How do I become a professional music engineer?

From my perspective, I recommend you seriously consider an education in music. I (eventually) went to a four-year accredited music university with an excellent music program. There I studied both music and recording side-by-side. I not only learned so much about both, but I made a ton of musician friends, most of whom I'm still friends with many years later. If you are interested in recording music, having a strong background in it will only help you. Please feel free to ask any questions. Cheers.

I am an engineer in a field that is unrelated to music, but I do have interests in recording and performing music. If you would like to get an early understanding on what the coursework would be like Coursera.org offers a free class in music production through the college of Berklee. You can pay to get a certificate if you like, but I'm just taking the class for free. I don't work for Coursera or anything. I just really found the class useful. Here's a link to it: https://www.coursera.org/course/musicproduction
It's a great level of base knowledge about all of the equipment and how it works. The class is great because you can watch the videos whenever you want and there is a huge network of other people taking the class that have tons of industry knowledge. There are active forums on anything from what equipment is best for each type of production and how to best use it. You can also email the professor directly if you have any questions about the industry and what it's like. Best of luck on your career.

Becoming an audio engineer usually requires some form of vocational training or certification. This can include a high school diploma, community college or university courses or certificate programs. Successful sound engineers often have technical skills and computer proficiency as well as a passion for all kinds of audio recordings and broadcasts.

Many sound engineers can find entry-level jobs with an associate's degree or certificate, although some jobs are available with a high school diploma and relevant experience. This job often involves continual on-the-job training because new audio technology is constantly being developed and released.

Sound engineering entails work with a variety of electronic equipment. This means that knowledge of electrical systems and electrical safety training are often required.