Is the music business like Piloting?

[pilotchute]

I was talking to a person yesterday who has just completed a degree in Sound Engineering from a private provider of education. He paid over 40k for the 3 year course (thanks dad) and says that he now has virtually no chance of landing a job in a related field as you have to have 5+ years of "experience" to get a foot in the door. I asked him if he knew the state of the industry when he started the course and he said he knew it was in decline but the school had loads of statistics on how many people from that school were now working in the music/film industry and it was pretty convincing.

When asked what he planned to do I was astonished when he told me he was going to offer to work for bands for free to get his name out and about. Once he builds a good rep he can then get in at studio level. I asked how long this would take he replied "years". How much will you make at a studio? "Not very much but it's what I want to do" was the answer.

So what are the similarities between this and flying?

People will fork out huge sums of money on very specialised training that isn't really transferable to other fields even when the industry isn't hiring.

Then people will work for free or very little to gain experience to land a job because they need to see a return on the "investment" thus dragging down terms and conditions for everyone else.

Anyone else know of an industry like this?

[VH-XXX]

$40k is a UNI degree so not much different to any industry where you can get a job after a degree. Compare it to someone who does an Arts degree and can't get a job for example.

If you can't get a job as a pilot in 5 years I be seriously thinking something is wrong with you.

[Shagpile]

Anyone else know of an industry like this?

Yep driving trucks at mines. You leave school in year 10, get a truck ticket and go work in a mine for $150k then buy a jet ski.


Oh wait, that's the opposite of the aviation industry. Sorry

[pilotchute]

XXX

Well you can put an arts degree on HECS and only start paying for it when you start earning a half decent wage. An arts degree will get a foot in the door at a lot of places not needing specialist skills. What type of job will you get outside of aviation with a CPL? This persons degree in sound engineering is also useless outside his specific field.

This guy paid up front at the start of every year. Last time I looked most flying schools were pay as you go. No HECS or Fee Help available at most of them so it's similar.

He is going to work for no payment. Taking 5 years to get to his poorly paid dream job wasn't the point.

[Howard Hughes]

So what are the similarities between this and flying?
People fail to do adequate research before parting with large sums of money?

I suspect they are the same in that to get a start initially you need to 'press the flesh', it's all about networking and contacts!:ok:

[PA39]

Yep...everyone HARPS on how good a pilot they are! When really they couldn't fly outta sight on a dark night.:)

[Capt Fathom]

Is the music business like Piloting

Yep!

Plenty of pilots hanging around whistling dixie!

[Clare Prop]

Well I do work in both music biz and aviation and I certainly would not want a sound guy who worked for nothing! I'm doing a currently deferred bachelors in audio production and most of the people on the course were already working in the music biz as sound guys, DJs or playing in bands so already had their network. it's all about who you know! And in the music biz a lot of the very best sound people have no formal training at all. You do the stuff " for nothing" while you are a student on the course and have access to masses of very expensive equipment to play with, not
after!

[Arm out the window]

Flying is similar to music in that people are passionate about it and will get involved in it at their own expense for fun. Some will fork out great amounts of time and money.

This blurs the line between paid job and labour of love, because a lot of us just really like flying and if we didn't get paid for it, would probably pay to do it to some extent.

Combine that with an oversupply of keen entrants into the game and conditions are ripe for what we see - young people desperate to get a foot in the door and therefore willing to work for little or nothing to clock up some experience.

[Seagull V]

Seagull once met a young chap who planned to learn to fly. He had started his working life as a muso, but found the long hours and the low pay not to his liking, so he became a share farmer on a dairy farm, but he soon found the long hours and the low pay not to his liking, so he had decided to become a pilot. Obviously a three time loser.