ACOUSTICS A SOUND CAREER 2019 If you want a career that mixes people, science and engineering, then head to the world of acoustics Produced by the Institute of Acoustics Listening to the World SINCE 1970 ////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////// Sold in more than 70 countries across the world Changed noise measurement with the invention of the doseBadge wireless noise dosimeter Institute of Acoustics founding sponsor since 1974 8500+ Optimus Sound Level Meters sold since 2010 //////////////// ///////////////// For More Information Visit: //// cirrusresearch.co.uk Acoustics – a sound career Contents 04 A career in acoustics offers challenges, excitement, flexibility and rewards 08 Apprenticeships 10 A career that suits your skills Contacts Welcome to the 12 Publisher Juliet Loiselle world of acoustics Career advancement Editor: Nicky Rogers Acoustics is involved in just about every 14 Email: [email protected] Build your own career Tel: 01778 391128 aspect of our lives. ‘Sound’ is a vital component to the quality of our lives, it is how we Advertising: communicate and it gives us pleasure. ‘Noise’, on the other hand, can 18 Dennis Baylis MIOA irritate us, makes us feel stressed and stops us sleeping. The World Health Designing better products Email: [email protected] Organization says that excessive noise seriously harms human health and Tel: 00 33 (0)5 62 70 99 25 interferes with people’s daily activities at school, work, home and during leisure time. It can cause adverse cardiovascular and 19 Published and produced by: psychophysiological effects, reduce performance The Institute of Acoustics #ExploreAcoustics and provoke changes in social behaviour. Silbury Court, 406 Silbury Boulevard, Milton Keynes, Make a difference 20 Buckinghamshire MK9 2AF The fascinating science of acoustics is The inventiveness of Tel: 0300 999 9675 about improving the quality of our lives and noise and vibration making a positive difference to people. From engineers Edited, designed and printed by: enabling people to hear each other in busy Warners Group Publications places, designing loudspeakers and microphones, The Maltings working on speech recognition systems, liaising with 22 West Street architects on the acoustics of theatres and auditoria, helping with the Bourne Electroacoustics − medical applications of ultrasonics, understanding the effects on whales Lincs sound equipment and and dolphins of the sound of human activity in the oceans, acoustics PE10 9PH offers diverse ways to make your contribution count. systems design Views expressed in Acoustics - a Sound Career We have created this guide to show you what a career in acoustics can are not necessarily the official view of the 26 Institute, nor do individual contributions reflect offer you. If you want a career that is varied and challenging, and where the opinions of the Editor. While every care has you can make a positive and tangible difference to people’s lives, consider Careers in audiology been taken in the preparation of this journal, the a career in acoustics. publishers or the IOA cannot be held responsible for the accuracy of the information herein, or any consequence arising from them. Multiple It makes sound sense. copying of the contents or parts thereof without 28 permission is in breach of copyright. Allan Chesney Charlie’s inspiration Permission is usually given upon written Chief Executive, Institute of Acoustics application to the Institute to copy illustrations or short extracts from the text or individual contributions, provided that the sources 30 (and where appropriate the copyright) are Produced by the Institute of Acoustics How the IOA supports acknowledged. student members The Institute of Acoustics does not necessarily endorse the products or the claims made by the advertisers in Acoustics - a Sound Career or on literature inserted therein. Careers in Acoustics 3 Why acoustics? A career in acoustics offers challenges, excitement, fl exibility and rewards Acoustics is the interdisciplinary science that deals with the study of all mechanical waves in gases, liquids and solids, including vibration, sound, ultrasound and infrasound. any people think that acoustics is strictly musical or James Stokes architectural in nature. While acoustics does include the “When I left the University of Manchester with a Master’s Degree M in physics and French, I knew I wanted to combine my love of study of musical instruments and architectural spaces, it also covers a vast range of topics including noise control, SONAR music and sound with something technical and applicable to my for submarine navigation, ultrasounds for medical imaging, degree − since I came across acoustics I haven’t looked back! thermoacoustic refrigeration, seismology, bioacoustics and “Because of the inherent connection between music and acoustics, electroacoustic communication. Something for every skill set! I have found that many of my workmates have previously Th e acousticians profiled on these pages come from very diff erent worked or studied in live music, audio engineering or even backgrounds and took very different routes to the industry. It music performance – but because acoustics fi ts predominantly demonstrates the incredibly diverse nature of acoustics. into the construction industry, other academic backgrounds in architecture, engineering or mathematics for example can be a great starting point for a career in this fi eld. “I can certainly say that it is the variety of projects that keeps things interesting for me – from multi-million pound concert halls to soundproofing nightclubs, every project I’m involved with has its own unique problems and limitations and the challenge of creating a successful, workable design is an ever-changing and Beth Paxton, Apex Acoustics exhilarating task. It is also extremely satisfying to visit a completed “I studied maths at university and after graduating I didn’t building that you have helped to design.” have a clue what career to go into. Before I got my current job I was working as a maths coach in a secondary school. My favourite course at university included a section on sound Dan Rowe waves, so I looked for related jobs and applied speculatively to “I really enjoy the breadth and depth of subjects that a career in several acoustics consultancies. acoustic engineering has allowed me to explore. In my fi eld of underwater acoustics, acoustic engineering bridges the subjects of “I studied for the Institute of Acoustics’ graduate entry mechanical, electrical, fl uid dynamics and materials engineering Diploma in Acoustics and Noise Control by distance learning and never fails to throw up a diverse range of interesting problems during my fi rst year working as an acoustic consultant, which to solve. It encourages you to have an open mind and think meant studying the course notes at home and attending outside the box. Th ere are not many industries where one day you tutorials once or twice a month. I enjoyed the breadth of can be working on cutting edge science and R&D with universities material that the course covered in a fairly short space of time. and other industrial collaborators, then soon after, get your hands It gave a good overview of the different areas of acoustics as dirty testing the fi nal system that your developed technology has well as covering the calculations, standards and guidance that fed into.” I use every day. “Being numerate and comfortable using equations is a must for working in Saif Bunni acoustics, but beyond that, my “I have been a musician since I was very young degree covered lots of things and have always been fascinated in how sound that are relevant to my moves all around us. So after studying sound work and understanding design as an undergraduate, I decided to of acoustics. expand my scientific knowledge about the “The most useful subject by pursuing a Masters in acoustics at transferable skill I’ve the University of Salford. Since then, I have been taken from my job as a working at WSP mainly measuring and assessing maths coach is practice at vibration caused by trains, machines or people for major explaining tricky concepts environmental projects around the UK and in Europe. clearly and patiently to people, “I enjoy both the practical and technical aspects of this fi eld and so being able to communicate I am fascinated by how vibration turns into noise and how it can clearly is really important.” affect people and buildings − especially in congested cities.” 4 Careers in Acoustics Rob Bungay Taylor Cooper “I chose acoustic engineering as a career because of my interest in “I went to university knowing exactly the work it requires and the good employment prospects − there what I wanted to do. I enjoyed learning, are far fewer acoustic engineers than in the older engineering I studied hard and got good grades. disciplines such as civil and mechanical engineering. Like all young, new graduates I was excited to start my career and utilise “My work is extremely varied and as it involves my personal interest my degree, which was in psychology, in music, along with the broad thinking required to complete sociology and child development. work, my career is very rewarding. For example, I recently worked on a multi-bed intensive care ward where patients and visitors “You read that correctly. I am an acoustic were complaining about the intrusive noise made by the alarms engineer, and I have a degree in psychology. So just because you from bedside monitors. To understand and try to reduce these go to university knowing exactly what you want to do doesn’t causes of complaints, among other things I installed sound level mean you know exactly what you will end up doing! meters throughout the room to record noise levels during the day and night, and used acoustic models of the space to assess “I started working in acoustics purely by accident. I moved from changes within the room.