• Neve8028
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    10 months ago

    The bigger trap IMO is going into a field you aren’t passionate about.

    I went to an art school for a degree in audio engineering and I encountered seniors in their final year who had no idea what the fuck they were doing because they didn’t seek out any opportunities outside of classes. I interned at a recording studio for about two years while I was in school and that prepared me better than any class I took. This is an industry where you need to be passionate about what you’re doing because work is rare in the beginning and the pay is pretty shit. There were several kids in my advanced practicums who didn’t even know how to properly wrap cables or mount microphones onto stands. I couldn’t help but think to myself “why the fuck are you even here”. You really have to go out of your way and fight for every opportunity you can get in this industry. I’m fortunate to be able to make a living in it but somehow some of the people I graduated with came out with less knowledge than what I learned in my freshman year.

    It just baffles me that people get degrees in these highly competitive industries without any sort of drive to actually make a career. Interesting to hear that this happens in STEM fields as well.

      • SpaceNoodle@lemmy.world
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        10 months ago

        Hard disagree. College filled in a lot of missing gaps in my education and gave me a good basis for continuing to learn when I started my career.

      • Neve8028
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        10 months ago

        There are lots of useful things I learned in school but school is really what you make of it. I did my best to utilize the facilities that my college provided and got a lot of experience. Others just coasted and took courses, doing nothing outside of the coursework. Ultimately, the education helped me get to where I am. Especially in this industry where connections are everything, school can be a great tool to connect with professors and other students. It was also my gateway into the professional world because I was a good candidate for internships because of my background.