Also called: Product Sound Designer, Audio UX Designer
Creates the beeps, chimes, and alert sounds in phones, cars, apps, and appliances so they feel right and never annoy.
A UX sound designer builds a new set of notification sounds for a smartwatch, testing which tones cut through street noise without sounding harsh. They work with engineers on how sounds play on a tiny speaker and check that each one means something clear, like 'done' or 'warning.'
Approximate; few roles, mostly at big tech and car companies.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Bachelor's in sound design, music technology, or audio engineering.
Ways in: 4-year college. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Music Technology, Sound Design, Audio Engineering.
Growing about average. Small but steady as more devices talk and beep.
Medium risk for 10 years. AI can generate sound ideas, but tuning them for tiny speakers, brands, and safety alerts takes human ears.
Classes: Music theory, Physics (sound), Computer science.
Official data: O*NET occupation 27-4014.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.