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Should I focus on DSP or acoustic engineering? Also, any steps to take towards these careers?

I like both math and audio, which initially led to me discovering DSP. However, I discovered acoustic engineering, which I find to be equally interesting. I have experience in theatre sound and music production. I’m also infrequently learning to code.

engineering technology audio sound-engineer sound sound-mixing acoustics dsp
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Sanjay’s Answer

Digital Signal Processing (DSP) theory is math intensive and you like math, so it looks like you may excel in that area. However, you should dig deeper into DSP to understand the kind of math that you would be dealing with. Fourier transforms, Fast Fourier analysis, digital filters, discrete math and calculus (you can research these topics on Google). On the more practical side, building things that use DSP is an option as well. This area is closer to Electronics Engineering and if you like to be hands on and design and build circuits and such you may enjoy this aspect of DSP.

Acoustic Engineering can make use of DSP. Designing sound experiences in various environments and making sure it sounds perfect for the occasion or even may need extensive use of DSP.

From your post it seems to me that you will enjoy Acoustic Engineering maybe a bit more than the more theoretical DSP. You cannot go wrong with either, be passionate about the topic and do well and you will have an enjoyable and successful career, Good luck!

Sanjay recommends the following next steps:

Try and find opportunities to get involved in Acoustic Engineering at local theaters or studios.
Learn about practical applications of DSP
Continue to learn to code, software is at the center of how DSP is implemented on computers.
Thank you comment icon Thank you, this is really helpful. Alaric
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Dan’s Answer

Sanjay has already given a solid explanation.

I recommend you keep expanding your knowledge in software programming. Besides DSP, it's beneficial to familiarize yourself with microprocessors like the Arduino series. The Arduino is a cost-effective, single-board microprocessor with a plethora of published projects you can replicate (search "Arduino projects using DSP" on Google). The Arduino UNO is priced around $25 from a US supplier (https://www.arduino.cc/) or roughly $3 for a replica from www.aliexpress.com.

You can also utilize Raspberry PI boards (www.raspberrypi.com) for DSP work (Google "Raspberry PI projects using DSP"). The Raspberry PI can be set up as a household computer and boasts a vast range of projects and installable libraries with impressive features.

The Raspberry PI is essentially a compact computer (models range from $25 to $100), while the Arduino is a microcontroller (designed for managing I/O devices).

Both the Arduino and the Raspberry PI are superb tools for learning about hardware I/O control, software programming, and DSP. The Arduino is the simpler and more affordable option, but the Raspberry PI offers more power and can perform higher-level computations.
Thank you comment icon Thank you, I’ll definitely look into the things you mentioned. Alaric
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