Recently The Princeton Review partnered with the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Foundation (the folks who bring you the Emmys) to produce "Television, Film, and Digital Media Programs: 556 Outstanding Programs at Top Colleges and Universities Across the Nation."

They rank Audio Engineering 3rd as a "Hot Job in Hollywood."

A recording engineer is a technical specialist who is responsible for translating the artistic vision of the artists and their producer into recorded reality. The primary responsibility of a recording engineer is to operate the mixing board, multitrack recorder, and other recording equipment used during a session.

Engineers and their assistants must attend to every detail of the recording process, and decisions must be made at each step. The first task in a session is adjusting and placing microphones on the instruments to be recorded. The type of microphones used, as well as their placement, can have dramatic effects on the final recording.

Engineers then record the musicians one track at a time. After each track is recorded, the engineer plays it back to evaluate its quality. The results are often discussed with the producer and the artist(s). The engineer then makes adjustments to the control panel (or simply encourages the artists to perform better) with intention of improving the next try. It often requires many, many tries to get some tracks right.

After all tracks have been captured with a satisfactory level of quality, the engineer must mix them down to two tracks. These two tracks are then used to generate the master.

Engineering is a very demanding job that requires attention to detail and dedication. Engineers must have a thorough technical understanding of their equipment (including how to dismantle and repair it), as well as an aesthetic sensibility which allows them to achieve the musical goals of the artist and producer. An engineer's ability to listen to and interpret these goals technically is absolutely vital - even if he or she doesn't personally like the music. Engineers must constantly improve and expand their knowledge to keep up with the rapid rate of technological advancement in recording equipment.

The following are examples of job titles that individuals with an education in recording engineering might pursue:

Assistant Music Director
Assistant Sound Editor
Audio Engineer
Audio Engineering Repair Tech
Audio Mixer/Editor
Audio Product Specialist
Audio Systems Tool Developer
Audio Tech
Audio/Video Compression Operator
Auto Dialogue Replacement Tech (ADR)
Broadcast Operator
Broadcast Audio Editor
Corporate AV Technician
Digital Music Content Coordinator
Disk Jockey
Dub Room Tape Operator
DVD Production Assistant
Engineer; Co-Producer/ Jr. Producer
Film Post Sound Mixer
Foley Engineer
House/Club Engineer
Layback
Live Sound (“FOH”)
Location Sound Engineer
Load In/Load Out
Librarian/Music Tape Catalogue
Mastering Engineer
Monitor Engineer
Music Lab Coordinator
Operations Supervisor
Post Prod/ Audio Assistant
Post Production Assistant
Pro Tools Engineer
Pro Tools Technician
Production Interns
Production Sound
Production Support/Assistant
Radio Board Operator
Recording Studio Asst. Manager
Recordist
Restoration & Transfer Engineer
Runner / Assistant Engineer
Second Engineer
Show Producer Assistant
Sound Editor Assistant
Stage Hand
Stage Technician
Studio Equipment Installer/Technician
Studio Assistant
Systems Engineer/Audio
Tape Duplication Operator
Transfer Engineer
TV Post Prod Assistant
Voice-over Recorder

The following are examples of organizations that hire individuals with an education in recording engineering:

Theme Parks
• Universal Studios Park
• California Adventure
• Sea World
• Medieval Times, etc.

Concert/Theater Houses
• Walt Disney Concert Hall
• Shrine Auditorium
• Aratani Japan America Theatre
• Staples Center
• Ford Theater
• Universal Amphitheater, etc

Comedy/Small Playhouses
• Pasadena Playhouse
• Laugh Factory
• Ice House
• LA Stage Alliance
• Alex Theater, etc.

Post Production Houses
• Chace Productions
• Canyon Sound
• Touch Sound, etc.

Voice Over Studios
• Marc Graue
• Wild Woods, etc.

Television/ Network Stations
• ABC, NBC, CBS, UPN, FOX, Univison, etc.
• Discovery Channel, Speed Channel, ESPN, etc.
• HDTV, Harpo Productions, etc.
• Turner Broadcasting Systems, etc.

Radio Stations
• KIIS-FM
• SIRUS Radio
• Jack-FM
• KFWB-AM, etc.

Corporate AV
• Swank Audio Visuals
• Pro Audio Video
• Killing Time Productions, etc

Sound Engineer Equipment Supplier Companies
• Ametron
• SIR
• AVSC, etc.

Movie Score Departments

Clubs

Recording Studios

Music Video Productions
• Neopets
• Control Room
• Terrero Films