Damn, that's a wall of text.

I agree with you up to a point. SAE. SAE can be a great opportunity and it is a real college in many countries, just as other colleges. The problem isn't the SAE. The real problem is that SAE is what a student makes out of it. It's a chance that students can use to benefit from it or that students can miss. You probably get many mails by ex SAE students. I bet many of those didn't even graduate at the SAE - many people I meet that tell me they went to SAE didn't even finish it. And that's what makes the image of the SAE so bad. People go to SAE and expect to get employed the next month. People go to SAE and hope that this college will turn them into great professional audio engineers. But to become such a professional, they don't think about their attitude and basically the effort many of them put into SAE is just poor.

I say that because I went to SAE. It was a great time, I learned much in a short time and had some great experience there (I still love the Neve 88, learning on that console was a truly magical experience for me!). I noticed that from 30 audio students about 5 kept using the SAE equipment frequently. The SAE employs supervisors - basically graduates that help the students with all the small questions. I was surprised when one of them told me that only a few of the students asked them the questions I asked. They asked them simple manual questions instead of getting valuable feedback, helpful tips and industry insight.

The SAE doesn't force a student to find out how to get into the industry. Students have to ask. Some do, many don't. And that's how it works - those people who miss their opportunities because they have the wrong expectations won't get employed in such a industry. And I don't think such a topic could be taught in a regular school lesson. It's based on experiencing networking and the SAE really helps those who actively ask for it. And - to be honest - I know of no school that tells its students the secret formula on how to get a job. Because it's about the students attitude. And the students have to change that, not the school. If a student attends a school such as SAE with the wrong attitude he fails. Even if he manages to make the degree he'll fail later. Because the degree is about audio engineering, not about networking and business.

I can't speak for all the SAEs, I only know the one I've attended. I just wanted to make clear that I don't think that the schools are the problem, the students are.