I’m a recent recording arts grad living in Norcal and I’m on the job hunt. I’ve reached out via email to a couple studios in my city with no replies about internship opportunities even if their website does state they have a program. Most job listings that I do see are all in Socal and everyone is always telling me go to LA that’s where the music is but I do not have the funds to make such a move right out of college. I do have one lead on a band I said I would record for free just so I can build my portfolio some more, but other than that it sometimes feels hopeless. Any advice for staying motivated?

It's difficult. I've been doing this for decades at this point and the only way I've been able to stay motivated is by working on my own material between working with paying clients.

Do you play any instruments? Sing? Program beats?

Another thing I did for years was use downtime as a way to upskill. Eg I have a variety of channel strips. What do they sound like on a full kit?

I know! I'll make a comparison between all my channel strips on a drum kit.

Then all my compressors.

Etc.

99% of these skills are ones we teach ourselves through necessity. Stay ahead of the curve.

If you can't find the job you want or are waiting around, you might consider attending an SMB (small business entrepreneurship) type course offered by your local government, and just start up a small business in the recording arts of your own. They are usually free and government funded as they try to promote local small business economy and reduce unemployment rates and they offer great advice on taxes, ways to maximize your profits, and also ways to market and promote yourself using government handouts and assistance. I took one and it was very helpful.

Thanks for the responses! That’s actually really interesting about the small business thing I haven’t heard of that before.

don't work for free for just any old random band, find an amazing band who will make you look good, then keep doing that, once you've got a few bands you have a portfolio you can show people, are you wanting to be a recording engineer, mix engineer? mastering engineer? you need some long-term goals, if you don't specialise you'll be mediocre at everything and an expert at nothing.

Yeah I think that's another area I run into trouble is specialization. I have no clue what I want to do. The goal is either doing recording/mixing music or working in post production sound for film/visual media. The thing is most of my experience lies in live sound and I'm really tired of it and that's about the only thing in my area that someone can make money on and even I can't find a way into it. But I totally understand having to do jobs you're not a fan of to work your way in.

I understand coming from a live sound background. I did as well (so did James Murphy / lcd sound system I think).
It imo takes making a bunch of mis steps to discover what you really have to offer / are special at. Learning oneself is deep stuff but, ...record the band (if you think you can bring something helpful to them). Free if need be, $ will come w a reputation.
- Keep doing things....things lead to things! ------
Be really cool to folks. They remember how you made them feel more than anything else generally. Repeat. Repeat. Only those that are willing to / desire to work there ass off & make mistakes grow toward what they really have to offer in ones brief time on this nutty spinning place.

Ultimately understanding we could die at any moment should be enough to keep any seriously inquisitive human motivated. Ideally.

That's a good way of putting things into perspective haha

I would stick to live sound , the business model of a studio is becoming super niche and shrinking each year. However live sound is growing. I would look at getting in with a live event company. I think the future of music will be live performance. Its not like bands are coming to studios to record albums (too easy to do it at home)any more because not too many people buy albums anymore.Plus there's just too may free ways to listen to an artists music.

The one studio left in my city (used to be about 6 in its heyday ) I talked to the owner not too long ago, and hes barely making it, he has added video restorations to his suite of services and that's what floats him. Now of course your city might be more music incorporated than mine, but Nashville for example seems to be the hot for music so your location might be the problem too

live sound is very poor though as a long-term career choice, you'll be working with crap bands until the day you die and going deaf in the process unless you take serious measures to protect your hearing, also guess who gets blamed when everything goes wrong? you are often treated unfairly so get used to it, the job is like being a human punching bag, I'd much rather just stick to mixing only and be a mixing engineer, I'm very good at recording as well but it's not easy thesedays to convince people that you can do a better job than them, everyone thinks they're an expert now with their little home studios in a box room with no acoustic treatment.