1. What is your name?
Sorry, that's confidential. BonsaiK will do.
2. What is your job title?
Music industry asshole.
3. Describe your job.
At any time I an either playing music, teaching music, working at a radio station sorting through and maintaining their overwhelmingly huge music collection, doing odd jobs for labels, handling "talent referrals", mixing bands, "producing" bands, or seeing a bunch of gigs for free.
4. What kind of formal education do you have?
Bachelor Degree in Music, Diplomas in Audio Engineering and Business.
5. What types of mathematics do you use in your job?
Very little.
6. Will you please give a couple examples of the types of mathematics problems that you work with?
Some asshole owes me money, I might have to add it up before I send "the boys" around (I'm being completely serious).
A gig is performed and I might have to add merchandise money and ticket money, then work out how much of a cut the venue gets, then divide the remainer made between band members, plus the fees for audio engineering, merch staff etc.
Someone acquires a mysterious amplifier, I might have to measure the ohmage and find appropriate speakers to connect to it. This requires basic high-school level electrical knowledge.
Using a compressor in a studio involves understanding of input/output ratios.
Doing anything involving dBs, sound mixing, equalisation and loudness (if you want to do it well) requires understand of logarithmic scales and a wonderful graph called the "Fletcher Munson curve", which you won't learn about in school, but isn't exactly rocket science.
7. What do you like most about your job?
I never have to buy music because it gets sent to me for nothing. Also I get to see free concerts all the time, sometimes really big impressive ones that I could never justify purchasing a ticket for. Bosses are awesome, everyone is friendly, no stuck-up assholes. Work is actually pretty easy and fun for the most part, and there's always interesting things happening and bizarre stories. You get to wake up every day and genuinely say "I get to go to work - cool".
8. What do you dislike about your job?
99% of aforementioned sent music is not worth having. The money could be better - it's good when you get it but it's far from a reliable cashflow. Professional musicians are often grown-up children, being required to be nice to them is tiresome. Watching people you love destroy their lives with excessive drug and alcohol consumption combined with unrealistic rockstar dreams is sad. Everyone is deluded and thinks they are going to "make it" and that you can somehow help them even though they generally have minimal talent and ability.
9. What advice would you give a student who is trying to decide about what math to take in college?
Don't bother. Unless you absolutely love math, do something interesting instead. High school math will get you by in my industry, specialist knowledge can be learned later as you need it. If you were looking at another industry math might be more important.
10.How much mathematics would be beneficial to your job?
Aside from high school stuff, greater knowledge of electrical circuits might mean that I'd be able to fix equipment better when it breaks. That's about it.
11.What college majors are in demand in your field?
Bachelor Of Music doesn't hurt. Not essential in practice but looks good on the resume. Audio engineering degree on the other hand doesn't look as good on the resume but is more useful in practice.
12.If you could go back to high school and/or college and do it over, what would you do differently?
I wouldn't do high school different. Every year up until final year, just worry about passing. Final year, get the best scores you can but remember than only your first employer and your university is going to care what your HSC results are.
I regret not being single during my college years, if I were to have done it again I would have dumped my abusive partner just before enrolling and picked up a nicer girl from college. Instead I did the degree, then dumped her after. Oh well, another lesson learned in life.
13.What inspired you to seek the career you chose?
I like music.
14.Is there anything else that would be good for me to know about your job?
Don't do it unless you are very tolerant, laid-back and willing to find yourself in very odd situations on a regular basis. It really is like Spinal Tap sometimes. You have to turn a blind eye to certain "activities" just to function. If you're prudish on any level at all, find another career. A "live and let live" attitude is an essential requirement. Get used to surviving on as little money as possible. Don't make dumb purchases. Don't use credit cards, if you must get one, get one with no annual fee that accumulates interest the minute you use it, and then never use it unless an asteroid hits your car. Be absolutely fucking immune to peer pressure because people will try to get you to do all sorts of stupid shit. Realise that school just teaches you to be a drone, and college is a little better but not much. Most importantly, don't get anyone pregnant unless you are earning six digits, and she is completely understanding about how much time you'll need to spend doing things that don't involve her or the family.
