If you’re considering a career in music production, reading an audio engineer job
description with no background knowledge can be overwhelming and intimidating. What does
a recording engineer do? How can you become one? What do you have to study in college?
How competitive is the job market?
Picturing yourself in the studio wearing headphones and twisting dials is a tantalizing image;
for musicians and music lovers alike, it reflects exactly where you would be most content with
and proud of your work. However, you need a plan to make that vision into a tangible
career.
This article goes over how to become a recording engineer, including the skills, education,
and wisdom necessary to kick off a successful journey in music production. We’ll discuss types
of producers and engineers as well as suggest schools that prepare students for success in the
music industry. By the end, you’ll have a better idea of “what to do” in order to follow your
calling. And if learning about recording engineering makes the path seem too daunting, just
remember that hard work rewards true passions; if you confront the demands head-on, you’ll be
set up for a meaningful, creative career in the long run.
Establishing a Recording Engineer Definition
Before delineating its responsibilities, we need to know what a recording engineer actually
is.
Recording engineers manage the process of creating music, from capturing the sounds of
instruments to manipulating those sounds with recording software. Working in the studio or at
home, recording engineers set up microphones, use technical equipment, edit recording tracks,
and even make creative choices alongside artists themselves. It’s a comprehensive job that
requires computer knowledge, a strong musical ear, and the stamina necessary to process audio
with painstaking detail.
In this section, let’s break down the different types of recording engineers and their different
career prospects.
Another Name for the Job: Audio Engineer
The difference between a “recording engineer” and an “audio engineer” isn’t clear-cut, but in
some contexts the latter might be preferable. Audio engineer responsibilities boil down to
capturing and editing sound, whether it’s in music, television, radio, or any other medium in
which high-quality audio is an important part of the listening experience.
For audio engineers, good ears are essential. Being able to listen for volume, bass, reverb,
echo, and other metrics allows audio engineers to transform the raw sound captured from
microphones into the clear, balanced music and dialogue we’ve come to expect from professional
artists.
Especially in the music industry, audio engineers hold the power to define artists’ unique
creative “sounds” by mixing audio tracks. The goal is not just balance, like making sure listeners
can hear every instrument, or that the drums aren’t too loud, but style, like giving a band’s lead
singer a distinct, recognizable crunch.
One Aspect of the Job: The Music Recording Engineer
Sticking with the music industry, let’s elaborate upon what recording engineers can do when
they come into work.
Picture the Foo Fighters getting ready to play “Everlong” in the studio. What do they have to
do before they start? Plug in cables. Position each microphone carefully. Make sure those
microphones actually connect to something, like an audio interface. Turn on speakers.
The music recording engineer, like a stage director, is involved with each and every such
aspect of music production. Once our Foo Fighters are ready to rock out, their work only
continues on the other side of the glass, setting up computers, adjusting consoles, and even
plugging in special mixing headphones.
When the session is over, music recording engineers are nowhere near finished. First of all,
they have to make sure all studio equipment is safely uninstalled. Just as importantly, it’s time to
process the audio they just captured.
Mixing and Mastering as a Studio Engineer
In the modern music industry, technology is an essential tool with infinite creative power.
The average studio engineer job description thus stipulates that desired candidates have
extensive experience with computers and audio software.
Let’s use French recording engineer Nicolas Vernhes as a case study. For thirty years,
Vernhes has been credited with producing and mixing for indie and experimental rock bands
from Deerhunter to Animal Collective to the Fiery Furnaces. Like the artists with whom he’s
collaborated, Vernhes has developed his own “sound” specific to indie music by crafting his own
brand of music mixing over the years.
Studio engineers like Vernhes use DAWs to process audio from their studios; these days,
they can even take their work home by using DAWs (digital audio workstations) like Logic, Pro
Tools, and Audacity to mix recording tracks remotely. With the tools to manipulate audio files,
DAWs unlock a studio engineer’s creative side.
How to Engineer Music as a (Relative) Beginner
This article isn’t a tutorial for using complicated audio software, but let’s go over some
starter advice for making the process of music engineering more convenient:
- Organize your audio files. If you’re producing a song with many moving parts, it’s
important to label each track and even individual audio clips. Delete anything unusable so
it doesn’t clutter up your digital workspace! - Learn EQ. Knowing how to equalize frequencies, like basses, mids, and trebles, is
key to producing a balanced sound. - Experiment with technology. Trying all the tools you have available, even ones that
don’t seem useful, will help you discover new styles and develop your creative
process. - Try to make music that you can finish. This might seem contradictory, given our
advice to experiment, but it just means that you’re more likely to stay motivated, and feel
that sense of accomplishment, if you can see projects through to the end.
Learning to Become a Sound Engineer
Just as with managing equipment, one’s understanding of what is a sound engineer is
incomplete without those long hours hunched over mixing consoles and DAWs, making
minuscule adjustments to reverb on a snare drum or treble on a guitar solo.
What makes audio software exciting is that there’s little barrier to entry. Any aspiring sound
engineer with a laptop can start using free applications, like GarageBand, and graduate to more
sophisticated (and thus more expensive) DAWs if their interest perseveres.
Outside of just the music industry, these skills help encompass what in, for example,
moviemaking and advertising are known as post-production. Imagine how much less inspiring a
dramatic scene would be, or how ineffective an advertisement, if you could barely hear the main
characters, or if background music didn’t match the tone. Even when they’re not center-stage,
sound engineers are the glue without which entire media projects just wouldn’t “work.”
Audio Engineering Outside of the Music Industry
On that note, let’s flesh out the full capabilities of recording engineering besides music
production.
It sounds silly, but sound engineers are necessary even in fields wherein people are just
talking. If you think about it, sitcoms, talk shows, and podcasts all have microphones, theme
music, and even laugh tracks that must be carefully placed and edited. Such contexts don’t
always unlock an audio engineer’s creative side so much as test their ability to manage the
technical aspects of creating media. Imagine watching a game show in which the host is too quiet
the audience is too loud; while not the reason anyone watches in the first place, recording
engineering is necessary just to make the “game” run smoothly.
Though not as exciting, perhaps, as showing one’s own creative talents, the fact that such
technical responsibilities are so widespread means that recording engineers have ample room for
opportunity and success.
Job Prospects as a Record Engineer
If only passion were the only factor necessary in choosing a career path. Before making any
big decisions, knowing what job prospects and income potential look like is important.
Fortunately, the average recording engineer salary is solid; as of June 2024, it’s somewhere
between $60,000 and just over $78,000. However, that “average” does have caveats. Those who
are starting out shouldn’t expect to make so much; entry-level recording engineering jobs are
much lower in pay, perhaps between $30,000 and $45,000. Like any field, income varies by
location and cost of living. Furthermore, some audio engineers are paid per performance rather
than through regular employment.
However, the good news is that recording engineers can expect to see their income increase
substantially over time, with top earners making nearly or over $100,000 annually. With strong
education and experience, audio engineers can live comfortably while mastering their craft.
The Unexpected Demands of Recording Engineering
This article isn’t trying to dissuade any would-be recording engineers; however, along with
outlining the field’s income potential, we want to paint an accurate picture of the lifestyle it can
cultivate.
As a recording engineer, your responsibilities are tied to the production timelines of the
media you help create. If you land a job at a morning talk show, you may have a typical work
schedule. But what if you have to set up – and clean up – a rock concert that starts late at night?
One that tours all over the country? What if your next studio project brings you to work on
weekends?
The point is that sometimes audio engineering leads to an unconventional lifestyle that’s
unconducive to a stable home life. While many people can accept its demands, it’s also important
to recognize them before committing yourself to a career that may conflict with your other long-
term goals.
Casting a Wide Net: The Skills of Recording Engineering
Ok, we promise we’re not trying to scare people away. But while we’ve gone over their
technical responsibilities, we also want to emphasize that recording engineers need to know a lot
about technology.
Learning how to use a DAW, as mentioned, is pretty self-explanatory. But meeting the field’s
technical demands also means dealing with technical difficulties. Knowing what to do if
microphones have too much feedback, or how to work with the shoddy acoustics of your next
venue, or how to use different digital networking systems in each studio, is critical. You need to
understand the actual mechanics of things like electricity, sound, and computerization.
Maybe that’s scary to hear, but audio engineering professionals can do much more than mess
around with GarageBand. But don’t give up on it! Fortunately, plenty of schools have programs
that will help you become a professional. And that brings us to our next section.
Where to Get a Strong Recording Engineer Education
Did you know that you can earn a recording engineer degree? Sometimes schools call it
“sound engineering,” or they’ll offer courses in related subjects, like “music production.” The
point is that all of the intimidating requirements discussed earlier can be met, just like chemistry
or biology, with formal education. In fact, employers prefer those who attend university before
honing their craft with practical experience.
In this section, we’ll recommend five schools that can help students break into the world of
audio engineering. If you’ve wondered where to begin, it turns out college, not the studio, is a
good starting point.
Berklee College of Music
Boston’s premier music school offers an entire department for music production and
engineering. At Berklee, students can major either in “MP&E” itself or Independent Recording
and Production (IRP); either way, they’ll be working with world-class industry professionals and
musicians, and taking courses in granular subjects like vocal production, mixing techniques, and
even loudspeaker design. With what it describes as “arguably the largest music recording
complex in the United States,” Berklee students also have access to state-of-the-art technology
that prepares them, with hands-on experience, to work with any studio equipment and systems
that they might encounter in the “real world.”
Belmont University
Belmont’s prestigious music school offers students not only a degree in Audio Engineering
Technology but the chance to pursue their education in studios around the country.
That’s because, alongside its on-campus resources in Nashville, Belmont’s Curb College also
offers hundreds of professional internships and encourages students to network with professional
audio engineers and musicians before completing their programs. Courses include computer
programming; recording workshops; concert and event lighting design; and, for newcomers,
training in DAW systems. Located on Music Row itself, the program brings future engineers
within walking distance of iconic studios and to one of country music’s major capitals.
Los Angeles Film School
Located on Sunset Boulevard, the LA Film School caters to students seeking to enter the
entertainment industry. So it makes sense that it has it offers Bachelor’s and Associate’s degrees
in Audio Production with rigorous courses on subjects like audio systems, quantitative
principles, and statistical applications. (We hope you’re good at math.)
One of the school’s perks is that Audio Production students get their own “Techkit,” which
includes a Macbook Pro equipped with professional-grade DAWs and recording tools like
headphones and a microphone. Plus, living in Los Angeles puts students in close proximity to
countless music studios and Hollywood itself.
New York University
Just like LA, the Big Apple is an exciting place to break into the world of studio production
and entertainment. NYU’s Steinhardt School offers Bachelor’s, Master’s, and even Ph.D.
programs in Music Technology such that future audio engineers can fine-tune their desired level
of expertise. Its alumni have gone on to work for Apple, Riot Games, legendary musicians, and
more.
Aside from courses on music technology, the program gives students a comprehensive
foundation by requiring musical proficiency or music theory as well. It also gives students access
to NYU studios full of state-of-the-art gear and their own unique assets.
Carnegie Mellon University
We finally come to the pride of Pittsburgh, which offers a B.S. and M.S. in Music and
Technology. Like NYU, Carnegie Mellon’s program contains a Music Core during which
students train their ears with classes on harmony, counterpoint, listening, and much more.
However, it also has concentrations wherein students refine their study of audio engineering with
emphases on things like mathematics, computer science, and major ensemble.
Carnegie’s website says alumni go on to work in audio engineering, composition,
programming, and other fields. In other words, its program prepares students with transferable
skills that set them up for success.