I went to a community college for two years and got my general transfer AA. Then off to a 4 year state university for a BA in History. Got married. Took two years off to pay my wife's way through nursing school. Went back to community college for two quarters to get my head back on straight. Then went to grad school for 5 quarters for my Masters and to get my teaching certification.
I worked nights as a school custodian the entire time as an undergrad (In grad school my wife paid most of the bills while I worked summers). My parents paid for my books the first quarter of school. I never had a dime in financial aid or scholarship. Other than that I worked my
butt off and paid for it all.
I have no theater degree. I started working on sound at church in 4th grade. My old high school hired me to come back and
build sets for them. I found an amazing T.D. in college who knew everything and I went back for years to volunteer, just to learn. No degree has ever stopped me, I've always had work and turned down much more work than I could ever do. Now I teach tech classes part time at a community college, run the theater for rentals, and do occasional free lance work.
Lessons for you:
-Having a
broad education is a good thing. I think your basic plan sounds good. The electronics technology degree can help you in many ways. Remember there are a lot more jobs in tech theater than just pushing a go
button on a light board. In fact the most interesting and better paying jobs in the industry are jobs that an electronics technology degree could be very helpful with.
-When you look at this forum you sometimes read about people getting expensive degrees from fancy private schools. Don't let that discourage you. In the end, I believe working in the real world along the way is more important than where your degree is from.
-The last thing you want to do is get an MFA that you can't afford. Because you'll never get rich working in theater. You may spend the rest of your life saddled with those loans.
-Most importantly KEEP WORKING go volunteer at a community theater. Buy a little
portable LED system and rent yourself out to parties, Go get a job coiling cable and sweeping the floor at the local rental
house. It doesn't mater what you are doing, just work. Work anywhere you can and as often as you can, volunteer if you can afford it. Working builds connections in the industry, opens doors, and teaches you far more than you will learn in class.
I know a guy who recently left his job as T.D. of a huge regional theater with a massive multi-million dollar budget. He left to go on tour as the T.D. of a major Broadway tour. All he's got is a B.A. in theater, I think from a state university. The rest of it he did by working his
butt off.