Recording Engineer:
The studio technician responsible for evaluation and proper use of the recording environment and making the musicians comfortable in it. Selects and operates the recording equipment, executes the final mix, and prepares the tape for disc-mastering or other types of reproduction. Graduates have worked their way up to being a house engineer at Digital Services and Sunrise Sound in Houston, and Midtown Tone & Volume in Nashville.

Tape-Op / Second Engineer:
An assistant engineer whose primary job is to run the various tape recorders during a session, especially multi-track sessions. Video studios also employ tape ops. Graduates have worked as assistant engineers at Pedernales (previously owned by Willie Nelson), Imagine Studios in Nashville, Margarita Mix in LA, Bismeaux in Austin (owned by Ray Benson from Asleep at the Wheel), and 501 Studios in Austin.

Producer:
In film and video, the boss, responsible to the financial backers of the production for its completion on time and on budget, and consequently the person who does all hiring and firing of creative and technical personnel, including the director. In music productions, the producer is also responsible for all creative decisions. In any medium, the producer generally accepts a fee for services, plus points in the finished musical or visual production. Graduates do not typically step directly into producer's shoes, but this was the case with Peter Reardon.

Digital Editor:
The person who assembles audio and/or video content into sequence, following the director's and the script's recommendations, but often changing the specified order, intercutting, and adjusting the length of each scene to achieve the best artistic effect. Graduates have worked for Sound Works in Houston and Bismeaux in Austin (owned by Ray Benson from Asleep at the Wheel).

Mastering Engineer:
Mastering engineers generally possess uncommonly refined aural abilities and have access to specialized equipment. They take already completed recording projects and make minor adjustments insuring quality and consistency prior to mass duplication. Graduates have started their own companies, such as; Essential Sound located alongside Sugar Hill Studios in Houston, TX.

Mastering engineers are generally self-employed. Mastering fees are generally based per project or calculated hourly. There are a handful of engineers that can demand several thousand dollars per project. Most average a few hundred dollars per project.

Performer:
A common music degree is a BM in Performance. Our degree is similar in many ways. SRT majors are typically strong players and some are talented and determined enough to try to make it as a performer. Generally, their motivation for choosing an SRT degree instead of a performance degree may relate to not wanting to be at the mercy of some (other) technician. Perhaps they even want to do some of the technical things themselves. They are able to understand, influence, or control the recording process or a live sound reinforcement situation. Graduates have gone on to tour (as musicians) with artists such as Ian Moore, Maynard Ferguson, and Harry Connick Jr.

Compensation and tour conditions vary wildly. Joining the musicians union (AFM) is recommended.

Composer:
A common music degree is a BM in Composition. Our degree is similar in some ways. In some cases, SRT majors are gifted at writing & creating music from scratch and determined enough to try to make it as a composer. Generally, their motivation for choosing an SRT degree instead of a composition degree may relate to not wanting to be at the mercy of some (other) technician. Perhaps they even want to do a lot of the technical things themselves. They are able to understand, influence, or control the recording process (often they work by themselves in a home or project studio). Graduates have gone on create award winning music for edutainment CD-ROMs or gone on to tackle a masters degrees in music composition.

Compensation falls into one of two categories: talent for hire (fee based) - or - points (at least partial ownership of the creation). Having points on a substantial or popular work could result in a seven figure income. Joining a performing rights organization (ASCAP or BMI) is recommended.

Audio Post-Production (for video / film):
After filming, ADR work (automatic dialog replacement), sound effects (Foley), and music are added to the footage at specialized facilities. This is typically a time consuming and tedious process for any project over 60 seconds in length (a lot of time and money goes into polishing a feature film). Animation and music videos being the exception, audio post is generally the last stage in the production process and done in somewhat of a rush. The post process usually requires several people working together. Graduates have worked for facilities that specialize in audio post such as Annex Digital in Alameda CA, Charlie Uniform Tango in Dallas, or worked for production companies that were responsible for films such as Spy Kids 2, Ice Age, & The Rookie, or worked on a contract basis in the NY area.

Compensation is generally better than in the music industry. Some locations, such as Hollywood, may be heavily unionized.

Sound Designer:
Electronic instruments ship with preprogrammed sounds. These 'patches' need to be created by someone, older patches need to modified for compatibility with newer instruments, patches from one manufacturer need to be retrofitted to work in another manufacturers device, and patches require manipulation for various other reasons. In other cases, electronic instruments can not be coerced to create the particular sound you're looking for and a sound designer will use microphones, recorders, electronic devices, effects processors, and a great deal of creativity to make a sound from scratch. These may be for in-house use or distributed as sound effects or sample libraries.

Several graduates have worked in this field. In some cases programming keyboards, in other cases creating effects for games or to accompany a visual presentation. In some cases they were salaried, in other cases hourly. The minimum starting salary in these cases was just over $9/hour.

Live Sound Reinforcement:
Austin bills itself as the live music capitol of the world. There are numerous clubs, venues, and bands nearby that need engineers, technicians, and roadies. Many of our students are employed part-time in these areas. These jobs are available everywhere, including: churches, cruise ships, theaters, night clubs, and convention centers. Then there's Vegas. Often times the work environment is smoky & too loud and you might not get home until 2:00 or 3:00 AM. Hopefully the pay makes up for that. If you're really into live sound, you probably dream of going on the road (when you're young anyway). Large tours are supported by Clair Bros. or ShowCo. Graduates have worked with artists such as Limp Bizkit, Moby, and the artist formerly known as Prince. Shows this size generally hire a lot of local help from a pool of people known to be reliable (paid hourly).

On the high end, an in-demand FOH (front of house) engineer or system engineer can make $50 - $60k per year, have some expenses covered, and get a benefits package. On the low end, local engineers make from $50-$150 per night (depending on how much lifting is involved and whether they own any of the gear themselves), tend to cover their own expenses, and have no benefits package. In some markets unions (IATSE for one) are involved and compensation will vary.

Jingle Production (advertising):
Sound for advertising purposes tends to be more corporate in nature. Hours tend to be regular, as do wages and compensation. There is less tolerance for colorful or offbeat personalities than compared to the music or hi-tech industries. An ad almost always has a voice-over (VO) carrying the bulk of message. Expect to interact often with the corporate world and the voice talent. Often the music and sound effects are 'canned' (prerecorded - somewhere else). Some radio and TV spots are still released in mono. Sometimes broadcasters make commercials in-house. Graduates have worked for Tequila Mockingbird in Austin and Sound Works in Houston.

Compensation is generally better than in the music industry. Positions tend to be salaried.

Multimedia:
Interactive CD-ROM's, DVDs, web sites, and A/V presentations can contain an audio element. Similar to Gaming (see below), but generally containing more educational or entertaining content (edutainment). Releases tend to more generic rather than targeting a specific platform and user base. However, users tend to be less fanatical. Graduates have worked for Human Code, Alchemy Interactive, and Gorilla Systems.

Gaming:
Video games have come a long way since sound tracks consisted mainly of repetitive and annoying beeps, clanks, and bashes. There can be a tremendous number of voice-overs (VO), sound effects, and music cues in a modern console or PC based game. Surround sound is on the horizon. On-line gaming would seem to have a promising future as well. Often, file size is limited challenging the people in the audio department to produce high quality sound while maintaining variety. Graduates have worked for Origin and Ion Storm.

In the late '90s these positions were always salaried and accompanied by an attractive benefits package. More recently (post tech crash), some of these positions have given way to contract labor. Generally, hi-tech companies pay their contract labor a higher hourly rate than similar salaried positions to compensate for the lack of benefits and stability.

Industrial:
This is my catchall category for everything that's hard to categorize. Some examples of graduate's endeavors include: creation of audio/video presentations for companies like Apple Computer (out-sourced), communications for NASA, technical assistance for EMP (Experience Music Project in Seattle, WA), and technical support for the performing arts center at UTSA and UT.

As it turns out, all of these folks were salaried, but that is not necessarily the norm.

On-Location (mobile) Recording:
Remote recording refers to either a film/video on-location 'shoot' or making your equipment mobile and taking your studio to the client (rather than getting your client to come to the studio). Sporting events and live concerts are two activities generally associated with this type of work. Graduates have participated in these activities, to be sure, but no one has yet made a career of it.

Installation / Repair / Consultancy:
As the number of in-home studios grows, the need for technically savvy people who make 'house calls' grows. Setting up a computer editing system from scratch, custom wiring a small facility, or troubleshooting a difficult technical issue are often more than the do-it-yourselfer can handle and more than a small business wants to deal with. It is possible to specialize, dealing primarily with issues such as: computer problems, electronics problems, facilities design and modification, acoustics, or installations. There are currently two graduates doing this in Austin, one has formed his own company, Pin2 Audio.

Compensation is generally based on an hourly rate or negotiated. Most people who do this kind of work are self-employed, but there are a few large companies who need employees, such as: Ford Audio / Video.

Broadcasting:
Typically students from RTF or Mass Comm. programs go into broadcasting, resulting in a very competitive entry level job market (there are a lot of young people graduating with these degrees). From a sound perspective, broadcasting has a lot in common with live sound sound reinforcement and live recording. These jobs exist everywhere, from radio and TV stations to churches to the Internet to independent remote trucks. Graduates have worked for the in-house facilities of Christian ministries in both Austin and San Antonio.

Positions are generally salaried. Compensation can vary based on experience, the size of market, and market share.

Business Owner:
As was noted in the articles above, there is a trend away from large facilities hiring lots of employees. One way to get a job in a 'company' is to buy that company. Alternately, you may start your own competing company. Graduates have bought or started companies such as: Music Lane, an Austin recording studio; several home-based studios in and around San Marcos and one in Nashville; Tetpro, an Austin area live sound reinforcement company; and GDI Records, an Austin based record production, artist management, & promotion company.

Manufacturer's Representative / Technical Support:
A manufacturer's representative promotes the sale of specialized products, trains individuals after a purchase, and provides some post-sales technical support. Successful people have above average interpersonal communication skills and like to travel. Graduates have worked with companies like Solid State Logic, Euphonix, and Apple Computer.

Positions such as these are generally salaried, offer expense accounts, and have a benefits packages.

Personal Assistant:
Sometimes, a freelancer can be so in demand in their profession that they can't handle all the work that comes their way. Rather than turning clients away they may choose to take on a partner (an equal) or an assistant (a subordinate). Someone just getting out of school is an obvious choice for the latter. This is a wonderful opportunity for a young person as they get a mentor, access to an established network of associates, and some experience. Graduates have become personal assistants for producer David Eaton and equipment designer Rupert Neve.

Compensation for jobs such as these are often the result of a negotiation.