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Introduction

Every one loves to hear music no matter whether it is live or recorded. During the 19th century, several attempts for recording sounds were made in Europe and USA. Though the mechanized reproduction of music can be traced back as far as the 9th century, it was done most successfully by Thomas Edison in 1877. He invented a machine named Phonograph which could be termed as the first practical sound recording and reproduction device for recording and reproducing sound. Coming all the way from 1877, technically, the recording industry has advanced drastically and has become part and parcel of our lives by the 20th century.

Audio engineering, a branch of Audio science, is a career for those who love music and wish to be a part of this industry. Audio Engineering is all about capturing sound, recording, copying, editing, mixing and reproducing sound using electronic and mechanical devices. It involves both production and post production tasks. Production part may involve everything from set-up to the actual recording. Audio engineers use a variety of devices to record even the slightest sound variations. Electronic mixing board (console board), which contains variety of switches, dials, lights and meters, is a vital part in audio engineering as it can control sound input while recording or editing. In the post production section, the recorded material gets polished or "morphed" into sound. Digital audio workstations, signal processors and sequencing software are the other integral components used in audio engineering.

An audio engineer is someone with experience and training in production and manipulation of sound through mechanical and digital means. Those who have studied any course in audiography and sound recording can become an audio engineer. They are responsible for the final sound that we hear in music, i.e in songs, background scores in videos, films, advertisements and so on. An audio engineer should possess a good ear for music and sounds just like a journalist should have a nose for news. They may sometimes be known as recording engineers and sound engineers, even though the latter are the persons who develop instruments for the audio engineers.

Audio engineering is one of the most popular and promising career in the modern generation that offers immense opportunity in the field of film, video production, sound broadcasting and advertising both in India and abroad. To be good in this field, lot of commitment and interest is required.

Eligibility : To become a successful audio engineer, one should be well trained in any degree or diploma courses in audiography, sound recording, sound engineering and audio engineering. No specific educational qualification is required for a training

Job Prospectus and Career Options : Holding a diploma or degree in audio engineering is the first step for pursuing a career in this field. After successful completion of a course, one could find job opportunities in the field of moviesRemuneration : Audio engineering is one of the careers that bring recognition along with money. Depending up on the hard work and effort one puts on his work Institutes : Several institutes in India and abroad offer courses in audio engineering.

the most attracting field for an audio engineer is the music industry. One can start as an assistant to a recording engineer to set all the equipments and instruments. Gradually on the basis of experience, he can become a reputed audio engineer. Another option is in the recording studio and the major tasks performed here are the operation the microphones, mixers and software and recording of sounds, music and speech. With experience, one could specialise in different aspects of sound, music, dialogue,special effects; become a music producer or start their own recording studio.

Besides studios, audio engineers can also work on a freelance basis. As the audio engineering field is becoming highly competitive, those who have talent and specific skills can fare well.

Some of the career options in this field are :

• Studio Engineer : Studio engineer is there to record sounds, music and speech in the studio and make the sounds better by controlling it. It is one of the major posts in Audio engineering. 
• Sound Recordist
• Broadcast Engineer : Broadcast engineer is there to set all the broadcast equipments right.
• Sound Editor: There are three divisions in sound editors that are dialogue editors, music editors and sound effects editor. Sound editors should be able to handle these three although the big industries will have separate editor posts.
• Re- recording mixer
• Dialogue editor: he is the one who edits the dialogues in the movies, TV channel programs etc. 
• Music editor: music editor is the one who edits music tracks.
• Sound effects editor: The sound effects editor is responsible for the final version of the sound effects. 
• Mastering Engineer : With the challenging position, Mastering engineer is the link between the final mix and the CD. He is also known as postproduction engineer. 
• Location sound Engineer
• Mix Engineer : The mix engineer is responsible for the final product, the music. He will mix down all the tracks of recordings into one. He will get the royalty of the work that makes this position very glamorous. 
• Foley Recordist /Editor
• Recording Engineer : Recording engineer is responsible for setting all the equipments right for the recording including microphones, placing the instruments, mixing the headphones for the musicians etc. 
• Sound Designer: Sound Designer is a person who designs and creates the sound track and covers all the non- compositional elements of a film, music and performances etc. He is responsible for the audio tracks from the dialogue to the re-recording the final tracks. 
• Pro tools operator
• Studio manager: Studio manager is responsible for booking and maintaining all the recordings in the studio. With a very good organization skill, studio manager set all the background work for the music producers, engineers, the musicians and also handling the financial matters. 
• Programmer

Depending up on the hard work and effort one puts on his work, he could get the money. Most of the companies may pay the remuneration around and above Rs10, 000 to their audio engineers. A recognized audio engineer can easily get his high salary from the industry. Abroad he may get an average of $18,540 as he starts his career.