# Confused and need help.



## Poofz (Aug 8, 2011)

Sup everyone,

I am going to be a senior in high school and I plan on studying some type of engineering in college. I am interested in audio/acoustical engineering. I have heard those terms been thrown around but I have not been able to find an accurate description of these careers or anything. If someone could explain in some detail what a person in this field does and how much they make I would appreciate it. Thanks!!!


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## Capt Worley PE (Aug 8, 2011)

Sounds like the guy that runs the boards in a recording studio to me. I know the term engineers is bandied around a lot in the audio/visual world.


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## jmbeck (Aug 8, 2011)

Poofz said:


> Sup everyone,I am going to be a senior in high school and I plan on studying some type of engineering in college. I am interested in audio/acoustical engineering. I have heard those terms been thrown around but I have not been able to find an accurate description of these careers or anything. If someone could explain in some detail what a person in this field does and how much they make I would appreciate it. Thanks!!!


What are you wanting to do? I've heard it used two ways.

The first, and more common, is the guy that assists an architect in design of sound halls, churches, etc. I don't think that's a real engineering degree, and I don't think it pays much. I don't know much about it.

The second is in the area of noise control in the area of mechanical systems, lumped in with vibration. I worked with a Noise Control expert during my time designing naval ships. They analyze the noise generated by a system (in this case, rotating equipment) and helped us to design a mounting system to reduce it. It was incredibly interesting, and I considered going that way for a while.

The true engineering side of acoustical engineering would (I think) tend to fall in the wheelhouse of mechanical engineering. If you're interested, some of the big name mechanical schools (Purdue, GT, VT, etc.) have advanced degrees that focus on this area. Be prepared to get an advanced degree, the one I worked with was a PhD, and all his colleagues were as well.

As far as salary, it's probably like everything else and based on location/responsibility/etc. I can definitively say that a PhD Noise Control Engineer for one of the big defense contractors located in Washington, DC was making $180K 2 years post-doc in 2007. Even taking into account that he was in DC, that was considerably more than I was making having gotten our undergrad degrees at the same time.


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## Poofz (Aug 8, 2011)

Yea I was trying to learn about the vibration and noise field. So it's an advanced study in mechanical engineering? To be successful/efficient in the job field it would most likely require a masters/PhD (I was expecting this)? Also thanks for the feedback, it is much appreciated.


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## Peele1 (Aug 8, 2011)

Mechanical, Civil and Electrical engineering all have input into vibration and noise. You may want to be a little bit more generalized until you have a few years of engineering school complete.

The basic classes for all Engineering are similar or the same. Just start out and decide later.


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## jmbeck (Aug 9, 2011)

Poofz said:


> Yea I was trying to learn about the vibration and noise field. So it's an advanced study in mechanical engineering? To be successful/efficient in the job field it would most likely require a masters/PhD (I was expecting this)? Also thanks for the feedback, it is much appreciated.



Here are some links I just found.

http://www.me.gatech.edu/acoustics/

http://www.val.me.vt.edu/

http://www.mems.duke.edu/acoustics

http://www.me.utexas.edu/areas/acoustics/

https://engineering.purdue.edu/ME/Research/...tics/index.html


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## IlPadrino (Aug 9, 2011)

Poofz said:


> Sup everyone,I am going to be a senior in high school and I plan on studying some type of engineering in college. I am interested in audio/acoustical engineering. I have heard those terms been thrown around but I have not been able to find an accurate description of these careers or anything. If someone could explain in some detail what a person in this field does and how much they make I would appreciate it. Thanks!!!


If you're interested in engineering, I suggest finding a good school that's strong in the fundamentals. Begin any program in civil, mechanical, or electrical/computer/systems and see what you think after a few semesters of general engineering coursework. Any top-50 school is a smart move: National University Rankings I'm partial to RPI for the obvious reason.


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## picusld (Aug 10, 2011)

Finish all the math requirements. Then think about a specialty.


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## Poofz (Aug 11, 2011)

Thanks everyone. This has all been very helpful, especially the links. I now have a better understanding on the subject matter. Thanks again and any other info is appreciated


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