Archive notice: This article was originally published on July 14, 2009. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
When the summer holidays begin in Germany in July and August, school leavers also face a new phase of life. Their career orientation is often not yet complete at this point, and their ideas and expectations regarding their career goals remain very vague. In audio and media in particular, there are numerous occupations that are either still little known or for which the route into the profession is unclear. Anyone interested in and engaging with the subject, however, has a wide variety of training paths and institutions available.
In the Studio and Behind the Stage - Audio Engineers as All-Rounders
The audio engineer is one of the favourites among “unknown occupations,” because few people know how diverse the potential areas of work are. Additional or alternative titles such as media designer, event technician, or sound engineer can also cause confusion.
Audio engineers work in almost every area of the media industry - for example, as operating engineers in recording studios, broadcast engineers at television and radio stations, production sound engineers and sound designers in the games industry, and in technical industry. They also work as audio experts in dubbing studios, theatres, and musicals.
This breadth makes it necessary for training to be as comprehensive and generalist as possible. Audio engineers therefore first become all-rounders and can specialise later - so experience should be gained during training in as many different applications as possible.
“Anyone interested in a career as an audio engineer should be open to all forms of audio design,” explains Götz Hannemann, Marketing Director at SAE Institute, an international educational institution in audio, digital film and animation, web design and development, and game design. “A special feel for music and enthusiasm for studio and live technology are also important prerequisites. Whether Alan Parsons, producer for the Beatles and Pink Floyd, or Rick Rubin, who rediscovered Johnny Cash and Neil Diamond - many famous music producers began their careers as audio engineers. The important thing is to gain as much practical experience as possible at an early stage.”
Learning with Your Ears
Prospective students should therefore look for training programmes that include the widest possible range of practical exercises, such as studio music productions, commercial production, and live sound reinforcement for concerts.
Alongside universities of applied sciences, chambers of commerce and industry, and association-organised training centres, numerous specialised institutions offer qualifications in audio and multimedia. SAE Institute has been a world leader in this field for more than 30 years. It offers a specialist training programme for audio engineers at seven locations in Germany. The “Audio Engineer Program” prepares students for a career in the professional audio industry and, thanks to its broad curriculum, trains graduates as all-rounders with a wide range of potential applications: the music industry (studio and live), broadcasting, film and television, theatre, musicals, or the games industry.
