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teacher
Hey, I find that a lot of video editors and photographers are going into the teaching profession in high school here in Canada. I know 4 good friends that did this within the year. Does this mean wimping out of the freelance world. What do you guys think about teaching would you leave the industry to teach high school?
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24 Replies
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That is a difficult one. Often it is easy to say that “if you can’t make it in the business, go teach”. However, I too have several very talented friends that has gone into the media teaching profession, and as much as they IMHO are turning out students of which many will never get a job in the industry, those old colleagues of mine would never have been able to get a mortgage, afford the babies etc without taking that full-time job.
So it is really in part a question of personal priorities, but also very much about whether the industry that we work in offers any real prospects of a decent living standard for anyone wanting to make a career out of it? And that is the bigger Question?
All the Best
Mads
London, UKLatest video to watch here:
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I am thinking about this myself, it seams that there are a lot of grinders out there. in my area there are post production houses paying the same rate as they did 10 years ago and if you don’t want it they would find someone to fill the position. i have been at some high schools and they are learning what I did in college 10 years ago. So just wondering what this industry has to offer in the future if it’s going to be taken over by kids and the people who have lots of experience would be out of work because the rate would be to high.
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If I could pay bills by teaching, man I would. I love it. No deadlines, no stress.. just eager artists seeking freedom to create.
I teach a home school group video production and post. I enjoy every minute of it. My youngest son (now 9) teaches the class with me as he’s been my lil sidekick freelancer all his life. He loves it and the older kids (12-16) really look up to him.
I had an opportunity to teach at the college level after designing a program in NC. I dang near did it. Again, if teachers got paid what they are worth, you could count me in.
That’s a big part of what’s wrong with our society. We’ll pay high salaries for bad jobs but put our educators and law enforcement at less than those guy’s butlers salaries.
crazy.
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in Canada, teachers start off at about 40-50k per year. Then you would have to take 4 courses, one per year and then over the about 6-8 years your pay goes to 90k per year, plus benefits and retirement plan at about 50k per year. man this sounds good to me anyway, The scary thing, I don’t know what our industry has to offer over the next few years, it’s getting really hard to plan a life doing it full-time.
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[Mads Nybo Jørgensen] “the media teaching profession, and as much as they IMHO are turning out students of which many will never get a job in the industry”
This has long been a pet peeve of mine, going back to many of the advertising schools which sprang up in the 1980’s. And not that the larger colleges and universities are, from a moral standard, much different.
Well sure if you’re 18 to 22 years old training to work in television or in a recording studio or in an ad agency sounds like a lot more fun than getting a “real” job. But how much sense does it make for institutions to churn out eight or nine or ten people for every one or two actual jobs which will be available? What possible justification is there for this? Hence my use of the word “moral.”
Yes, yes. Some people do get jobs and there are no doubt some quite successful individuals who took this path. It’s likely that some of them are here on the COW. But for every one who is working how many are there with an expensive degree or certificate in our glamorous profession who are working behind the counter at the corner convenience store?
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[Nick Griffin] “Yes, yes. Some people do get jobs and there are no doubt some quite successful individuals who took this path. It’s likely that some of them are here on the COW. But for every one who is working how many are there with an expensive degree or certificate in our glamorous profession who are working behind the counter at the corner convenience store?”
That statement pretty much cuts across all industries, all jobs, quite honestly. Especially if you look at today’s economy. Thousands, maybe millions, of highly educated people have a job (or maybe don’t even have a job) that’s not even remotely associated with their college degree.
So I don’t think there’s any sort of a “moral” code to follow with the universities and colleges. If someone wants to learn to edit video, design a nuclear power plant, plan a community, and there’s space in the class, you take it. What you learn in a particular field of study will almost always be useful in another field or profession.
Having a job in your profession takes drive, skill and a whole lot of luck today.
Walter Biscardi, Jr.
Editor, Colorist, Director, Writer, Consultant, Author.
HD Post and Production
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Well said, Walter. But I’m not diminishing the college experience. I guess my ire is more directed at the for-profit “institutes” which seem to know more about the ins and outs of helping kids obtain the loan needed for their tuition than they do about the realities of the jobs their dangling as the reward.
As to the college and university level courses, well the popular ones always do tend to fill up fast. Hopefully an education in Radio-TV will have some applicability for those who never work in either and, with the growth of the net, perhaps they’ll end up in a job where the skill set and knowledge can be used.
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[grinner hester] “No deadlines, no stress..”
HA! Guess you don’t know much about the teaching world. There are deadlines, and you have to grade papers and prepare tests. There are deadlines, and a lot of work gets taken home. Just DIFFERENT deadlines and stress.
(My mom’s a professor…)
I myself am working, and will be teaching soon. An extension course from a community college. Part of a set of classes we are calling THE REALITY OF REALITY (and DOCUMENTARY) TELEVISION. From producing to shooting to editing. Intensive week long or few day long courses in what the jobs in production REALLY entail. Teachers who ARE professionals.
My college, Montana State University, actually required that the professors be working professionals. So that they were clued in and up to date with real life practices. They were required to produce at least one project a year, or work in a capacity that they are teaching (cinemagraphy, editing, audio mixing) at least once a year. Most did more than one. And they had to figure out outside financing!
Shane
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Papers? Man I don’t grade papers. There is none involved. Maybe we teach different ways. I teach video. My students turn in videos. I watch them. We discuss. They learn more. I’ve never killed a single tree in this process.
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Yes, that would be nice.
We are not Canada. While we lowball educators then pretend we don’t know why education suffers and our healthcare system doesn’t care much about health, brother we have some dang fine burgers and meskin food here.
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