Nearly 30 years after I last set foot in college, the month of October still feels exciting. Forget January: this is when the year really starts. And, as ever, October 2024 will see thousands of 18‑year‑olds joining the eternal struggle to get up for their nine o’clock lectures. If you’re one of them, I’d like to think you’re doing exactly the right thing by reading this magazine. And I’d also like to reassure you that you are doing the right thing in a more general sense.
There was a time when I would have cautioned people to think carefully before spending three years and tens of thousands of pounds on a university course. The prevailing attitude in the industry back then could be summed up as “Bloody students. Get their hands on an SSL for five minutes and they come in here thinking they know everything.” Unless you could get on to something like the Tonmeister programme, your degree would carry little weight, and perhaps be of limited value in equipping you with the skills you would need in the real world.
That’s no longer the case. Universities deserve much credit for improving both the substance and the perception of their offerings, and the industry has changed too. For example, capable live sound engineers are in hot demand — but being a capable live sound engineer in today’s world means being intimate with advanced digital technology. Simply watching other engineers at work is probably not the best approach to learning how to set up an audio‑over‑IP rig, time‑align a PA with 100 speakers, or make 15 radio mics work reliably in a city centre venue. Broadcast engineering is another big area of opportunity, with every major music festival and sporting event being televised, but it’s not something you can learn by trial and error. Specialised training is essential, whether that happens at university, through accredited courses offered by manufacturers, or on an employer’s apprenticeship scheme.
Although a good degree guarantees nothing in itself, it’s a great platform to build on.
If music technology effectively becomes a graduate discipline, that has its down sides. It loads the dice in favour of people from well‑off backgrounds, who can afford to attend university and do internships or low‑paid entry‑level jobs in expensive cities. And it certainly doesn’t mean that a music tech degree is all you need to get a good job in the industry. There will always be more graduates than opportunities, and the plum jobs will go to the energetic, motivated, ambitious students with a fat portfolio of extra‑curricular work. But, although a good degree guarantees nothing in itself, it’s a great platform to build on.
Who knows, you might even end up working at SOS...
Sam Inglis Editor In Chief