Anyone graduate SAE in NYC?

[Jason151]

I'm 30 years old, live in new york city and thinking about going back to school for audio engineering. I've researched the few schools in the new york city area and i am leaning toward SAE. Anyone care to share their thoughts, advice, stories, etc.?


jason kraut
jasonkraut@aol.com

[sarth]

probably shouldn't double post.

[andyg666]

I graduated SAE at the top of my class in October of 2002. I found paying work right out of school, but I found it myself and it was a freelance job with hours few and far between. SAE didn't hook me up with an internship until the following February.

I went there before they moved the school to W34th St, and I know they've expanded and upgraded their equipment quite a bit. The education there was pretty good--if you're serious and want to learn. My only complaint was that there was no supervision during the hands-on part of the education. No engineers/teachers in the studio giving pointers while you're doing your projects... There were a lot of kids who wanted to be "produsahs" and make beats--which is cool and i totally respect that--but it definitely slowed things down for those of us who were there to learn engineering for real...

On another note--it is almost impossible to make a living as an engineer right out of school--be prepared to work for free for a few years after you spend $15,000 at SAE...

[chrispnyc]

Howdy

I went to SAE in NYC for a few months. I didn't graduate because I had to leave the city to the financial burden of life in Manhattan (couldn't bring myself to live in another borrough so I moved back to Chicago).

Anyway, I enjoyed SAE a lot. There are some great teachers there and the new facility in Herald Square is really, really nice. However....

DON"T go part time. It is so slow that It would have taken me over a year and a half until they let me touch a Digi 002!!!! The SSL/Neve rooms were like a distant concept that I could never grasp. That and I really didn't need to spend an hour and a half class on a click track!!

If you go full time, you really can't have a full time job as well. One of the two will suffer.

My recommendation is this: Before you go visit every, and mean EVERY, studio in the five borroughs. Build up a nice resume and cover letter. Call them all back. Talk to the studio managers, assistant engineers and engineers. If every single one says that they don't have room for an intern, then go to school.

Good luck - studio gigs in NYC are fewer and farther between these days.

chris

[Dave Nutz]

ive got a friend there right now....it seems when they moved into the 34st facility, there was a leak in the Neve room....so the automation computer got fried and they never fixed it....last time i visited what really struck me was how un-maintained all of the gear is...all the racks and boards were dusty, the Neve being fried, the otari 2" machine that doesnt always respond to the remote....

[chrispnyc]

ouch...man, if they're going to diss that board, I'll take it!!!

[TheDude]

Howdy

DON"T go part time. It is so slow that It would have taken me over a year and a half until they let me touch a Digi 002!!!! The SSL/Neve rooms were like a distant concept that I could never grasp. That and I really didn't need to spend an hour and a half class on a click track!!

Uh, the whole part time program is a year and a half. i should know i took it. and i never had an hour and a half class on a click track either.

Yes the gear is messed up but what do you expect when 100 STUDENTS use any given piece of equipment per month. i graduated in sept. 2001 so i was at the old building as well. Let me just say the part-time class is no where near as intense as the full time. the part-time is at night so many people in it work. There is still a lot of lab time which with fulltime work can be alot but a part time job no problem. Thats why i got an internship at a studio 7 months before i graduated. Then when everyone else was trying to get internships i was being promoted and actually getting paid.

In a nutshell, business at the studio was slow for a while then a huge session came in for nearly a year. it was a very lucrative year but i missed just about anything you can think of...birthdays, holidays, whatever. Now it is slow again and lots of studios are closing. AND every major label artists I have worked with in the last oh say 8 months either is building or has a studio in their house.

I'm only 24, and no offense, but if you're 30 and considering go to school for this to change careers i hope you have enough money to support yourself for the next 5 years. not to mention people don't like hiring 30 y/o interns. its kind of creepy.

[nestle]

If its a career choice...its a bad one at 30-
this industry is very hard to make work financially,
record for the love of it and keep your day job-

[Ronan]

You need to ask yourself why you are going to school. If you are going in hopes that it will jump start your career that is a pretty dicey proposition. Some of the previous posters were right. You should look seriously into an internship at a cool studio. Take the money you were going to spend at the school and live off it for a while. Jump through every hoop you can to be a part of as many records in you in any way shape or form.

If you are thinking about doing this professionally be prepared to give up almost everything else in your life. Most people who dive into this seriously will end up losing their homes, significant others, savings etc... I would not have changed a thing. Its been a pretty cool life, but I got in before the rush.

[hearnoevil]

I graduated in July '03- It was a great experience with a pretty tough program (full time) & I learned a lot. The only job assistance I got, however, was an internship at the crappiest studio I've ever seen. This guy ran his "studio" from a small, dark basement in Chelsea & his entire staff consisted of unpaid interns. It was pretty much a sweatshop & the small amount of work he DID get, usually got screwed up due to a HUGE lack of organization. It was pretty bad. I haven't been able to get a job in a recording studio, which is what I wanted. Now, over a year later, I have a decent job, but it's pretty much in advertising- the only recording I do is either VO or flugelhorns & accordions for jingles.
Moral of the story- Good school, tough industry, don't expect to eat or pay rent or be happy for 2 years after you graduate, probably better off either staying where you are or finding an internship during the day & bartending at night.

[Jeremiah Cymerman]

I actually wrote an article for Tape-Op about my experience at SAE (Nashville) It's in the Bonus articles section of this web page, "What I Learned In Recording School" Like anything it has its ups & downs, but I would strongly advise against it. SInce i graduated, July 2002, I have put together my own mobile Pro-Tools rig and have been getting my own jobs. For what I payed to Sae I could have 3 of them...