By By Natasha Clark
It is hard to believe that months of unemployement, confusion and working for publications that spark no personal interest can be the road to a fulfilling career.
However, for Clive Young, a 1990 University alumnus, this was his path to success. Young went from a New College journalism major to senior editor for Pro Sound News, a trade magazine based in New York City.
“I work with sound engineers that work on the road with bands, from U2, Tool to Usher, to see how they get a certain sound,” Young said. “I want to know how they can achieve the sound that works best for the artist but still satisfies the listeners.”
He may be a senior editor now, but that was not always the case for Young. After he graduated from the University, he was offered several jobs; he declined all of these positions because he was not interested in pursuing the kind of work they had to offer. Young admits that declining these positions was not the smartest career move, due mostly to the fact that an economic recession was going on at the time. As a result, Young found himself unemployed for 10 months.
“I learned just because I had done a lot of writing at Hofstra didn’t really mean much in the real world,” Young said. “I had to start at the bottom just like everyone else.”
He recently published his first book, “Crank It Up,” which provides useful insight on how the pros of the music industry make live music sound so good.
Young also just placed third in Script Magazine’s Open Door Contest for his script, “Worst-Case Scenario.” Young is now currently working on his second script “Misguided,” a slacker comedy.
Along with two other University alumni, Dave Streich and Steve “Broccoli” Cohn, Young won $5,000 on a pilot for a VH1 game show titled “World Series of Pop Culture.” He plans to appear with his wife on the Discovery Channel television show titled “It Takes a Thief.” Discovery will air this episode on Nov. 17 at 5 p.m.
Young started at the University as a film major with a minor in psychology. He soon realized writing was his passion and switched his major to journalism for his last 18 months.
While at the University, Young was involved with assisting and writing for many publications on campus. For three years, he wrote for The Chronicle, Nonsense and New Voice and was co-founder of Hofstra Ink.
“It dawned on me,” Young said. “Huh, maybe I want to be a writer.”
While growing up, Young had been interested in music, and he said after college he wanted to get involved with the music industry. So while he was at the University, he applied and was accepted to internships at MTV and Capital Records.
“Internships are huge,” Young said. “I cannot recommend them enough.”
At the MTV internship, Young worked on a trial project called MTV to Go. The publication was a unique fusion of a monthly magazine and catalog published by MTV Networks for the MTV Record Club.
“You learn to find out if the industry you think you want to make a career out of is really what you want to do with your life,” he said. “I thought if I did not get a job writing that I would only do graphic arts for the rest of my life.”
Young started his journalism career at Wine Enthusiast, where he worked as a graphic designer for the magazine. Young confesses he did not know anything about wine while he was working for the publication. However, he persistently nagged the magazine to let him write and he eventually found his words flooding the pages.
“I was not getting what I wanted,” Young said. “But I knew that this [writing] was what I wanted to do since I was 5 years old writing with a crayon.”
Young’s adventures did not stop at Wine Enthusiast; for a short period he also worked at a computer magazine, a carpet magazine and was managing editor of a travel magazine before he landed his position of 11 years at Pro Sound News.
“I saw an ad in the New York Times [for Pro Sound News,]” Young said. “Then I learned sound reinforcement as quickly as I could.”
Journalism is not the only imperative aspect of Young’s life; he defines his most rewarding experiences as being happily married to his wife, Michelle and raising their 10-month-old daughter, Ava.
Young is also a freelance writer for many print and web-based publications including: Long Island Voice, VH1.Com, American Songwriter, Gig and iPodlounge.com.
“It took me five years before I got to write for music,” Young said. “If you really want something, you’ll make it happen.”
Success can be defined differently to a number of people, but Young possesses a sense of success that many college students can only hope to achieve one day.
“[Success] is when you look back on your life and say I accomplished these goals,” Young said. “If you want something stick with it. If you don’t, you didn’t want it bad enough.”