How to become an audio engineer: Tommy's story

Tommy:

I'm Tommy. I'm 24 years old. I'm a freelance audio engineer and musician.

I first became interested in music when I was maybe 12 years old. I did guitar lessons at school, but found them quite challenging. I did Music at GCSE, but didn't really want to do it at A-level. There I did Politics, History and English Literature. I got a place to do Politics at university. I deferred entry and ended up volunteering at a local community organisation, where I ended up teaching music to young people. From there I decided to change my place and study Music at university. My band formed at university whilst I was on the same course as the guitarist. I'm the lead singer and rhythm guitarist of an alternative rock band called New Luna from Manchester. I find music a really great way to express myself. And then when you're on stage, performing in front of an audience can be really nerve-racking, but when you have a moment where you get to really connect with an audience, there is really nothing like it.

After university, I did an internship at a music studio which led on to me being employed as an audio engineer at the same studio. Being a freelance audio engineer means that I gain different skills in regards to recording various projects and that kind of applies to my musicianship, because I'm able to produce my own band's work. This means we're able to do our own recordings. The process for recording a song is quite varied, depending on the artist. Recording a band often involves making sure the instruments are in tune and then setting up various microphones. We then go through to make sure all the signal levels are correct so that the microphones are hearing what's going on correctly and that this sounds good. We then go through various different takes until the band are happy. We then review these takes and sometimes edit them and then usually layer vocals on top.

After all the recording is done, there's usually a mixing or editing process where we use a digital audio software to kind of polish off the individual audio files and make the tracks sound great. The audio editing software that I've used so far in my career, I taught myself purely off of videos online. Being in a semi-professional band is hard and you have to be really, really organised. We have a shared calendar that we regularly update weekly with our shifts or anything that will affect when we can't rehearse. We try and rehearse twice a week, in order to stay up-to-date and to keep on top of our performances and prep for recordings, but even we find it hard. Despite the challenges that come with being self-employed in the creative industry, I really love what I do and the year coming up is exciting. I have a lot of interesting projects lined up at the studio and the band seems to be really moving in the right direction.

Emma-Louise Have you ever had an idea for an invention, something you thought would make your life easier? If so, you've taken your first steps into engineering something.

Frankie As an engineer, you apply scientific principles to design and help create all sorts of things like buildings, aircrafts, or bras.

Emma-Louise Traditionally, engineering falls in four main categories: chemical, civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering. And, within each of these, there are more specific types of engineering disciplines.

Frankie There were nearly 870,000 engineers in the UK [in 2020], with an estimated 4% growth of just under 40,000 more jobs by 2025.

Emma-Louise You could consider roles such as electrical engineer, chemical engineer, mechanical engineer, nuclear engineer, or software engineer. For electrical engineers,

Frankie people who design, build and maintain electrical systems and equipment,

Emma-Louise there is an expected job growth of just under 1,600 jobs by 2025. As of 2020, the median salary was just over £50,000 per year.

Frankie For civil engineers,

Emma-Louise people who design and manage construction projects, anything from bridges to sports stadiums,

Frankie there's an expected growth of approximately 2,800 jobs by 2025, with a median salary of around £44,500.

Emma-Louise And for mechanical engineers,

Frankie people who develop and design machines that are used in various industries from construction to farming,

Emma-Louise there's an expected growth of just under 2,600 jobs by 2025, with a salary of around £42,000. If you've got a curious mind and love problem solving, engineering could be a good career path for you.

Frankie There are many ways into engineering. The first thing to figure out might be what kind of engineering you're interested in.

Emma-Louise You could consider apprenticeships that are relevant to that role, like a Level 6 Manufacturing Engineer or a Level 6 Electro-mechanical Engineer apprenticeship. These typically take between four and six years to complete.

Frankie Of course, there are also many university courses you could look into. Courses such as Electro-mechanical Engineering, Applied Physics, or Aeronautical Engineering. You would usually need two or three A-levels or equivalent for these, and some of these courses will specify if you need particular A-levels, or the equivalent. Maths and Science subjects are sometimes required.

Emma-Louise There's now more choice as the new T-level qualification is available in England. These two-year courses are equivalent to three A-levels and involve 80% classroom learning and 20% industry placement.

Frankie You can also find out about courses accredited by professional engineering institutions from the Engineering Council.

Emma-Louise Engineers have valuable transferable skills that are handy for other job roles and everyday life, such as problem solving, critical thinking, and working through potential solutions.

Frankie If you've heard things in the past that have made you think engineering is not for you, it might be worth taking a deeper look. Engineers are working on some of the most exciting challenges we face, be it enhancing virtual reality or engineering better medicines. Let's hear from some professionals. Ben is an aerospace engineer. "I love interacting and working with people to find solutions to problems. I enjoy knowing that millions of people fly around the world every year on products that I have helped develop. There's a big push at the moment for more environmentally friendly solutions. Air travel is a massive contributor to global warming and so anything that the industry can do to reduce harmful gases being emitted will make a big impact."

Emma-LouiseDavid, an expert at the Institution of Engineering and Technology, says: "The most exciting thing about engineering and technology is that there will be roles in the next five to 10 years that don't exist yet. Artificial intelligence (AI), coding and ‘green jobs’ – those that work to combat climate change – will continue to evolve and be some of the most important roles within the sector in years to come. It's also really important that the engineering industry is inclusive and representative as engineers, design products and services for everyone."

Emma-Louise Engineering is creative, exciting and not to mention that it pays pretty well once you've worked your way up beyond junior roles. The median wage within the sector is over £41,000, compared to the median full-time salary in the UK which is around £28,500.

Frankie There's also particularly strong growth in software publishing and wireless communications.

Emma-Louise Engineering is also an industry where the gender mix isn't well balanced, although the research is unclear as to why.

Frankie The main shortfall here is engineers who identify as female. As of 2020, 88% of engineers identified as male. However, lots of employers are keen to change this, so there should be more and more opportunities coming up for engineers who identify as female.

Emma-Louise One thing that's for sure is that there are going to be lots of opportunities available in the engineering sector, with just under 40,000 new jobs expected by 2025. So, if this has piqued your interest, then it'll be worth doing some more research to see if this is right for you.