An Ear for a Career: The World of Audio Production

by Paul D. Rosevear

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Turn your ears into a career by studying the ever-changing, ever-challenging field of

audio production

-- a skill that not only rewards its workers with a constant opportunity to infuse passion and creativity into their jobs, but also provides them with a wide variety of applications for their knowledge and training. The world of audio production is one that requires both technical know-how and outside the box thinking in order to maximize your appeal to employers and maintain a competitive edge against your peers.

The first step to a career in audio production is a solid educational foundation. Though many audio production careers can get underway with a high school diploma and some on-the-job internships or apprenticeships, the best audio production job candidates are ones who have acquired a degree from a community college or technical school. A typical audio production degree involves coursework in soundboard operation, microphone placement, multi-tracking, broadcasting, and mixing. However, more general academic requirements are also part of the audio production student's responsibilities -- an understanding of basic principles in math, physics, and electronics is critical to developing a well-rounded background in the field.

Once an audio production student has adopted a familiarity with recording studios, radio equipment, and modern-day broadcast gear, the possibilities are endless. For those with a passion for music and recording, audio production careers can often land them behind the mixing console where they put their talents to use recording bands, tracking audio for commercials, or applying scores or soundtracks to movies and television shows. However and audio production degree can also lend itself to more performance-oriented positions like radio talk show hosts or news reporters. From a more managerial standpoint, audio production careers can also entail working as a music director or a head sound engineer. For all of these careers, a basic understanding of all the academic and technical nuances of audio production is an absolute necessity. Exploration of such audio production programs can begin at a school such as the Connecticut School of Broadcasting.

The thrill of a recording studio or a radio station renders audio production careers extremely competitive. Most job opportunities are found in urban locations and the middle 50 percent of earnings falls somewhere between $19,240 and $42,760. However, despite the competitive nature of the field, the job prospects are positive if you've got the right education. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates that employment in this field will continue to grow as fast as the average career through the year 2014.