I’ve been a musician for many years and always knew that’s how I would spend my life. When I decided that I was going to go to school for Audio Engineering, I looked at a few places but was told that there were 2 schools industry professionals would recognize and take seriously: PAVI and the Art Institute. Since the AI program was much more expensive and a lot longer for the same education (as I was told by many previous grads) I chose the Pacific Audio Visual Institute. I started in February 2008 and completed the program in the following winter 2009.

As most schools have the tendency to do, PAVI certainly did make me angry at times. A few of the teachers didn’t seem prepared to instruct a room of 20 or more students, and some would answer their own questions, which was a total hindrance to our learning. There were also times when I wondered what all of our tuition was going to, since we received lesser quality headphones and the classrooms didn’t even have enough computers for every one. Also, everything in the school was taught on ProTools but the school wouldn’t take a couple hundred dollars out of our tuition to supply us with an M-box or even a dongle.
Even so, the connections I made with some of the instructors and students at PAVI were incredibly beneficial to my career. I had an awesome opportunity through a friend (un-related to PAVI) to buy half of a rehearsal studio (Bully’s Studios in New Westminster), in which along with a fellow PAVI graduate I built a fully functioning recording studio. We’re currently working and gaining more experience, recording new bands each week. We’re also doing work with some of our teachers in both ours and other studios.

"You need a love for what you’re doing, serious motivation, a few good contacts, and some proper education."

I went into the program as a total amateur and feel for the most part that PAVI helped me obtain the knowledge I needed to start my career. The most useful advice that I can give any one is that you need to put into it as much as you want to get out of it. Going to school for audio engineering isn’t nearly the same as other schooling. It’s not something you can read up on and jump in to. You need a love for what you’re doing, serious motivation, a few good contacts, and some proper education. If you care enough to try and don’t feel like wasting your money, PAVI can supply you with the latter two of those things.
All in all I would say PAVI worked for me, for what I wanted to do. I got to work on a world-class console for free, met some great life long contacts and friends, and listened to some amazing guest speakers. As I said, I didn‘t agree with quite a few things at PAVI, and hated some, but I’ve never been someone who’s gotten through school easily and without being argumentative… I wasn’t the best student but I had a plan. Don’t go to PAVI if you’re unmotivated and want everything handed to you, because in the end you will essentially be your own guide to what you want to do with your education.