I'm just flattened by the input guys...seriously! I've never received such sincere/down to earth advice like this...even from the people I've known and loved for years. Appreciate you taking the time to speak your mind to a wandering moutain goat like myself.
I very well know I have to be true to myself...it's just hard for me to know 100% if I make the jump, I will be ok. It's not about the glamour and "cool" factor either...that's not even an issue. Have been at production for 2 years...and am terribly drawn to it. I sometimes make excuses to friends and the girlfriend that I'm not feeling well or won't be able to hit the bars/clubs or whatever...but in reality I'm trying to figure how to apply just the right amout of compression/ratio on that kick drum...get the excitement out of that $50 mic..hehe... etc etc. When I go to class, it's all I'm thinking about. At first I was only thinking about gear and equipment...after-all I'm a real tech head, and technology always makes me tingle inside....but soon realized it's not the right ball game I was playing...like one of the guys above wrote it's literally 5% of what a sound engineer really needs to know and be worried about.
Next week I was planning on visiting a couple of the local studios...see if I could sweep floors...even scrub toilets
... just to get a feel for the arena. Maybe I toss in some knowledge, and maybe a spark flys and they ask if I want to be an assitant of an assitant of an assitant...if I'm lucky. lol. But damn, I'd take that position in a second. All I'm looking for now is someone to take me under his/her wings...just show me the ropes of a full-time working studio. It's the only way to do it...as you guys have pointed out.
I'll follow my heart for sure...it's just scarey though being my age and not knowing what it's going to be like in the future. Sure you guys can say it's something you just got to do...don't be an idiot...but you all know it was ball-busting for you when you were young. Maybe I think about this sh*t too much...maybe I better get off the comp and get some cycling in...
Thanks again guys...means very mcuh to me...seriously.