Jobs
in recording studios - What are the jobs available?
There
are a range of jobs available in a recording studio,
these include: Recording engineer, assistant engineer,
runner, technical engineer, studio bookings, studio
manager, receptionist, mastering engineer, cleaner (!)
and no doubt a few we can't think of.
The
cleaner. Don't laugh. I know a
few people that wound up running studio empires who
started as the cleaner. If you have the inside track
you can make sure that you take advantage of any opportunity
that presents itself. The webmaster of this site
started by cleaning up the dog s@#$ in the yard of a
studio. Not a well paid job.
Receptionist.
Again, don't laugh. Many studios such as Trevor
Horn's SARM Studios make sure that all assistants have
done a year on reception. It's a great way to
hang out, show burning interest and be available.
Pay can vary from poor to not bad.
Bookings
manager. Assuming you don't want to be
a big shot producer and just fancy working in a creative
environment this is a fabulous job. People skills
are just as important, if not more so. Pay can
be very good.
Studio
manager. In many cases this is the same
as the bookings manager but in larger studios the studio
manager runs the place. Pay is very good.
Studio
technician. In some studios there is
a technical crew with juniour tech's and more experienced
tech's. Qualifications are generally a technical
degree or similar. Pay can be quite good.
Runner.
The lowest engineer position. You will do everything
that no one else wants to do, get the sandwiches etc.
You are there to learn and help out. Poor pay.
Assistant
engineer. You're helping and learning.
You will be setting up, doing things to help the engineer
and make a great cup of tea or coffee. Make sure
that you make great tea and coffee! Pay os poor
to ok.
Recording
engineer. You will be recording and mixing.
A full description of your job will be covered in other
pages but mostly this is the job to have BUT in many
cases, many studios don't have staff engineers anymore
as freelancers are used by producers quite a lot.
Record
producer. This is very rarely an option
as most are freelance. Some record companies that
run studios will have a position that is an engineer
and producer doing demos. As a producer on staff
you are most likely to be a rookie producer that engineers
and adds to the artists work. Pay depends.
Mastering
engineer. The mastering engineer takes
the final mixed production and either transfers it to
CD or plastic. This can be a very skilled job
and can pay well. An example of a mastering engineer
is Ray Staff.
We
have produced hundreds or interviews with leading recording
engineers and record producers - many of these cover
how they got started on their career. If you take
time to watch these you can learn a lot. Maybe
they're quite a bit older than you so times have changed
but in most cases all of the advice is as true today
as it was then.
Visit
the record producers
pages to choose the interviews that interest you and
remember, it was just as hard for them as it's going
to be for you but they show that it can be done.
Our
own FORUM
has helped a few people get some great jobs. You can
search our FORUM
but remember that jobs don't just come to you, you need
to get out there and hussle! Keep an eye on when the
job ad was posted as some people reply to jobs that
were posted ages ago!
Major
career links - please let us know of any good links
that you find!
UK
Glamorgan
University
Salford
University
Guildford
University
BBC
USA
Berklee
College
Full
Sail
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