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Home Theater Geeks 520: A/V Career Advice
00:13:38
Breaking Into the Field in an Age of AI & Automation
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In this episode of Home Theater Geeks, I answer a question about getting into the AV installation and integration industry. What career advice might I offer? Stay tuned. Podcasts you love from people you trust. This is twit. Hey there, Scott Wilkinson here, the home theater geek. In this episode, I answer a question from Mason Parker, who writes I got my undergraduate degree in Audio Production and Media Studies at Middle Tennessee State University and moved to Los Angeles about a year and a half ago. I'm currently working as a freelance dialogue editor and sound supervisor in the post production film space. I'm not very happy with the health of the industry at the moment and I'm thinking about moving into AV installation and integration. I had an internship in Nashville that was somewhat centered on home theater sound and video and I loved it. I love everything about TV specs, Dolby physical media, etc. And I'm constantly reading and learning about home theater setups. My main question is how did you get to the point that you are today? And what specifically would you recommend I do to further my career in home theater? I know there are lots of certifications out there and other things that I could study, but I wonder if you have some more solid advice. Well, thanks for writing in, Mason. I have had a great career in home theater. It's not been a career in AV installation or integration, which it sounds like maybe you're interested in, and I think it's a good idea. My career was as an AV journalist. Now those two fields have a lot of knowledge overlap, so we often talk the same language, but they're not quite the same. So you asked. So I'll tell you a brief summary of how I got started. I have degrees in physics and music, and I wanted to combine my passions for those two fields into a career. My first job was working as a product specialist at Roland Corporation, helping customers with synthesizers and music software. I then got a job as the technical editor of a magazine called Music Technology, and then I moved on to another magazine called Electronic Musician, where I was the technical editor for 10 years. These magazines covered what we called the prosumer side of the market. So not full professionals, aspiring professionals, people who were making music, not just consuming music. So I was invited to join the editorial staff of a magazine called Audio Video Interiors, which was sort of the architectural digest of home theater. After that I helped start the magazine Home Theater Technology, which was later shortened to Home Theater, and I went on to work at other print and online publications such as Stereophile Guide to Home Theater, ultimate av, the Perfect Vision, and AVS Forum and of course Home Theater Geeks, the podcast you're watching or listening to right now, which I started in 2009, so we've been doing it for a while now, and I have always enjoyed it tremendously. Now I don't have any formal training as a journalist, but I'm a naturally good writer and communicator, especially conveying technical information in a clear and understandable manner to interested laypeople. You have to be interested in what I have to say for it to work, because if you're not, no amount of clarity is gonna gonna help you because you're not interested, and that's fine. Now, unfortunately, the audio video journalism space has changed a lot since I got into it. There are virtually no print magazines left and the websites tend to pay a lot less for content than magazines did or even websites used to. Plus websites are much more interested in what we call clickbait in the form of listicles, articles that list the best of or the most recent or lists of stuff rather than in depth reviews or tech explainer articles which were my forte. These types of articles really content they're not articles anymore, are done mostly by individuals with YouTube channels. My favorite ones are called Caleb Rated which is hosted by Caleb Denison, who I respect very much. Youthman has a channel called Obsessed Home Theater. This is Michael Stevens and he's also really really good. And finally there's Techno dad, which is Chana da Silva and I also respect and really like his material as well. They have a lot of content on YouTube and I recommend you check them out just because they're fun and informative and very reliable. Then there's the issue of AI, which can generate listicles and other types of meta content gathered from other sources far cheaper and more quickly than humans. I've been reading lately how AI is likely to replace 50% of white collar jobs, computer based white collar jobs in the next few years. Anything you can do on a computer, AI can now do almost as well and in some cases better. And it's getting better so quickly that it will soon surpass human capability. That's kind of scary if you ask me. In fact, I'm sure it's probably impacting your current job as a dialogue editor. So your comment about the health of your industry is is well taken. I have to say I'm lucky I had the career I did when I did. If I were starting out now, I'd probably end up doing something else. I don't know what. So while AI is taking over writing and Other computer based tasks. It can't physically install or calibrate equipment that requires a human, maybe a robot, but I think that's farther away. The examples of robots we saw at CES this year were laughable. Taking 10 minutes to load some laundry, falling down so easily. So you know that's not going to happen anytime soon. AI is happening really soon, but robots will not. So if you want to get a job actually installing equipment that's going to be around for a while and I think it's a good, it's a good choice of career. So. And I want to point out that part of this job is what's called Smart Home Integration. So you're going to need to learn about that. Ring doorbells and, and integrating the H Vac control with everything else. All that stuff is part of Smart Home. And it's, it's a really important part now of, of installation and integration. So what do I recommend? Several things. I recommend that you join cedia, which is the organization for installers and integrators. They have an annual convention called CEDIA Expo in the fall. And I would say take classes at the Expo. They offer a wide range of classes and they also offer classes online. So I would obtain CEDIA certifications and they have several in different specialties. And there's a link I'm going to put in the show notes about specifically the education component of cdo which is big, they're really big on education. I think your idea of interning, interning with a, an AV installer integrator is a good one. You did that you said in Nashville and now you're in la. So I would find a CEDIA certified installer in your area. And CEDIA happens to have a page, a web page on their site called Find a Smart Home Professional. And on that page you can enter your zip code and it'll give you what integrators are nearby. Contact them, see if they offer internships. That would be a really good thing to do. I would become an ISF certified Video Calibrator. ISF stands for Imaging Science foundation and they run a lot of classes on training you to be a video calibrator. And they have a website dedicated to their certification training with a list of the classes that are held in the US and around the world. So I would definitely consider doing that. Cost some money, but you're investing in your career. Another place for training is thx. They offer a home theater certification program which is more audio oriented than video. I took the Video Integrate certification some years ago, many years ago. And I don't know if they still offer that. They might, but I know they go deeply into audio and it's offered in collaboration with an organization called the Home Acoustics alliance, or haa. They are the ones that, that coordinate the THX certificate, home theater certification. And that would be another thing definitely to do. Now, of course, the profession you're considering requires or depends on rich people who can pay for installation and integration into their smart home. And that's the, that's a minority of the population in a place like la. There's probably enough people to make it viable. So I would say enough rich people. Anyway, I would say that that's a good place to be, to be getting into this business. And I've offered you a few ways to get your chops up, if you will, and hopefully get started on a great career. I know what it is to love everything about home theater I do myself. I was fortunate enough to get into the journalism side of things and I had a great career and I still do with hosting home theater geeks, which is always a great pleasure for me. So I wish you good luck. Now, if you have a question for me, send it on along to HTGWIT TV and I'll answer as many as I can right here on the show. And if you have a home theater you're proud of, send along some pics and let me know about it. Maybe we'll feature it here on the show and maybe even get you on the show to talk about it. Until next time, geek out.