You may be one of a number of students out there who are weighing your options when it comes to your next step after graduation. Is college an option, or are there other ways to get into the music recording industry?

Working in the music recording industry means a chance to work with top recording artists and musicians. There are many different careers in the industry. Music producers guide the shape of sound, while a sound engineer captures sound.

The music business is trending towards moving online, so it is really important to learn as much about the music recording side of the business as you can. Digital music distribution over the Internet has really changed the landscape of the music business. Music technology has also grown quite a bit. Today's musicians must have knowledge about technology -- some of which is software. The virtual world means having to be famaliar with software, plus there is still some hardware based technologies.

Donny Baker is a music producer and studio engineer at Elephant Symphony in Glendale, California says he likes teaching via the mentor approach because once his students graduate, they are engineers. Technology is constantly changing but in this industry it is changing backwards.

Baker's mentor approach works, and the best part is that you'll get a real world learning experience in a New York music recording school or one in Los Angeles.

there are a number of students who went to college, then did a mentor perogram afterwards to learn. At one Los Angeles music recording school, a student from Atlanta said, "During my apprenticeship I got to meet P. Ditty, Master P. and Jermaine Dupri. I was honored to work with David Banner in Atlanta. I can't even explain to you how much this program did for me. I thank you and bless you."

There is just tons of stuff that the mentor programs teach that you just don't, or can't get in traditional schools. The curriculum qualifies graduates for positions as a music producer or a recording engineer.

Students are taught in one-on-one private sessions in a recording studio. It's an apprentice type program - under the direct supervision of a music industry professional working on real-world projects. Plus there's no experience necessary, and students can take classes part time during night or weekend sessions.

Teachers who are mentors in the music recording business know how to succeed in the very competitive engineering field - so they end up passing their knowledge and experience on to their students. It is a win-win situation.