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Am I too old for this and wasting my time?

bearcatsandor

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I'm 50 and working on getting my bachelor's degree in audio engineering and sonic arts. Go me. I have a strong interest in immersive audio and I'm enjoying the education. However, about halfway through each semester I feel a sense of "*sigh* Is there a point?"

My hearing is still very good, though a have a touch of loss in the high end (again, I'm 50), but am I too old for this? Is someone going to hire me in a studio or accept me on a project if I'm self-employed? Am I probably going to be met with predudice? I mean, I'd bet a lot of people in studios have self-afflicted hearing loss at a young age and they still work so ..

Am I wasting my time and money?
 

kemmler3D

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I took a minor in music technology in college, did a couple albums, have made a tiny bit of money from freelance producing, (less than a month's rent) and worked for a speaker company where I did some voicing. But I am at least someone who has received an ASCAP royalty check, (yes, only one) so I'm not totally ignorant.

1) This might raise a mighty screech from the crowd, but minor hearing loss is not really an obstacle to most critical listening tasks. Critical listening is about comparing things and paying close attention to the right things. Training yourself to hear changes - not having physiologically better ears. I have tinnitus and have had for years, it never really got in the way.

2) Freelancing in general requires two things: A good portfolio and connections to potential clients. That's about it IMO.

IME a contractor's age or background for creative work don't matter A BIT. What matters is whether they've produced work in the style I'm looking for recently.

I haven't looked for fulltime work in creative fields, nor have I hired as such, so I don't really want to comment on that. But in my marketing roles I've hired plenty of freelancers, and I really only look at two things: Portfolio and price. Clients care about the output, what you look like or how old you are are usually none of their concern.

So, are you wasting your time? Yes, if you're not any good at the job. No, if you can put together a portfolio that's better than your classmates.

My advice is keep at it if your work is good. Be honest with yourself. If it's not, then there's no law against making it a serious hobby and pursuing other things to pay the bills. There is an absolute s***load of competition out there. Everyone with a copy of FLStudio and a set of headphones will try and take a piece of the pie. Giving up now is better than finishing the degree, spending a year trying to get work with a mediocre portfolio, THEN giving up.

But definitely don't give up just because you don't look like your classmates or whatever. At the end of the day, clients are buying audio, not audio made by a certain type of person. If you're any good at what you do, keep going.
 
OP
bearcatsandor

bearcatsandor

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Thank you @kemmler3D, that helps. For what it's worth needing a portfolio to compete in a crowded field is the same for me as a computer programmer, my friend that's a jeweler, my friend that does leather working and my friend that's a lawyer. I'm not doing it for ritches and I don't expect to be the next Bob Katz, I just want to do what I love, and upon trying it I think I may be pretty good.
 
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FeddyLost

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Am I wasting my time and money?
If you can turn your hobby into profitable work, it's OK.
I suppose that immersive audio for home systems will keep evolving due to all these lockdowns and cracking global world.
It's much more efficient to offer HT-in-a-box to everyone than run real big cinema if we calculate resourses and energy.
 

theREALdotnet

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My hearing is still very good, though a have a touch of loss in the high end (again, I'm 50), but am I too old for this? Is someone going to hire me in a studio or accept me on a project if I'm self-employed? Am I probably going to be met with predudice?

I can’t tell if this is parody, but I’ll say if you stick to producing rock music you’ll be fine no matter what. Few of the performers or audience can hear above 5kHz anyway.
 

DSJR

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Our brains can make up for a hell of a lot you know. It's only when it gets severe as my hearing loss at 5kHz is (it recovers a little above this, but I suspect it's gone much over 10k now) that it really affects everyday life as reflected sounds are muted, altering perception somewhat, at least in my case. With the aids, I can still clearly hear differences in loudspeakers though, but I need a proper reference with which to compare as I can't trust what I'm hearing other than 'that's nice!'

I'd suggest the OP is nowhere near that as yet, but age and (lack of?) experience in these troubled times may well be an issue to some. I remember tales of the best orchestral conductors getting their feet on the ladder by being in the right place at the right time. I sincerely hope the OP can do the same and have fun in a future career.
 

Matias

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I would say go for it but it is very difficult to make a living out of music nowadays. You can have a main job and work with audio on your spare hours and weekends, being happy and making customers happy, but very hard to be a main occupation and pay the bills out of it. Keeping the expectation in check, sure, go for it.

I suggest watching several videos from Glen, his channel is great. Even if you are not into heavy metal recording, the general tips I think still apply. Below grouped by playlists to restrict to your interests.


PS: I did post edit, mix and master a couple of albums many years ago, was great for learning, spent many many hours at it, the payment was little ($/hour is ridiculous) but still was a lot of fun and I don't regret it.
 
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kemmler3D

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needing a portfolio to compete in a crowded field is the same for me as a computer programmer, my friend that's a jeweler, my friend that does leather working and my friend that's a lawyer.

Agree. It will probably be no different than any other job where you have a tangible work product. You need a good portfolio, and a good way to find customers, in all of those fields.
 

concorde1

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I'm in the same boat at 26 years old - I don't know if a Bachelor's degree in music will be worth it, but how else would I get the experience and build a portfolio? I already have a Bachelor's degree in chemistry which has not resulted in corresponding employment.

I want to compose music digitally and be responsible for the mixing/engineering on my own projects.
 

kongwee

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It depend how much exposure to industry by your school.
 

Vacceo

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I'm in the same boat at 26 years old - I don't know if a Bachelor's degree in music will be worth it, but how else would I get the experience and build a portfolio? I already have a Bachelor's degree in chemistry which has not resulted in corresponding employment.

I want to compose music digitally and be responsible for the mixing/engineering on my own projects.
Don´t be Avicii, please. Particularly if you get to compose a massive hit like Levels.
 

ROOSKIE

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Man you never know.
My old buddy went back to school for UX. (He is in his mid 40's)
He got a job immediately upon graduation.
Another buddy was head hunted off a forum like this in large part because they needed someone with at least decent skills who could move immediately at start right away while living in a hotel.

Anything can happen, life is really as much a right place, right time thing as anything else. I am sure your personal intentions and your openness toward opportunities will be big factors, fairly intangible things but really strong parts of everyday life.
Go for it friend.

I'm heading closer to 50 myself( just a few years away)and will need to make seriously big changes soon myself. I'm someone who is 'decent to pretty good' at many if not most things but not 'really great or excellent' at anything really. Kind of a mini jack of trades, self reliant survivor type. Unfortunately, that doesn't sell well in terms of making money from skills. I more or less DIY life to save $ vs hiring yet this is getting old. To shift my mode from 'surviving' to 'thriving' in terms of $ and vocation, I may have to get something specific going (in a field I love) by doing educational things just like you are now. I really hope we aren't to old!
Anyway, I am rooting for you.
 

olbobcat

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They say Jimmy Page did the Remasters of Led Zeppelin yet his hearing was far from good at the time. I am 60 now and have been thinking about transitioning into something else. It's hard to do when you've been at it for 35 years. I feel locked in. I now think about it as a new adventure and a positive change.
 

fpitas

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It's a business. Lots of businesses actually prefer older guys because they tend to show up every day and be sober lol
 

steve59

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Old guys also appear to be more knowledgeable to the casual observer. When the economy crashed in 09 at 50 yo I went to school for hvac and ultimately quit for a couple reasons, 1. starting in a new field meant entry level pay and 2. as the classes got more advanced and I didn't have the grey matter to keep up. The latter was sobering.
 

sarumbear

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Is someone going to hire me in a studio or accept me on a project if I'm self-employed?
Unless you have a hit maker artist friend, no.

Am I probably going to be met with predudice?
Definitely.

Am I wasting my time and money?
No! You are learning, which is the best anyone can do for twelves. As long as you have the means and time, keep on going. It’s the journey not the result that counts.
 

kemmler3D

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I want to compose music digitally and be responsible for the mixing/engineering on my own projects.
You might learn a lot from the degree, but it won't compose the music for you. My advice is make the best tracks you can regardless of where you are in your educational journey. If you've got March Sonituvas, you've got all the monitoring any producer would need... get after it!

My advice having produced two whole albums nobody really likes... don't be your own worst critic, but be your own most honest critic. It took me way too long to admit to myself that I was overcomplicating my tracks and I have no clue when it comes to arrangement or song structure. Don't be like me. :)
 

sarumbear

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My advice having produced two whole albums nobody really likes... don't be your own worst critic, but be your own most honest critic. It took me way too long to admit to myself that I was overcomplicating my tracks and I have no clue when it comes to arrangement or song structure. Don't be like me. :)
Bravo for giving this great advise :):cool:
 

kemmler3D

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Bravo for giving this great advise :):cool:
An addendum to this is: Your friends will generally tell you your tracks are amazing and impressive, regardless. It's very hard to get an honest critique from anyone, online or off. So don't rely on that kind of feedback too much unless you're sure they'll tell you when you have spinach in your teeth.
 

sarumbear

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So don't rely on that kind of feedback too much unless you're sure they'll tell you when you have spinach in your teeth.
Even Mick Jaggers friends didn’t tell him that :) (when he had an emerald inserted on his teeth).
 
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