Being an engineer is just one facet of the musical process. Many of us started as artist or producer and found the art of shaping sounds into a full song more rewarding. The difference between a producer and an engineer, is very similar to a doctor and a surgeon. The doctor must know a little bit about a lot of different areas of medicine. A surgeon is a specialist in one area of medicine generally speaking. This is the same for an engineer.
Pro & Cons -
Cons -
1. Be prepared to get very little sleep. Sessions of 12 to 20 hours straight is the norm not the exception.
2. You don't really have days off because you work when the work is there.
3. Unless you are a high end engineer, you don't make as much money as people think you do. It can be decent and you can make a living, but it is NOT a get rich field by any means.
4. It is a very thankless job. If you need at-a-boys and pats on the back about the work you do, don't engineer! No one cares that you spent two hours trying to get the kick and the bass to fit into the mix just perfectly. Or that you had to mix a track for 22 hours straight to get it done by the deadline. You just gotta suck it up and know you did a it and that has to be enough.
Pros -
1. You are your own man (or woman). Even if you work in a studio other than your own you are still a work for hire or an independent contractor in most cases. You decide when you want to work and when you don't.
2. Being able to create something that can evoke different feelings in people. Rather that be sadness or the need to dance or whatever gives you a feeling of control in a weird way. Like when I was a dj, the best feeling in the world was being up in the birds nest, watching people and almost controlling them by what I would play next. I know its kinda sick, but very true. Take mastering. It is not only about making a song louder, but when mastering a full album it is also about arranging the songs in the right order to evoke a feeling from the listener.
3. Family time. You don't get much but you are less locked to the clock than a 9 to 5 so you can take off a Tuesday afternoon in the summer and play with your kid lets say. It just really depends on you and how much you want to work and when.
My advice would be if you need to make a beat everyday and it really bothers you when you don't. Then stick with producing. If you listen to a song and you hear the wrong kick drum or something and it drives you so crazy you don't even want to hear the song that way, then engineering may be for you.
Good luck either way man.
