Acoustic Engineering Career

[bradpa77]

I have a degree in mechanical engineering. I currently work as a design engineer where I create components for large compressors and turbines. It's not bad, but my real passion is music. I dabble in recording at home. I really enjoy it. I sometimes wonder if I'd ever be able to cross over into an engineering field that is music (or sound) related. The one field I've been curious about is what I'd describe as 'acoustic design'. I've been reading about room acoustics and treatments and it really interests me.

Does anyone make a living designing room treatments?

Anyone know if I'd be qualified for a job in that field given my degree and interests?

Can someone who does this for a living give me a good idea of what its like to work in this field (types of projects, potential salary, job market, daily activities, etc.)?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

 

[dgowans]

I interviewed once for a position with Tenneco Automotive which would have been doing design of mufflers, exhaust components, etc.

They had an hemi-anechoic (sp?) chamber which they used in testing. Pretty cool, they had new vehicle models in the facility, complete with the disguises you see in auto magazine spy shots. There was a test track as well.

Not exactly the same, but you could look into it if this interests you.

 

[ctopher]

Designing vibration sensors is a growing industry. I've been there, lot's of work to be done. Some of it has to do with sound vibration.

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[ewh]

You could also explore the field of sound cancellation.

 

[MintJulep]

There is a headhunter in (I think) Westchester Co., NY that works only with acoustical and vibration firms. I would give you the name except:

I don't remember.

That would probably violate the non-comercial policy of this site.

Noise and vibration control is a growing field.

The companies that make speakers must use engineers. BOSE, JBL, Boston Acoustics et. al.

Theaters and concert halls.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

My girlfriend runs a recording studio, and I have a few observations concerning the acoustics guys she has worked with:

1) There are indeed specialists that work on designing rooms for recording, performance, etc. They are mostly self employed consultants.

2) 90% of these guys come from a music background, not an engineering background.

In my opinion, your experience as a MechE would be quite valuable in the field, but I'm not sure it would be easy to find the kind of job you describe. I think a good avenue to pursue might be to train and work as a recording engineer at a studio (something that could be done part time, while working), and use that as your "in" into the industry. With a few years experience in the recording industry, you may find it much easier to get work as a consultant in the field.

Of course, the above doesn't apply to jobs with companies that make speakers, microphones, acoustic materials, or whatever. I'm sure they all have engineering departments too.

 

[bradpa77]

So far there have been a lot of good ideas. Thanks everyone, keep em coming!

My girlfriend runs a recording studio

That's great! How does she like it? I have actually dreamt of slowly building a professional studio at home and starting my own recording business. That would be the extreme dream for me though. I was thinking of trying to be more realistic and combine my current engineering background and education with a field related to music.

How long has your girlfriend been working in the recording business? How did she get started? I have been talking to lots of people on recording related forums and it seems like a lot of people get burned out pretty quickly in that field. Has she been able to keep herself motivited? Also from what I've heard, getting experience usually requires someone to work unpaid as an intern for a while. Like you said, I could do something like that part time. I will need to look into that.

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

brad,

She started out as a (classical) singer in college. The school didn't have any formal recording setup for the students so she started out doing recordings of student recitals and things like that. She was interested in performing music from her native county (philippines) so she considered going back to school for a enthnomusicology degree (she is still considering it) but in the meantime, she decided to start her own record label and release a few cds. By then she had started working with some other artists, and she was doing more and more recording work. And that's where she is today.

I've got to go, I will try to answer the rest of your questions in a bit.

I think if you really feel passionate about it, you should go for it. You only live once. But that doesn't mean quit your job! You can take littles steps to get there, so long as you're heading in the right direction it's all good, right?

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

Just to finish up my thoughts from the last post-

I don't know much about any engineering jobs that revolve around acoustics outside of the music industry, maybe someone else here can fill you in on that area.

And there are plently of bad things about the music industry. It's stressful and highly competitive. And you think you work with problem people now? Just wait until you work with *musicians*.

Working for a sound equipment (microphones, speakers, etc) company may also be a good idea. I don't know anything about what kinds of engineers they employ.

I'd be pleased to be of any more help if I can.

Good Luck.

 

[Beggar]

Sure, there are acoustical engineers.

There's a guy near our plant that I retained because we were having issues with the sounds from our shop disturbing our common-wall neighbors.

He actually has a PE and an MS in acoustics to go along with his ME.

I don't know who did the design but the recently finished UC Davis performing arts center has a large auditorium whose external wall is only a few hundred meters from a highway (I-80). I understand that the design for acoustical isolation was very complex but that they pulled it off very well.

I'd do a web search for acoustical engineers and go from there. That's how I found the guy we used.

--------------------
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[GregLocock]

If you look in the the news groups there is one, alt.sci.physics.acoustics where there are a lot of acousticians of various types.

http://www.faqs.org/faqs/by-newsgroup/alt/alt.sci.physics.acoustics.html

http://groups.google.com/group/alt.sci.physics.acoustics?lnk=srg

I worked as an engineer in vehicle noise and vibration for 15 years - a musical intuition definitely helps, particularly when tuning the engine sound.

Architectural acoustics is not usually done by engineers, but there is no strong reason for that.



Cheers

Greg Locock

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[keepinitcool]

Where are you located? I ask that because the companies and opportunities tend to be in certain places like LA, NY, Indiana/Chicago/Detroit, and SF, among others. One of the main companies that make acoustic treatment materials is in Indiana along with various other audio companies.

Acoustics is part of some products, in most cases audio/music products, automobiles, etc... Any place that has anechoic type chambers will be working on this, and this includes aerospace.

I've worked for a brief time as a recording engineer for a friend's home studio. That was nice for a while, but I didn't really like running the equipment under other peoples' direction.

The whole audio/music industry is not that large, at least it doesn't seem to be, but it is likely much different than what you are doing now.

 

[jimkirk]

Bose (where I work) and other companies in the same field have many acoustics engineers working on sound system design from the physical design of the boxes, analog and DSP design of audio channels, to the design of systems for commercial venues, systems for automobiles, etc. It's an interesting mix of people with varied engineering (electrical, mechanical, materials, acoustics, etc.) and musical backgrounds.

For Bose information, go to

http://www.bose.com/controller?even...dex.jsp&linksource=centernav_img_careers&ck=0

and click on "View Jobs and Apply"

As KeepinItCool mentioned, location matters. Where are you and where might you want to live?

Jim

 

[kontiki99]

Just a few thoughts on the subject:

1 - The Navy does a lot with sound and acoustics.

2 - I've entertained similar ideas. One of the other EEs at work does stage sound and DJ work. So, I worked a few gigs with him to see what I could pick up. I figured out the basics pretty fast. He’s got about a $50k investment in equipment that he’s working weekend gigs to pay off. Buy a back brace though. There is a lot of heavy lifting involved (not kidding). Equipment capable of handling any real power is heavy.

3 - It might not hurt to develop a background in Digital Signal Processing (DSP) too. Modern sound gear is digital. DSP and fast specialized processors is the bread and butter of it all.

 

[sms]

Don't know where you work, but with your compressor background you very well could move into the power or petro chem business in industrial acoustics. There is also probably a group in your own company that does vibration and acoustic testing for your products.

-The future's so bright I gotta wear shades!

 

[BrunoPuntzJones]

I just spoke with an acoustics guy I know and he recommended to acoustic engineering program at Pennsylvania State Univeristy as a great graduate program if you are considering going back to school.