Also called a sound engineer, an audio operator, an acoustic engineer, a sound technician, or an acoustical engineer, an audio engineer is a fancy term for a sound guy, and let's face it: Everybody needs a sound guy at some point. Whether it's a studio session, the big game, or a sweet sixteen, the sound engineer is the person who handles all things audible. He or she's the guy or lady who you see fiddling with knobs on boards and wearing those giant headphones they're always wearing.

Yeah, that guy. His headphones can't be far. (Source)

Most sound engineers end up being solid members of the middle class. Many never hit six figures, but most do hit the $50,000 mark at some point in their career. That's about $25 an hour for a full-timer, but a lot of sound engineers are hired guns. That means they have to get gigs based on their own connections, but also have flexible hours, and probably charge more than a measly $25 an hour for their services.

An audio engineer may work in a live event setting, or any environment where audio is being recorded, mixed, or made. The main thing you need to know is that audio engineers love sound, they make stuff sound good, and they're all about sound, all day, 'erryday.

Musicians or music producers might hire sound engineers to work their magic in a production session. A session of Yeezy's raps might require several audio engineers performing a variety of tasks. There could be a studio engineer working closely with Kanye to ensure the success of his vision (however crazy it is), an assistant engineer assisting him, a recording engineer handling all things mic'd, a mixing engineer interweaving all the separate tracks, and a mastering engineer polishing things up at the end.

I don't need your life story, just make it sound good, okay? (Source)

There are also several types of live event engineers including Live Sound Engineers who watch the levels of the audio output to ensure quality, Monitor Engineers who make sure any performer can hear themselves well enough, and Systems Engineers who set up the entire sound scheme for an event and oversee the other engineers. Other types of audio engineers include Game & Audio design engineers (who work video games) and Audio Post engineers (who work film projects).

A four-year degree in audio engineering from any respectable school should be enough to break you into the field, and you can give it a shot with an associate's or a vocational degree as well. Anyone who wants to get in should live and breathe audio mixing, and be a decent salesperson to boot. If you want Yeezy to hire you, you'd better flaunt those skills.

An audio engineer's education never ends. The best engineers have highly trained ears, and learn from every project they work on. Any senior audio engineer at a big studio could probably write a book on tricks they've picked up or invented. An excellent set of ears and a discerning taste are what will set a great audio engineer apart from a mediocre one. You can usually also tell by the size of their headphones.

Prospects for people looking to get into this field are looking pretty good. There are a million education options (many of which are a bargain), and, as we've established, everybody needs a sound guy. With booming film and game industries along with small-to-mid-scale music and live event jobs to be found all over the place, a youngin' with a knack for this type of thing can rest assured: Business is booming.

As far as getting good at this job goes, once you have the hang of the usual equipment setup, it's up to you to educate yourself and train your ear to be the best you can be in your area of specialty.

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