Also called: 3D Audio Engineer, Immersive Audio Engineer
Builds the technology that makes sound in VR, games and headphones seem to come from all around you.
You put on a VR headset and walk around a virtual forest, checking whether a bird chirp sounds like it's really above and behind you. You adjust your 3D audio code using measurements of how sound bounces off real human ears.
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 electrical engineering, computer science or audio engineering.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Electrical Engineering, Computer Science, Audio Engineering.
Growing about average. Not tracked separately by BLS; a small, steady specialty.
Medium risk for 10 years. AI generates and renders 3D audio more automatically; designing experiences and listening tests stay human.
Classes: AP Computer Science, Music, Physics, Art or media.
Official data: O*NET occupation 17-2072.
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.