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If you ask Brian Kraft, COO of the Recording, Radio and Film Connection, what he considers the value of a college degree when it pertains to professions like audio engineering and filmmaking, he does not mince words. definition

To put it simply, he will certainly tell you that it is worthless to obtain the degree.

Kraft's years of experience as a filmmaker himself, combined with years of experience managing a school that trains audio engineers, filmmakers and radio broadcasters, have actually shown him firsthand how the entertainment industry experts react to degrees earned from pricey colleges and universities. Throughout the board, he has actually seen that people with real work experience "on the ground", and individuals who are well-connected to their respective industries, have a much better chance of getting hired than a graduate fresh out of college.

"College does not get you jobs," he says. "particularly in the music and movie company ... you go to Warner Brothers or Paramount Pictures in Hollywood, and you knock on their door, even if you have a connection to the president [of the company ... if you go to that meeting and say, 'Here's my college diploma,' he's going to say, 'That's great-that means nothing to me.'... it does not mean anything.".

Strong words from an executive of an institute of higher learning. Yes, he wholeheartedly meant to say those words.

Exactly what does matter in this industry then, if a college education does not. According to Kraft, the key concerns are: "Do you have skill? And who do you know?"

As a market insider, Kraft has actually seen a lot of university student have a hard time to get employed in the home entertainment companies (specifically the film and recording industries) since they incorrectly relied on their college degree, when what they actually need to have been concentrating on was building up their work experience and their connections within the market. This is the reason Kraft helps in managing a completely different academic method. The Recording, Radio and Film Connection does not focus on diplomas and degrees but rather on helping students get connections and gain experience for their future profession. By what means do they do it? Every student is put as working apprenticce in a genuine production business or studio and be trained one-on-one with the direction a market specialist; this approach is known as mentor-apprentice method.

Kraft has actually seen the school keep a really high success rate in training its students in this way: "Number one, you're most likely to get a job, due to the fact that you're in the door, you're there," he says. "They know you, and they've trained you, their way. And number two, it's just a much better method to discover.".

The real value of a college degree is determined in whether it can help you launch a profession. Brian Kraft understands that in the film, radio and recording, such degrees are meaningless-which is why he totally accepts on-the-job apprenticeships as an alternative. Brian Kraft