Women in Audio

9  Education

A Brief History of Audio Education

During the mid- to late-twentieth century, opportunities for learning the science of audio engineering (specifically music recording studios) began as on-the-job training. Young men and women who aspired to become studio engineers started out as apprentices or interns, working their way up from a “runner” to an assistant (“second engineer”) and then to a lead engineer or “first engineer.” In this system, because of the male-dominated nature of the industry, some women were sometimes discouraged or endured lewd advances as they sought to get their start in the business (see: sexism, Chapter 1).

Training in an academic atmosphere was hard to find for anyone wanting to work in the music industry. ...