Does your car have the best sound system money can buy? Do you have separation anxiety when you are without your iPod? Then maybe you are one of those creative individuals who have the talent and the drive to really make it in the recording arts industry. If you listen to the radio and think, "I can make that song sound even better," or have heard sound effects in a movie and thought, "Hmm, not bad," then perhaps you're ready for own gig at a recording arts schools.

Even if it's just one voice or sound that you hear in a movie, TV show, or on the radio, there is a whole team of people involved to make sure that one element sound the best it can be. Some of these team members include audio and video equipment technicians, broadcast technicians, sound and engineering technicians, and radio operators. While a love for all things audio is a good start, in order to get your recording arts career off the ground, you'll need to choose from the many certificate or degree programs offered at recording arts schools.

Testing 1, 2, 3 at Recording Arts Schools!
In the recording arts industry, there is certainly a good amount of on-the-job training, but taking classes in recording engineering and communication is a way to build a solid foundation for that hands-on work. Technical and career institutes, community colleges, and a number of four-year colleges and universities with programs in communications and the performing arts all offer classes, certificates, and degree programs in recording arts.

At recording arts schools, students take a number of classes in areas such as broadcast technology, electronics, and computers. Have you ever seen one of those complicated-looking soundboards used in theatres or concert venues? You can bet that you'll be learning the ins and outs of those sophisticated instruments. Don't forget that as time marches on, so does technology; computer software now can do much of the same work that those levers and buttons did. It will be in your best interest to stay on the cutting edge of the recording arts industry, which includes the increasingly popular Web-based radio stations and podcasts.

Radio is a popular medium, but there's lots of recording to be done outside of the spoken, sung, or rapped word. Who creates the soft sounds of rain onstage during a play? A recording engineer. Who makes sure that the pitter-patter of a child's footsteps in a movie doesn't sound like the thunderous stomps of a T-Rex? You guessed it -- a recording arts professional. The skills you learn at recording arts schools will prepare you for a variety of careers. Usually people keep an eye out for job openings, but for someone like you, you'll need to keep an ear out instead!

According to a 2006 report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly 1/3 of recording arts technicians work in broadcasting; another 17 percent work in film, video, and sound recording. New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, and Washington, DC are the major recording arts hubs in the country and therefore the biggest sources of job opportunities, but wherever there are listeners, there are opportunities for a job in the recording arts industry. So crank the volume up to 10 (or 11, if you're a Spinal Tap fan) and start taking classes at recording arts schools.