.

elation: the players are good, the songs are good, the studio is good...and i get to sit back and watch the record practically create itself.

How much do you make? about $55k in 2006 (my first year as a full-time professional). on track to do significantly better in 2007.

How much can one expect to make in your position? varies widely. most can't make a living at all but on the upper end...the sky is the limit.