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Feb 26, 2025
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I majored in Sound Recording Technology and really enjoyed it! I worked my way up to a full-time staff engineer gig at a local studio before realizing that the industry’s style just wasn’t sustainable for me. Lots of long hours and high stress was really taking a toll on me, so I ended up going to grad school and now I work in educational technology 🙂
It scratches a lot of the same itch I got from audio engineering (Working with cool tech, problem-solving, etc.) in a much more sustainable way for me. I’m really fortunate that I still pick up mixing work on the side, and occasionally teach in my undergraduate program, and overall feel better that audio can be more of a passion and artistic endeavor rather than the grind to pay my bills.
People ask me post-career switch if I regret studying sound recording, and my answer is always a resounding no! I’m so lucky that I got to spend years of my life focusing on something I am really passionate about, met most of my best friends through my undergrad program, and still get to work on some amazing projects. If it’s something you’re passionate about and you are in a position to go for it, go for it - you can always make a pivot if you find it’s not for you.
Hi! I actually majored in audio engineering (really it was mostly a music production degree) and here is my totally honest take:
I also value my academics and intelligence and i will say that this did not really challenge me in that way. I didn’t find studying audio/music production to be academically satisfying.
BUT it was super interesting and, like you, music is everything to me so I always wanted to be involved in the music industry. And I am! I graduated 9 years ago and I’ve been working in music ever since. I ended up straying away from straight up music producer (though that’s what my husband does) and i do audio production at a radio station plus that evolved into me becoming music director and a DJ.
I have to find my own ways to do things that challenge me intellectually but i 100% do NOT regret pursuing my passion over something more mainstream/rigorous/dependable. In my honest opinion, my friends and family members who pursued something more stable are not happier than me. Do they make more money? Yes. But i genuinely believe that i am happier because i pursued what was most important to me.
sorry for the long answer, you just sound a lot like me at your age so I wanted to chime in! Definitely happy to talk with you more about this. :)
juiceboxjukebox omg Thank you for this account. I genuinely appreciate this so much… and you’re right like i want my academics to really mean something, but my love for music overrides that i think. Definitely need more time to sit on it but yeah. where did you go for college?
benjaaminn-theoo it’s a big decision and there’s no 100% right answer. I went to belmont university in Nashville and i still live there. It’s a great city, changing a lot these days but still full of SO many creative people it’s really fun and inspiring.
Yeah the academics thing is tricky. Ive started working on a novel so that’s keeping my brain going while the radio stuff keeps my connection to music going.
My husband who is a full time music producer (and got the same degree and is also the smartest person I’ve met) seems to be mostly intellectually fulfilled by his work which makes sense cus him doing that full time is really creatively rigorous. And then he balances it with reading a lot and he’s interested in learning about painters too.
just gonna drop my own personal life experience here...i went to college for cs, after a few years i quit my job and started pursuing my own personal creative projects full time. now im considering gettin back in the corporate trenches for the stability. i think its worth it to get a degree in chemical/mechanical engineering IF you find it interesting! like for me my true heart's passion would've been to major in english but cs kept my brain buzzing enough, and im glad now to have the options.
also, and i think this is the most important thing that i wished i knew back then - you don't have to have a degree to be creative. i always felt like i needed to "learn" how to "do art", but i feel like the truth is you just do it and that's how you get better at it / nourish your soul. wishing you the best :)
winton thank you!!!!! Having options is definitely important. Nothing is final, right? Thanks ❤️
benjaaminn-theoo yes exactly, i remember feeling like college was the be all end all but i now i think of it as simply the "tutorial levels" of adulthood where you get a lil experience and then you can really just head out on your journey from there :)
If you’re interested in music engineering, then I’d go for a degree in electrical engineering. Something that could be useful for pursuing a future career in music production but that is also a solid transferable skill to other professions. I wouldn’t take my word for it though, since I’m an art student studying a niche subject and hoping it works out. My main advice is to reach out to people in the industries you’re interested in and make connections that you can use as references later on and that you can ask these questions to! Good luck!
as someone who pursued biomedical engineering for stability and based on the fact I was good at science in high school I can say that unless you genuinely find it interesting it’s not worth it. I made it to my junior year, realized I hated it and didn’t want to do it for the rest of my life and now I’m a librarian. While there is space to take into account practicality it’s also important to prioritize your long term happiness. You will spend to many hours of your life at your job, you should find at least a smidge of fulfillment and interest.
eebieweebie Thank you. Like my trajectory in classes is really good, which makes me want to do stem, but I myself don’t know if that’s what i want to do. Music is my life and always has been.
