What is a Broadcast Engineer?
Broadcast and sound engineers install, test, operate and repair electronic equipment that is used to transmit radio, television, and cable programs. Broadcast engineers also produce soundtracks for motion pictures, operate sound for live events and concerts, and record music in recording studios. Included in the larger field of electrical engineering, broadcast engineers must have a working knowledge of audio engineering, computer engineering and radio frequency engineering. Duties and Responsibilities Each broadcasting station requires a broadcast engineer, although some engineers service an entire broadcasting group or freelance for many stations. Duties consist of maintaining digital broadcast automation systems, digital recording equipment, and radio towers. Broadcast engineers also regulate the clarity, signal strength, and the range of sounds and colors for radio and television broadcasts. Work may focus on the the studio end, the transmitter end, as well as remote broadcasts. In
Should we be licensed? Can we have had other professions during our lives? I have a degree in Industrial Design from the University of Cincinnati School of Design, Architecture, Art, and Planning, which is still the second-best design school after Parsons. I am three years older than the transistor and 10 years older than rock ‘n’ roll. I have built a hundred Heath kits and a great many goodies from scratch. So can I be a broadcast engineer? License no longer required. Jim Wagner told me a few years ago that the only thing that matters is if you can fix everything. And that is the crux. A love and talent for this work is the thing. Why be licensed? By whom? The owner of the station license has the most to lose, so it should be up to that owner to determine whom to trust with his assets. We cannot affect public safety that much. Towers still need structural engineers. Shock hazards are only to us, beyond basic electrical code considerations. The responsibilities of compliance mostly are
