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Planning on becoming a Broadcast Engineer

P

punkrawkheaven

Guest
I'm wanting to become a broadcast engineer, I've worked on the programming side of it for a number of years, and do some engineering work like hooking up broadcast equipment, but I want to know more advance stuff, what is the first thing I need to do or any courses I need to take.

Thanks a million for all your help
Jeff H
 
Today's engineers need to know not only electronics theory, but the principles of RF as well. If you get into AM radio you better have a good mind at math if you're planning on maintaining a directional array. Also, don't be surprised if at the smaller stations you become the IT guy taking care of computers - not only for your sales staff but for anything else link automation, transmitter remote control, etc. A good background on audio won't hurt you either, considering what's coming down the pike with HD.

Of course, you better be up on your FCC rules as well. Perhaps joining the local chapter of the SBE would be good as well. I use to be the secretary and newsletter coordinator for NY Chapter 15 back in the late 80's and found the meetings and networking with fellow engineers quite valuable - especially since I was split between engineering a dinky 1KW directional AM and doing contract work for a 50Kw FM.
 
Look into taking some electronics courses at your local community college or enroll in a correspondence school like Cleveland Institute of Electronics, if they still exist. You need a good background in theory as a knowledge base. Stick with that and learn the details right down to basic electron theory, It will seem boring but trust me, it’s very important to gain an insight as to what is going on. Look into becoming a licensed amateur radio operator and joining ARRL. That is a vast source of learning material on radio theory and principals of RF from the transmitter through the transmission line to the antenna. See if you can work with a seasoned chief engineer in your area as a trainee and also join the local SBE chapter as you will find help there and network with others in the trade.

Very important and as a fall back, get real estate brokers licence and keep it current.
 
I walked into broadcast engineering almost 8 years ago. I was 18, and had been an electronics hobbyist (and amateur radio operator) since age 13. I came in with a pretty good electronics, computer, and RF background (albeit in a self-taught sense), but knew pretty much nothing about broadcast. The CE at a local cluster of 6 FMs hired me on as an assistant right on the spot... I quit my job at a restaurant and took a $2/hr paycut to make a whopping $6/hr! I stayed in school, but in reality, on-the-job experience is where it counts. If your academic background is limited, I'd recommend getting your math skills at least past trigonometry and college-level algebra, a few physics courses, and whatever electronics classes your local community college might offer.

The most important thing is to get your foot in the door under someone that's capable of being a good teacher, and hunker down for a few years while you hone your skills. I stayed with my first radio employer for almost 6 years. By that time, i'd worked my way up to full-time asst. CE / IT, gotten my SBE and FCC certifications, finished school, and was ready to go on the hunt. I wound up as CE at an 8-station cluster in CA making about twice what I was back in MI. The job market at this time is pretty wide open; there are way more people retiring (or croaking) than there are new people coming in.
 
Good advice from all. Work with/watch your current engineer. Learn Safety (several dead friends). Geat the ARRL Handbook from www.arrl.org or amazon, learn basic theory, learn the FCC exam. Climb a tower or two. Most of all, prepare for a life of poverty, but have one helluva fun time doin' it!
 
hey now, amfmsw! I don't know about a *lifetime* of poverty ;)

Seriously though, you can't expect to further yourself financially much during the "assistant/learning" phase of your career... If you make enought to buy food and pay rent, you're doing well. After more than 5 years at my first job I wasn't able to break $30k/yr, and the idea of waiting 6 or 7 years for my mentor to retire wasn't a particularly appealing prospect for me.

As it is in all aspects of radio, salaries are all over the place, though engineering salaries don't vary nearly as much as programming. BERadio magazine does an annual salary survey, and the last one reported a median of about $50,000 for SBE certified engineers in below-top-50 markets. You're not going to make millions, but if you get into a medium-market cluster as a CE, you'll make more than enough for an upper-middle class lifestyle.

The job marketplace for engineering is a completely different animal from programming. There is substantially more job security, and even in the smallest markets, the prospect of losing an good engineer to the competition (or elsewhere) can spell bad news for a group. Most of the time, there is simply nobody in the area qualified to fill the empty position.
 
Well, I gave up an office job and went back to radio technical work in 1972, and never looked back. I've made a living out of it, and raised a family. Won't make you rich, but it's steady and stable. And, if you have a good idea for developing a new broadcaster's product, you can become quite rich at it. Steve Church and Frank Foti are two who come to mind who've done that.
As a source of basic knowledge, don't overlook the military. Although they are treaining you for a specific position, the basics of electronics are presented as part of the mix... it's up to you to pick it up.
It is currently a seller's market. State your case but don't overstate it, and there's a place for you. One route is to take the 'remnote tech' or 'second assistant' position in a cluster in a medium or large market and use it to learn both the profession and the people in it. A couple or three years learning, plus some training in electronics, and you're ready to step up to assistant or transmitter/studio/remote supervisor for a cluster, or Chief of a small to medium operation. Join the nearest S.B.E. Chapter and network like a bandit.
If you've a good business sense, contract or pickup work can be lucrative.
The caveat in all of this: It's still a small club, and shrinking daily. So, everyone knows everyone else, and knows who do and who don't do, as they say. Don't pick up a poor reputation, it can be very hard to overcome.
It's nopt a bad idea to learn a bit of the other disciplines in broadcasting while you're at it. Leran something of how sales and programming are done, and ask a LOT of questions. Spen an afternoon in the traffic dept, and get a feel for scheduling and log generation. The idea is to figure out what is of value to these people technically. It's a support job, and they're who you're supporting. The idea is to be their solution, not part of their problem.
In a nutshell, go for it. It's fun. And, should it quit being fun for whatever reason, turn your back on it and walk away. Life's too short to do anything you don't enjoy for very long.
 
A fine post. It takes a consuming desire to enter this business today. When I entered in 1958, you were expected to be a "nerd" that appeared when the board or transmitter malfunctioned, and to be invisible meanwhile. As you stated, now you are expected to be a fill in dj, janitor, IT person and general flunky.

I have been ( still am) all of these...but I am also an owner...you can go as far as you want in this business...but please examine closely before you come in.

Advice after 50 years in radio...

J boyd Ingram
 
I figured unplugging the dumper and getting the wasp nests out of the back room were actions which anyone will find out about soon enough - kinda like KP in the service. No recruiter ever touted it.
Each takes a different path. Ownership doesn't really appeal to me... for the same reason contract work doesn't. I figured it takes twice the gross cxontracting as a salaried position to make up for increased tax, insurance,and the like. I had no problemn tracking at something over three times. But, I >HATE< the paperwork involved on the business side of it. Rather wage slave for someone else. Those who hadn't can do quite well as independants.
 
None whatsoever, though it's unlikely one would ever find gainful employment without the proper experience.

Over the past 5 or 6 years, most employers have embraced (at least to some extent) the SBE certifications as an indicator of aptitude. Note, however, that SBE certifications have requirements of work experience (5,10 and 20 years for the respective certifications), or require non-concurrent higher education as the only (partial) waiver of those requirements. The "beginner" SBE certification (CBT) has no experience requirement, but would only be a valuable tool for those seeking an entry-level "helper" position; I don't personally know anyone that's ever bothered to get one.

The FCC GROL (which replaced the broadcast-related 1st and 2nd class radiotelephone licenses), though still touted on a few resumes, is no longer applicable to Broadcast Engineering. I took the joke-of-a-test to get mine, and learned a bit about marine radios in the process.

To sum it up, it's all about your abilities and related experience.
 
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