[odigg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by m3_arun /img/forum/go_quote.gif Like another guy said, do you ever see BSEE's in audio related jobs? I am studying electrical engineering right now, and I interned at a defense company, which was really dry and boring. I know EE applies to audio in an important way, but i don't know what kind of audio-related work would be most relevant for me?

EEs are everywhere. Somebody in my family works for large company (I'm intentionally not mentioning which one) that designs high end (really high end) audio/video hardware. After he did his BSEE he worked for a company that designed communications testing equipment. After a while he got tired of it and saw an opening in his current AV company and applied.

Denon, Sony, Marantz, Yamaha, or whomever, all employ EEs, CEs, Math and CS majors. Just be aware that there is a probably a huge difference between working for a major manufacturer and doing what the DIY people do on Head-wize.

For a real life example

Question: Whats the difference between X Burr Brown and Y Wolfson DAC?
Head-wize: Oh Wow. There is so much to say. I don't know where to start.
Relative: *shrugs shoulders* 2 dollars?

If you want to work as a designer of AV hardware a BSEE or MSEE is the right degree to have.

 

[odigg]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mattcalf /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have two options at the moment, Pharmacy or Audio production and engineering.

I'll give you one piece of advice. Unless you have good reason to do otherwise, get a degree that will get you a decently paying job.

I've seen way too many people (and friends) get degrees in anthropology, art, English Lit, or whatever, then feel completely dejected when they end up working at Barnes and Noble and Starbucks (both of which are laying off workers).

With most people I've known, when they graduate college, more than anything else, they wanted to be able to put their feet down in solid ground and start making a little money. Engineering (and a proper engineering degree like CS, EE, CE, not the half baked degrees like Management Information Systems), and Pharmacy degrees are tough. They take time, energy, and self motivation. But after you graduate you'll have something solid to count on or even something to fall back on if you leave to pursue something else.

"Tough" degrees are also good to have if you are going into other fields. If I'm hiring somebody and the requirement is a just a college degree, I'd hire somebody who I thought had the capacity to work hard, and that's people with science and engineering degrees.

Engineering is in a weird state right now. Recessions always result in cuts in engineering companies. Outsourcing is also a major issue. It's still a solid degree to have though.

Pharmacy is a field that is really going to grow. That's a great field to be in - at least until we replace everybody with robots

 

[silverknit3]

This is an interesting thread. I feel inferior compared to all these self made men here. But as a junior in highschool, I want to pursue an engineering career. I considered audiology, audio engineering, electrical engineering (designing cellphones, dap, etc.) and aeronautical engineering.

From an economical point of view, which would be of greatest stability? (I have to afford my listening equipment in the future you know?

)

Also, I heard it doesn't matter where you went to college. As long as you have your paper that says "HEY I'M QUALIFIED!" Can someone confirm the validity behind this statement?

 

[NightWoundsTime]

I'll add my experience here, since it may help. I went to the University of Miami's Music Engineering school. It was sold as the way to get into a recording studio and do some very artistic work. It was actually something like a double major in engineering and music. Exactly what I wanted to do.

That's not what it ended up being though. Each week we were required to attend a meeting where an audio professional would come in and talk. Most of these were alumni. Week after week we'd hear that these people were going out with a degree and maybe getting a job in a recording studio or live sound for a few months at a time but due to many factors couldn't make a real living at it.

Invariably they'd then switch directions with "now I work for Sony and I design microphones" or some other standard engineering career, granted it was always on the audio side of things but this wasn't what I was sold. My roommate down there was an Audio Engineering major. Same basic engineering courses, none of the double major work. Quite disheartening, and I went on a new path.

 

[gregorio]

My take as an audio professional (20 years) is similar to others here, it's a tough world out there, you need passion, a good set of ears and grey matter between them. I would say that there is more work out there than there ever has been (particularly in audio post) but there are many more people fighting over it! Practically speaking, an internship or starting off as tea-boy or runner is going to give you a better vocational education than the vast majority of college or university courses but internships are getting more difficult to find. Universities tend towards the academic rather than practical modern skills required by employers but also an apprenticeship is likely to be a bit light on the underlying theory.

I would also say that if you've got passion and real talent then making a living in the audio world is not too difficult and making a lot of money is a possibility. If you haven't got loads of talent but just the passion then you can still make living. Without the passion though, there is little hope. Even with talent and passion, be prepared to put in long hours! Remember, working in audio is challenging, creative and rarely boring, which is why so many people want to do it. Therefore it is highly competitive, as there are far more people want to do professional audio than there is available work.

In addition to that mentioned by others, a subject I would consider is music composition. It's more than useful to know how and why sounds work in combination. Even if you are thinking about audio post, many of the principles employed by sound teams are composition techniques, even if the sound team doesn't always realise it.

Cheers, G

 

[mattcalf]

I've found a course that I'd really like to do:
link.