If the picture of a sound engineer in your mind is of someone sat at a mixing desk with headphones on, listening to a terrible band playing in the next room, think again. Mixing down and polishing records for musicians is sound engineering, but it's far from the full extent of the job. Even most sound engineers will do more with their skills than just that.
For every live television or radio broadcast, a sound engineer will be required. For any recording of an event which will be broadcast later on, a sound engineer will be required during the production process. Even live theater and live sports sometimes need sound engineers to make sure everyone in the audience can hear what they're supposed to. As we live in a digital age, most sound engineering is done through a computer. A good understanding of the relevant computer software is therefore necessary. A degree is also desirable for most employers, but some freelance sound engineers get by just fine without one.