Okay, first of – gotcha! – clickbait title!
But now that you’re here, I swear that this email is going to fulfill the promise of the title.
I also swear that 98% of you are going to absolutely hate what I’m about to tell you. So, start praying you’re in that 2% category my friend!
The rest of you are going to say things like –
“Ugh, now I feel like my 5 degrees and 3 certifications are a waste!”
“You mean I have to TALK to people?!”
“Would you just tell me whether or not it’s better to learn FMOD or Wwise first?”
“What if I learn this really esoteric nerdy sound design process instead – will someone hire me for that?!”
If you do – I’m sorry – but here’s the truth –
- I’ve got multiple degrees and certifications
- I know a buttload of software
- I used to dig all into really esoteric aspects of audio and got upset when nobody cared like I wanted them to
- I worked freelance for almost 10 years
So much of what I did to build up skill or credits had no bearing on landing my best gigs – none.
Since I’m a bit tired of fielding emails with questions about what what skill and tech you should learn to “level up” (aka “get a job”) – I’m going to tell you exactly what you need to know and do.
Here’s the good news –
It’s way easier than you’re making it out to be. It’s really not that difficult at all when you realize the truth of it.
Here’s the bad news –
Almost none of you are willing to, or want to do it.
Skills are Secondary
Some of you are going to read that headline and freak out at me. You’re going to argue that you can’t get a job without audio skills.
Guess what?
You’re right and I agree with you!
That’s not my point – please read what I have to say before jumping to conclusions.
For the vast majority of my audience – technical ability is of secondary importance for you to focus on. Why?
If you know how to design sounds and operate at least one of the major middlewares (FMOD/Wwise), you have enough skill to get hired.
Seriously. Full stop.
If you need someone to validate that your design is good enough – do one of two things:
- Send your demo reel to ONE trusted associate who is currently working in games (not me) and ask for specific feedback on one certain part of your reel.
So – “do you think these ambiences fit?”, “What would you change, if anything, about these gunshots?”, “Would you mind giving me your feedback about how I’ve setup interactive music in this level?” - Submit your reel/website to Reel Talk – I trust Matt enough that he wrote the demo reel chapter in Quit Aspiring.
So yes, you need audio skill to get hired for an audio job. I agree.
But so many of you don’t suck at audio – you don’t suck at all. You’re, in fact, so afraid of sucking that you bust your ass not to suck! That’s awesome! You deserve a pat on the back and a huge, huge, huge good job.
GOOD JOB!!!
But at some point, once you’ve got these skills – building more skills results in diminishing returns.
This is where almost all of you are getting stuck.
This is when you – as sound designers and composers – turn to me and start asking about programming and implementation. Because you think that’s the skill that’s going to get you hired, since the other ones didn’t.
Read that last sentence again.
Do you see the logical fallacy? I bet you don’t – that’s fine. Here it is –
There isn’t a specific skill that’s going to get you hired for game audio.
Oof.
Took the wind out of your sails, didn’t I?
Here’s the thing – you can make your skills as applicable as possible. So if you’re interested in working on racing games, it makes sense to spend a good amount of time building up a demo that showcases your skills with car audio and racing games. Same goes with a shooter, mobile game, platformer, whatever.
But “learning Wwise” won’t net you a job automagically. Nor will learning some esoteric special skill about Wwise. Or programming, or a specific way to design sounds.
These aren’t the reasons why employers hire.
They want you to be competent, and they want you to be able to handle unexpected issues.
It’s everything after that conversation and proof, that gets you hired.
Why Employers Hire
I teach two students locally here in Seattle. I gave them a 2 week head start with this lesson before you. Since you have some of the same questions – clearly this lesson bears repeating.
Do you know why companies, or individuals, hire people?
Think about it.
I’m serious – because the answer to this very question is the solution to your problem of not having a gig.
Most of you will answer with something like this –
“Studios hire because they need sound for their game.”
“Studios hire because they don’t have enough people to get the work done.”
“Studios hire because they need talented people.”
“Studios hire because they need warm bodies.”
WRONG.
Here’s why anyone gets hired anywhere –
Employers hire employees because employers have problems.
That’s all. It’s not rocket science.
What separates the incredibly successful from the mildly successful (or not successful at all) how well you understand the employer’s problems, and your ability to solve them.
It’s so easy that I can sum it all up in one sentence.
So let me ask you this –
- Is your employer’s problem that they don’t have anyone who knows how to use Wwise?
- Is your employer’s problem that they don’t have anyone to do technical audio implementation?
- Is your employer’s problem that they don’t have anyone knocking down their door to make sound effects?
- Is your employer’s problem that they can’t find anyone who is competent enough to run Pro Tools?
- Is your employer’s problem that they don’t have anyone who knows about professional audio?
No.
Your employer’s problem is none of those things.
“But Adam – surely they need skilled sound people! What are you talking about?!”
They do! They do need skilled sound people! But guess what?
They get overloaded with an abundance of applications from skilled sound people.
It’s not the technical skills that are the issue. For any given application there are likely at least 3-5 candidates who can probably design sounds just fine.
Everything else is the issue.
It’s also where I’ve lost 98% of you.
Why?
Because you don’t understand your potential employer’s problem, or how to even have a conversation about it.
First – this is covered in depth in Quit Aspiring. I completely cover the interview process in regard to getting hired by a large game company – questions to ask, how to act, etc.
Second – in independent sound design, the process is no different. In fact, it’s easier because developers are more accessible. To ask a large company these questions, you usually need to get an in-person interview. With independent sound design, you can meet a developer in person much easier.
But outside of the book, I’ll tell you this –
Just ask them.
If you’re on my email list, you got a short email from me last week with a few questions.
Go back and read it.
Do you see what I was doing? I wasn’t just asking you questions because y’all give me the feels and I deeply care about your souls (though, I do).
To aid you, I first need to know what afflicts you.
So you should find out the answers to questions like –
- “Why, specifically, are you hiring for this job right now?”
- “Exactly what type of person, if you had a ‘dream candidate’, would you want to hire for this role?”
- “What are your project’s biggest problems as it relates to audio?”
- “What do you feel like your games have been missing, emotionally speaking, as it relates to audio?”
I just gave you a freaking gold mine – save those questions, okay?
When you ask those questions, you’ll suddenly start having the conversations you’ve been dying to have with developers.
You’ll also instantly know whether or not you’re capable of doing the job, and whether or not they should hire you. I kid you not – they’ll answer and you’ll either light right up and say “Oh, I totally understand! I get where you’re coming from!” or you’ll get a sinking feeling and think to yourself “Well, I’m not the right person for this – who else could I suggest? Thank god I didn’t get stuck with this!”
So your friend Adam says this –
Stop worrying so damn much about your skills, get out and talk to people and empathize with them.
“How” doesn’t matter – don’t email me about it – find someone, buy them lunch, bubble tea, ice cream, or a smoothie, and let them have a therapy session with you okay?
Okay. Good luck.
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