Audio and Video Technicians
Set up, maintain, and dismantle audio and video equipment, such as microphones, sound speakers, connecting wires and cables, sound and mixing boards, video cameras, video monitors and servers, and related electronic equipment for live or recorded events, such as concerts, meetings, conventions, presentations, podcasts, news conferences, and sporting events.
- Median pay
- $58,100
- Doing it now
- 87,600
- By 2035
- Up 3.9%
- Usually needs
- Postsecondary nondegree award
a year
across the country
6,600 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Notify supervisors when major equipment repairs are needed.
- Design layouts of audio and video equipment and perform upgrades and maintenance.
- Perform minor repairs and routine cleaning of audio and video equipment.
- Switch sources of video input from one camera or studio to another, from film to live programming, or from network to local programming.
- Compress, digitize, duplicate, and store audio and video data.
- Direct and coordinate activities of assistants and other personnel during production.
- Record and edit audio material, such as movie soundtracks, using audio recording and editing equipment.
What to study
The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.
- Audiovisual Communications Technologies/TechniciansSee 64 colleges that teach it
- Agricultural Public ServicesSee 38 colleges that teach it
Who it suits
O*NET scores every occupation on six interest dimensions. This one leans hardest on these three.
Hands-on and practical
Organised and precise
Creative and expressive
Careers like this one
Where this comes from: the description and the task list are O*NET, which the Department of Labor maintains. Pay, workforce size, outlook and the education normally needed are the Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections programme, 2025 wages and 2025 to 2035 projections. Half of them earn more than $58,100 a year, which means half earn less, and what you would earn depends on where you work and how long you have been doing it. The fields of study come from the National Center for Education Statistics crosswalk.