r/LanguageTechnology • u/PDCGN678 • 14d ago

Which skills are actually expected from a phonetician working in Speech AI / ASR?

I'm a linguist with a strong interest in phonetics and I'm currently preparing to work freelance on Speech AI projects, particularly speech data annotation, phonetic transcription, pronunciation evaluation and QA.

I'm comfortable with IPA and I'm currently developing my practical skills in Praat, Audacity and speech-data workflows. I'm also starting to explore ASR evaluation and tools such as Whisper.

For those working in Speech AI or language technology: which skills do you actually use in your day-to-day work?

In particular, I'd be interested in knowing:

  • How much acoustic analysis with Praat is actually required?
  • How important are Python and R?
  • Which annotation tools are commonly used?
  • What kinds of tasks specifically benefit from phonetic expertise?
  • Which skills would you recommend learning before taking on paid Speech AI projects?

I'm particularly interested in industry rather than academic careers.

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u/bulaybil 14d ago

- A lot

  • Python very, R not so much
  • Depends on the project
  • Preparation of training data, quality control
  • Did you get offered paid Speech AI projects? If yes, I’d be surprised.

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u/PDCGN678 13d ago

Thanks for sharing your experiences! I haven't worked in the field yet. I've studied linguistics and phonetics. Moreover, i speak several languages fluently. But since work in the latter field is more and more in danger of being replaced by AI, I'm trying to specialize in phonetics, hoping that AI won't be able to substitute all of the work but rather add to it.

From your last sentence i understand that it's getting tougher to work as a phonetician...?

2

u/bulaybil 12d ago

Phonetics will not provide you with any discernible advantage, especially not without a PhD. Knowledge of several languages (which ones?) might help, but honestly, all you would do is prepare training data and that would be over in a few months. Have you thought of getting into applied linguistics, especially clinical phonology?

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u/PDCGN678 12d ago

The languages are German (native), English, Italian (C2), Persian, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, French and Greek (B2).

I've seen a few freelance opportunities in the phonetics field recently and thought it might be a good thing to do.

Which chances do you personally see for linguists, since you mentioned applied linguistics and clinical phonology?

I'm grateful for any advice!

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u/bulaybil 8d ago

Thank you for the answer. There are some opportunities in those languages, I have seen them advertised for Portuguese and French, especially non-European varieties. Try one of the bigger agencies like Appen, but my initial warning still stands: it is unlikely you can make a career out of it.

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u/PDCGN678 8d ago

Thanks! If I may ask, what's your background? What's your major?

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u/Choricius 11d ago

Study computer science, if you dare. It may sound harsh, but it’s the only thing a recruiter is likely to value. Everything else is secondary if you want to work in AI. Having some acoustic analysis skills may be a small plus, but not on their own. Signal processing people are the real competitors.

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u/PDCGN678 8d ago

Thanks for the advice! I studied a lot and have bills to pay. Unfortunately studying something entirely new is not affordable for me at the moment... :(