Looking to study Audio engineering. Can you recommend me a school?

Ok, so here's the thing: I am a pianist and composer with a dream to become a Film Composer one day. I have worked with independent filmmakers and one Production House, scoring short videos, so I already have some experience.

However, my endless job searches have led me to conclude that finding a job as a composer is an extremely difficult task and that I could use additional knowledge tools so that I can also, for example, look for jobs as an Audio Engineer. That is why I have decided to study Audio Engineering here in New York.

Now, New York has basically three Audio Engineering Schools: SAE Institute, Institute of Audio Research, and The Recording Connection. I have taken tours at the first two. The third one doesn't actually have a school campus, and instead, they have a bunch of studios all across New York where the student goes to learn by working as an assistant with an Audio Engineer.

I was wondering if anyone here has attended any of these schools, or then, if you could quickly check out their program and tell me what you think. Which one would you recommend the most? The school websites are:

SAE Institute: http://usa.sae.edu/campuses/newyork/

Institute of Audio Research: http://www.audioschool.com

Recording Connection: http://www.recordingconnection.com/school-locations/new-york/

I appreciate any help/orientation

I've taught a Logic class once at SAE Los Angeles, but other than that I know little about those schools. Still that seems like a LOT of $$ to throw at your education. If you're willing to make that kind of commitment to become a film composer, perhaps you could try another approach: to move to L.A. and start looking for a job as a film/TV composer's assistant, and/or audio engineer/recording studio assistant. 

I suggest you move to L.A. because that's where the film industry is, and that's where you want to be if you want to make a career as a film composer. But you do have to keep in mind that it's quite a commitment also, it may mean you'll have to be far from your friends and family, and also the culture is quite different here. Not everybody likes it. I used to say nobody leaves L.A. but that's not true, I've since seen several friends leave after a while because this wasn't the place for them. So you have to consider all of that. 

The advantage of an internship or being an assistant is that you start right away with real world experience, building your contact book, and you don't have to spend so much for tuition.

Just offering another option. Keep in mind that, once you're out of one of those audio engineer school, you may still have to consider moving to L.A. and finding an internship to get started. 

Hi David, thank you for your response

Moving to LA is, unfortunately, not an option right now for many different reasons I won't go into detail right now. One of them is that I am waiting for my work VISA to be renewed, meaning, the possibility that it won't be accepted is on the table, in which case, I would have to leave the US.

I agree with what you said about The Recording Connection: I like that it's not a school classroom, but an actual apprenticeship working closely with an Audio engineer in a recording studio. It's also the most affordable of all three schools. So I definitely got my eye on that.

I know this question is very relative but as far as jobs, how hard is it to find jobs as an audio engineer, in your experience? I know that such question is very relative, and that pretty much any job is about the connections you make. But I feel like finding jobs as a Composer is way way harder than Audio Engineer, in the same way that finding a job as a Screenwriter is much harder than say, an Editor. I think it's because too many people want to have their original ideas made, which is a completely creative job, where as other jobs, while creative, are more practical, such as editor, DP, make up, etc...

I think it's easy if you're willing to start from the very bottom (internship or assistant) then move up the ladders. The bigger the studio the lower you'll have to start, and the longer it's going to take before you can move up.

Oh and yes you're completely right about it being harder to make it as a composer than as an audio engineer. It's exactly as you said: everybody wants to be creative, and every creative needs technicians and engineers to help fulfill their vision. There are also a lot of branchs of the industry that most people don't think about: for example a lot of companies have audio/video departments for example to make videos to train personnel and/or for their marketing. A lot of churches in the U.S. also can have HUGE audio/video departments, you would be surprised. I'm sure there are others ...

Thank you again for your response.

I have to confess something: I'm starting to get a bit worried about a sort of attitude that I'm seeing in the personel from these schools. So far, both The Recording Connection and The Institute of Audio Research have had people calling me on my phone, basically asking me how I'm going on the process of applying, and whether or not I've made a decision about when I wanna start studying. Am I the only one that finds this a bit strange? I've never had any school have their staff calling me on my phone asking me "So... have you decided whether you want to study with us yet?". Sounds to me a bit desperate. Why would a school be so desperate that they have to call their prospective students to make sure they are going to apply to their school after all?

So far, the only school that hasn't done this is SAE Institute, which is the most expensive one. Which is leading me to suspect that this is all about money.

Another thing that worried me, being about the reliability of what the school's website says. I'm talking specifically about the Recording connection. Yesterday I was at their website, taking time to read the curriculum. I found a couple things that were odd. First of all, the curriculum section seems to make no sense. if you go here: http://www.recordingconnection.com/courses/ you will find a list of the courses. But when i clicked on them, I found things that were odd. For example: If you click on the Audio Engineering Program, and then compare it to the Music Production Program, you will find they are IDENTICAL. How can you have two programs with two completely different names that are identical? Then there are other links that don't give you the program description, such as "Film, TV and Video Game Music Composer", and "Music Business"

Then, I went to the "Get Hired" tab and click the "Job Assistance" link. I saw there were a series of testimonials at the bottom of the page. It says "learn how these apprentices became success stories" and shows a list of people who studied at the school and are now "successful". Out of curiosity I tried googling their names. Well, not a single one of them has their own website, not even a soundcloud account. I haven't been able to find any of their works, or any proof that they are currently working in the medium. And these are supposed to be the examples of successful people that made it in the industry? 

So again, I don't know if I'm looking too much into it, but these are the things that are starting to make me doubt.

Yes, for sure, those are either big companies or they are owned by big corporations. I studied at the Musician's Institute in Los Angeles and I remember their audition process... when I saw the (incredibly low) level of some of the people who registered, I realized that the whole "audition process" was bogus, and that they probably didn't listen to that tape you sent them, and only cashed the check and made sure their was money on your account. 

I later learned that the school's owner was a Japanese citizen who'd never set foot in the U.S. and wasn't a musician. 

So yes, the main preoccupation is clearly $$. 

My general idea on those long curriculums in those big expensive schools is that while you will learn things there for sure, they're most likely not worth your money as you can reach the same goals without going to school. On the other hand, they can be a great way to start networking and sometimes finding that first job, which can sometimes be a tough thing to do on your own. 

If you're set on attending one of those schools then I would recommend you talk to those people on the phone, ask them tons of questions, see what their answers are, try to visit the school, maybe they'll let you attend classes for one day (Musician's Institute used to do that I remember) so that you can get a better idea of which one would be the best fit for you. 

And the absolute best would be to find a review written by an ex-student or talk to some of their ex-students to ask about their experience.

If you google Recording Connection reviews you'll find that experiences seem to vary quite a lot depending on the student who wrote the review, so apparently they place you with a mentor in a studio and depending on the mentor you'll be treated as an assistant and they'll give you one on one lessons OR you'll be treated as an errand boy and basically you will have paid to do an internship. 

If it were me, I would just call recording studios around and ask for an internship. A free one. 

Kindly remember that these schools are, first and foremost, "for-profit businesses."

I will stop just a little bit short of suggesting that they are in the business of "selling dreams to dreamers," because their educational offerings are legitimate.  The question ... and it is a question that only you can answer ... is whether it is actually worth the price.  What are community colleges in your area doing right now?

Frankly, I find myself wondering – "if you have what it takes to be a composer, why do you want to be an engineer?"  If you have already worked with independent filmmakers in scoring anything(!), you've begun to acquire professional credits in that field.  The fact that composing (and arranging and orchestrating, etc.) is much more abstract and difficult to describe, also means that there are likely to be far fewer people competing with you, and that, over time, you might become a "go-to person" that people seek out as an individual.

Of course, music production is a holistic process that involves the combined efforts of many creative individuals ... specifically including engineers.  It will help you to try to obtain a broad perspective: that of the composer, of the musician(s), of the recordists, and of post-production.  You want all of the other specialists with whom you will be working to smile when you walk into the room . . .

Kindly remember that these schools are, first and foremost, "for-profit businesses."

 

I will stop just a little bit short of suggesting that they are in the business of "selling dreams to dreamers," because their educational offerings are legitimate.  The question ... and it is a question that only you can answer ... is whether it is actually worth the price.  What are community colleges in your area doing right now?

 

Frankly, I find myself wondering – "if you have what it takes to be a composer, why do you want to be an engineer?" 

 

 

Because I'm finding that looking for work only as a composer is not working for me. Because, for one thing, I am competing in a market where there's thousands of composers willing to work for free. I've talked to people in the industry and they all agree with me that finding jobs as a Composer or as a Screenwriter are way more difficult to find than jobs as an Editor or Audio Engineer, which are more practical, and technical jobs. Does that mean I am quitting my dream of working as a composer? No, but I need to broaden my experience. I need to obtain skills in other departments within the Audio Industry. Also, when you work as a composer, you still need to be able to do a good mix since most of the work you do is in Digital Audio Workstations. I haven't even been able to get some of my music accepted at audiojungle.com because the mix isn't up to their level of proficiency.

Yes, for sure, those are either big companies or they are owned by big corporations. I studied at the Musician's Institute in Los Angeles and I remember their audition process... when I saw the (incredibly low) level of some of the people who registered, I realized that the whole "audition process" was bogus, and that they probably didn't listen to that tape you sent them, and only cashed the check and made sure their was money on your account. 

 

I later learned that the school's owner was a Japanese citizen who'd never set foot in the U.S. and wasn't a musician. 

 

So yes, the main preoccupation is clearly $$. 

 

My general idea on those long curriculums in those big expensive schools is that while you will learn things there for sure, they're most likely not worth your money as you can reach the same goals without going to school. On the other hand, they can be a great way to start networking and sometimes finding that first job, which can sometimes be a tough thing to do on your own. 

 

If you're set on attending one of those schools then I would recommend you talk to those people on the phone, ask them tons of questions, see what their answers are, try to visit the school, maybe they'll let you attend classes for one day (Musician's Institute used to do that I remember) so that you can get a better idea of which one would be the best fit for you. 

 

And the absolute best would be to find a review written by an ex-student or talk to some of their ex-students to ask about their experience.

 

If you google Recording Connection reviews you'll find that experiences seem to vary quite a lot depending on the student who wrote the review, so apparently they place you with a mentor in a studio and depending on the mentor you'll be treated as an assistant and they'll give you one on one lessons OR you'll be treated as an errand boy and basically you will have paid to do an internship. 

 

If it were me, I would just call recording studios around and ask for an internship. A free one. 

That sounds like a good idea. The only problem with learning by myself, whether it's doing an internship at a recording studio, or just learning all I can by reading books and watching tutorials, is that it's a very erratic and inconsistent process in which I lack supervision. But I am considering that possibility as well.

As far as google reviews, most of the reviews of these three schools I've researched, are very positive. So there's not much gray area there. If I'm gonna make a decision based on the reviews, then theoretically, any of those schools should be pretty good.

If you want to learn something, then private lessons usually work better, dollar for dollar, than any school. What schools actually sell is this A) connections with peers, B) a certificate. 

As a way to learn, classes at a college or any other institute are fantastically expensive. Of course, if you can get a scholarship, then that doesn't apply; or if you attend a public school with tax-funded tuition, it doesn't apply. 

Otherwise, "schools," in general, are one of the biggest, if not the biggest, scam in the history of the world.