Career advice
I am a second year computer science and mathematics student, and I am feeling a little bit torn. I am most likely ending up in data science, whose job security is really the only thing that attracts me to it. Love my classes, hate the desk job future.
However, I have a lot of live sound experience. I was my high school theater's A1 all 4 years (and before that learned how to operate a sound board in middle school), which I know doesn't mean much in the grand scheme of things but by my junior year I was the expert on the audio equipment. Long story short, my technical director left and they just... didn't hire another one who knew anything about audio because (their words, not mine) they had me. Sucked, but I learned a ton because I had to resort to manuals, online forums, etc. instead of asking a teacher/mentor. Also trained the student who took over A1 after I graduated, which taught me a lot.
In college, I got a job as a production assistant at my school's orchestra hall, where I mix orchestras/talks both in the house and on ProTools for livestream. I absolutely adore the job.
I am still really tight with my former high school technical director who taught me basically everything I know, and I have worked with him to do a little outdoor concert thing, helping mix and set up equipment which was fun.
Every time I think about letting go of live sound it makes me really sad, but I have no idea how I would balance a full-time corporate tech job with this. Being an A1 at a concert venue or something is kinda a dream of mine, but I am extremely hesitant because of the pay, weird hours, and having to deal with difficult performers. Another thing is that I really haven't seen ANY female A1s, and as a woman I do not know how smart it would be to put myself in that situation.
I would love advice from people who have live sound as a hobby along with a full time job, women in the field, or really any one who has a solid opinion on this!