To all the professional audio technicians.

audiocr381ve

This thread is directed towards those of you who are doing any professional audio/electronics repair, or design/speaker building.

I've been tinkering with the idea of going to school to get a real understanding of electrical theory etc., and possibly turning it into into a profession. Since I was a young lad *insert Irish accent* I've always been fascinated with electronics. I was the kid pulling everything apart just to see how it ticked. I'm 25 now and lately I've really been enjoying modifying the few pieces of audio gear that I have although I've kind of been diving in to it not knowing what the hell I'm doing (many of you have been frustrated with me about this :redface:).

I consider myself like many of you to be a jack of all trades, and a master of none. I'm at a crossroad in my life where I need to work towards a solid job. I was hoping to get a good idea from you guys on if it's worth it to get into this field. So please ask questions if you need to know more about me...

My question is - how did most of you get into doing what you're doing and what is it that you do?

Is their any money in it?

What types of jobs are their in the field and what's the demand like?

What is a good place to start and what kind of education will I need?

I know I'm asking a lot, but this info would be invaluable to me. Thanks guys.

TECHNOKID

This thread is directed towards those of you who are doing any professional audio/electronics repair, or design/speaker building.

You are talking about different fields here so, what exactly is your interest?

* Audio electronic repair?

* Design speaker building?

Outfitter03

Are you good with math and enjoy doing calculations? Do you like physics? If you can answer yes to these three questions then this is a field that may interest you.

Most people who are electronics technicians got their training from the military, phone companies or maintenance departments of manufacturing companies.

Schools like ITT technical colleges or some community colleges offer related courses and degree/certification programs.

For design work, I believe that schooling would be either Electrical Engineering or Physics with an emphasis in acoustics. This said I have never personally talked to a speaker designer.

All require speaking the language of math quite fluently.

fishbones

There's more qualified on here than me, but.....there's a million different jobs in electronics. Getting good and specializing in something is what will make the better money (if that's what you want), otherwise it will probably be average - depending on your skills/degrees/specialty/city you live. I had a job out of high-school doing similar to what you're talking about (repairing electronics) with a very simple trade school degree (repairing tape decks in boom boxes if that gives you any idea of how long ago). It didn't last long and didn't pay worth a darn, but it wasn't something I had my full heart in and because of that, didn't pursue a direction that did make decent money. After doing it for a short time, I realized I wasn't as passionate about the insides of them as much as the outsides - it wasn't for me. As with most things, if you're passionate about something, the money will follow, because you will want to increase your skill and knowledge level continuously (ie: getting better/more in demand). Others can give you the skinny on possible "inside" info on what's good. Good luck!

audiocr381ve

TECHNOKID wrote: »

You are talking about different fields here so, what exactly is your interest?

* Audio electronic repair?

* Design speaker building?

More so electronic repair, but I really dig the idea of building crossovers etc.

I've been in a weird season of my life trying to figure out what I want to pursue.

As for liking physics and calculations, I can't say that I do! I was talking to another buddy of mine and he said this may be just a hobby for me. I think he's right. I love performing the repairs and modifications that I know how to do when I do them, but as far as doing this on the day to day, I might go crazy.

Thanks for all the thoughts that came in. I still would very much want to learn more theory to be able to make more informed mods and upgrades to my gear, but I'm clueless as where to start. Is their a good resource someone can recommend besides "try google"?

mhardy6647

I am as far from a professional as one can get, but I can offer basic resources to learn what's going on.

Here are the two best:

The US Navy "NEETS" training. It's (apparently) in the public domain; one may find the whole thing here:
http://www.phy.davidson.edu/instrumentation/NEETS.htm

The other single greatest online/public domain resource of context and information for hifi audio electronics is:
www.tubebooks.org (Pete Millett's site)
Yeah, it's vacuum tube focused; that's a good thing. The electronic principles are much easier to understand in the vacuum tube domain. One may learn the basics (which, except for digital applications, have not changed) there, and then make the gritty trek to the semiconductor world.

mrbigbluelight

Excellent post and link, mhardy. Going to desktop that here at work for some of my fellow co-workers of the "Nobody Showed Me, Nobody Told Me" Klub. Who are already supposed to know this stuff. :rolleyes:

Audiocr, don't know your age but the NEETS link mhardy posted brought to mind that the US Military is an excellent place to learn a trade in exchange for serving your country.
I'd personally recommend the Navy, but that's a personal bias.

From what I gather, it would seem that you should steer more towards a technical college.
Outfitter mentioned schools like ITT Tech. From working with people who have attended our local ITT Tech campus, the key is: You'll get out of it what you put into it. Squeek by with the bare minimum of effort and your skill levels will reflect it. Work like a lead sled dog, burn the post-midnight oil, and you'll come out rock solid.
Like anything in life, TANSTAAFL. There ain't no such thing as a free lunch. At some point you gotta pay your dues. Recognize that, and life will lighten up for you. Ain't no shortcuts.