Third-year Sound Design student, part-time acoustic consultant

I've been a part of quite a few projects with HA at this point, but two stand out in my mind.

The first project I was involved in was for St Cedd's School and their conversion of a former priory to music practice and performance facilities. We came in at a very early stage and conducted investigative sound testing, which informed the acoustic design moving forward.

Another notable project was for the festival Country Calling. We were hired to do the boundary monitoring for the weekend. I drove around to different noise-sensitive areas, including local residential areas, and took measurements to make sure the festival was under the council's specifications. I think a lot of people in live audio (me included) think noise management is just people telling you to be quiet. But our main job is to essentially make sure the council doesn't shut the festival down so people can keep having fun.

How did you secure the position over the summer? 

I secured my position with HA by simply reaching out. I had been looking for some work in industry over the summer and came across HA's website. It was at this point I realised they have offices in both Essex (where I'm from) and Cornwall. So, it was almost too good to be true.

After reaching out, Stuart (my boss) asked me to come in for an informal conversation to see what would work for both me and the company. From there I had a trial site visit where I was given an idea of how it all worked. The whole process was very much about making sure it worked for both parties, not just to see if I fit.

I've been told that my CV being concise, one-page and tailored to the job stood out, along with getting stuck in straight away and a willingness to learn anything.

Which skills or experiences from your Sound Design course do you find yourself using most in the role?

As an acoustic consultant, you have to be very familiar with using measurement microphones, sound level meters, amplifiers and other equipment. Being comfortable using this kind of kit and handling it properly is something I have taken from my BA(Hons) Sound Design course. Additionally, the knowledge from the Understanding Sound & Audio module has been a great help, specifically Robin Tyndale-Biscoe's lectures on acoustics.

How do you balance part-time work with third year, and how has the company supported that?

I'm able to fit my work around my studies as I'm lucky that HA are very flexible. It's generally the case that I let them know when I'm available and work from there. HA support me with this by providing me with a laptop and remote access to the servers so I can do all my technical report writing at home, making it even easier to schedule work around uni.

So, it's just managing my free time and seeing where I need to fit in group work, dissertation work and so on. I also don't normally work past 6pm, so I have plenty of time in the evenings to study or go out. I think finding the right balance of work, study and social is key.

What made you choose Sound Design at Falmouth?

I studied game design at college and was originally going to do game audio here. However, during my gap year the Sound Design course was created, and I liked that it gave me the opportunity to work on film sound and composition as well as game sound. Additionally, it presented a great opportunity to be on a multidisciplinary course.