Hey Ladies- Does this ever happen to you???

[i*persevere]

I just graduated from recording school a year ago with an Audio Engineering degree. I have a lot of experience and I was just offered the RECEPTIONIST job. Is this a common thing? I am feeling like the sting of sexism here. Am I the only one? Anyone out there have any advice on breaking through the gender thing? I would be very grateful for some words of wisdom.

[hearnoevil]

Oh honey- You're not the only one.
I graduated about 2 years ago as one of the top in my class & got the highest grade in the class on one of my 2 finals. I'm currently a studio assistant (in a part of the audio field that doesn't even really interest me), I have held paying, internship, freelance, & full-time jobs in post, recording/mixing, mastering, music production, & a bunch of other random things & I'm still not getting the same offers as guys I know that have little or no experience or education. I send out at least 5 resumes a day to various studios and consistently get blown off. I've been offered internships & admin positions when I applied at places that offered engineering or more technical or creative positions. I assumed it would be tough because there aren't too many women in this field, but I didn't know it would be this tough. It sucks, but we have to just bust our asses twice as hard as the guys to prove ourselves- it'll be worth it!

[i*persevere]

Grrrrr. I also freelance as a stagehand in a local I.A.T.S.E. union and it is very encouraging to women. I am glad about this. But breaking into studio world- holy Mary!!!! Not easy at all. I have heard similar feedback from other women I know in music. We have got to do something about it. Do you have a studio or any equipment? A lot of artists I know feel discouraged be the gender inequity too. There has to be a solution.

[hearnoevil]

I agree!

There are VERY few women in the audio world & we've got to break into it at some point! It's insane- I always feel like they'd rather have an incompetent male with little or no education than me! I was looking at another posting about audio schools earlier & a lot of guys were saying that you don't need audio school- it's better to just go intern. I tried that & was always told that I needed some kind of experience other than what I learned on my own. I'm almost ready to quit my tolerably-paid job to get another internship in the kind of studio I want to work in & just bartend to make money.

[i*persevere]

I hear you but you are so much more qualified from what it sounds like. The music industry is in a state of chaos anyway. We have to pave a way. That is crazy. I can understand your frustration. I waited a while for a response to my posting like I could not be the only woman on this board!!! Are you going to AES

[hearnoevil]

I'm not going to AES in SF because I have to work, but I went to the one in NYC last year & it was awesome! Not only was I treated as an equal, but I ended up meeting some very cool people & getting some great contacts. Sadly, all the contacts were on the West coast, so it didn't help me too much with getting into a good studio. I'm a studio assistant at one of the top music production houses in the world right now, though, so I'm hoping it'll fluff my resume enough to get me in a good recording studio eventually! Either that or I could try to get into writing music or doing sound design at this company. My current position isn't exactly what I wanted to be doing, but I'm the first female who's ever held this position in this company, so that part is kinda cool. It would be great to get a bunch of smart, qualified audio girls in contact with one another so we could help each other out with connections, info, etc.

[i*persevere]

Well to be working in audio in NYC right now at all is a feat within itself. I am going to AES and I am going to try to meet some women who are engineering. They are having some Skywalker sound thing so maybe their director of recording will be around. I am going to check it out and get something going on. Are you a member of AES? I don't know exactly what to do but I am going to collect some numbers and e-mail addresses or something. I would like to start a women's network. Enough frustration already!!!

[hearnoevil]

I'm not a member of any audio group or society at all, unfortunately! As soon as I get all my student loans & bills in order, I want to join AES & a couple other groups, but membership isn't cheap, as you know. I went on your website & was really impressed- you're a member of quite a few groups! That, & I'd LOVE to have a resume site like that. Anyway, you're right- getting a job in NYC was a pain. I had several internships that didn't teach me anything other than how to answer phones & make coffee (which I was already pretty good at) & I survived off of bartending & occasional freelance work. I was never able to get my foot in the door at the kind of recording studio I wanted, but working in advertising in NYC isn't something I can complain about! If you'd like help collecting names & getting contacts, let me know. I'd love to be involved in something like that- I have filemaker pro, so it would be easy to make a quick database of techie girls. Also, I have a friend in LA (that I met at the last AES) that runs a relatively well known studio & he's going to AES- maybe I could send you his way if he's manning a booth again! In any case, good luck with Skywalker! That would be an awesome gig!

[i*persevere]

108 people have checked out this posting!!! One small stiletto step for us! And for the ladies of L.A.- a cool recent development. I met with Carlitos of Audiograph Intl. He runs a Pro-tools school in L.A. and he is going to be featuring his female Pro-tools certified Ops. and Experts on his site that he is re-designing right now. www.audiographintl.com is his site.

I mentioned to him that I was trying to get a women's network going on and I am going to meet with him at Digiworld in SF and maybe take it to the next level with Digidesign. Who knows but I am going to try to hook it up.

Any contacts here in L.A. would be totally cool since I am trying to get a job. Thanks for the tip.

As for AES dues I would go by the way of the student membership. Online only journal $20.

Not for nothing- coffee-making is an important lifeskill!!!

[cvanwinkle]

http://www.womensaudiomission.org/

[i*persevere]

Thank you! That website is so awesome. I will let you all know if they will be at AES or how to get involved as I have just e-mailed them/ left a message. IF you have an opinion or comment on this people please post! Let's keep this thread active!!!

[hearnoevil]

Wow!

I wish WAM had been at AES last year! Anyway, I hate to say it (because I moved from LA to NYC to start my audio career), but you may be better off in LA than I am in NYC. It seems like there are a LOT more jobs going out there. The industry out here seems to be on a sharp decline lately. It also seems like the industry is slightly less of a boy's club than it is out here. I'll talk to my friend in LA & let him know about you- if only he had as many contacts in NY as he does in CA! Oh, and as far as AES membership goes, I'm not sure I could get away with calling myself a student at this point! I'm going to take a couple night or weekend classes (just for the hell of it) next semester, so maybe I can call myself a student then!

[i*persevere]

I joined the WAM yahoo group on Saturday and I already got a job posting e-mailed to me. Thanks so much it would be cool to meet your friend. Too bad you are not going to AES it would be great to meet you.

[hearnoevil]

Wow-
That's a pretty quick turnover! I joined the WAM list yesterday, but I noticed that it's pretty much West Coast based. I've got to find a female techie group out here! Good luck with the job offer- My friend who's going to AES has been busy lately, so I haven't been able to find out if he's running a booth, but I'll let you know as soon as I find out. I'm pretty bummed about not being able to go! It would be great to meet you too. If it's you're first AES show (or even if it's not), you'll have a blast!

[kHolmes]

Hey,

Maybe y'all should shoot an email to my boss and ask her about her studio experience and if she has any advice...

Her name's Sylvia Massy-Shivy. She sure did something right!!


kale LeNeve Holmes


and yes, that is my real middle name.

www.radiostarstudios.com