How To Become An Acoustical Engineer: What It Is and Career Path

What is an acoustical engineer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Michael Denn

Acoustical engineers are electronics engineers who specialize in designing and developing technologies that solve problems related to sound. For instance, they may apply fundamental scientific principles to find ways to monitor and manipulate sound levels or improve sound clarity.

Depending on their area of interest, acoustical engineers may specialize in architectural acoustics, noise control, structural acoustics, or underwater acoustics. They often work with architects on building designs, but they can also find jobs related to noise reduction in factories and other industrial environments.

One of your primary job duties as an acoustic engineer is to reduce unwanted sounds in populated areas. For example, you might work to control the level of sound created by airplanes or traffic in a designated area. You might also help design the architectural acoustics within a building to maintain the noise level affecting office spaces or museums.

What general advice would you give to an acoustical engineer?

Michael Denn

Instructor, Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

1. Become the expert in whatever you do. 2. Understand how your work fits into the bigger picture and keep that in mind when you do your work. 3. Keep learning! Your engineering degree is not the end of your education! 4. Take stretch assignments and opportunities whenever you can.

ScoreAcoustical EngineerUS Average

Salary

7.3

Avg. Salary $93,808

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.4

Growth rate 2%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.11%

Asian 15.70%

Black or African American 3.16%

Hispanic or Latino 8.22%

Unknown 4.53%

White 68.28%

Gender

female 6.33%

male 93.67%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress level

7.4

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.6

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

5.1

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an acoustical engineer

Explore acoustical engineer education requirements

Most common acoustical engineer degrees

Bachelor's

67.7 %

Master's

20.8 %

High School Diploma

4.6 %

Start to develop specific acoustical engineer skills

Skills	Percentages
Transducers	10.22%
Data Analysis	8.84%
DSP	7.92%
Data Acquisition	7.28%
FEA	7.24%

Complete relevant acoustical engineer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-2 years on post-employment, on-the-job training. New acoustical engineers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an acoustical engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real acoustical engineer resumes.

Research acoustical engineer duties and responsibilities

Manage the manufacturing of defense and aerospace electro-mechanical print circuit boards from prototype to production level.
Perform failure analysis of transducers and recommend design changes intend to eliminate cause of failure.
Tune multiple vehicles for OEM's, that are currently in production.
Develop the customized DSP audio tools using MATLAB and C/C++ for speech signals.

Prepare your acoustical engineer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your acoustical engineer resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an acoustical engineer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable acoustical engineer resume templates

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Apply for acoustical engineer jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an acoustical engineer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How did you land your first acoustical engineer job

Odey Tayem

Acoustical Engineer

My journey into the field of acoustics began during my undergraduate studies in audio production back in 2009, where I was introduced to a variety of sound applications including music production, studio recording, mixing, and more. I fell in love with the concepts of acoustics and how sound waves are invisible, yet mechanical in nature.

After graduating from my undergraduate studies, I pursued a career in broadcasting and sound production where I’ve worked on projects ranging from live control room operations to songwriting and music production. Through my career, I’ve reached a better understanding of the importance of acoustics, and the important role it plays, not only for recordings or music halls, but also in our daily lives and the environment.

As such, I’ve continued to pursue a degree in Architectural Acoustics to better develop my knowledge in acoustics and receive appropriate training to pursue a career path in the field. Recently, I launched my own acoustics consultancy in Amman, Jordan, where I apply my knowledge and skills to a variety of acoustic challenges.