Sound Engineering Technicians
Assemble and operate equipment to record, synchronize, mix, edit, or reproduce sound, including music, voices, or sound effects, for theater, video, film, television, podcasts, sporting events, and other productions.
- Median pay
- $73,130
- Doing it now
- 15,000
- By 2035
- Down 3.1%
- Usually needs
- Postsecondary nondegree award
a year
across the country
1,000 openings a year
to get in
What the work involves
- Confer with producers, performers, and others to determine and achieve the desired sound for a production, such as a musical recording or a film.
- Regulate volume level and sound quality during recording sessions, using control consoles.
- Prepare for recording sessions by performing such activities as selecting and setting up microphones.
- Report equipment problems and ensure that required repairs are made.
- Mix and edit voices, music, and taped sound effects for live performances and for prerecorded events, using sound mixing boards.
- Synchronize and equalize prerecorded dialogue, music, and sound effects with visual action of motion pictures or television productions, using control consoles.
- Record speech, music, and other sounds on recording media, using recording equipment.
What to study
The fields of study the Department of Education links to this occupation, most widely taught first.
- Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/TechniciansSee 138 colleges that teach it
- Audiovisual Communications Technologies/TechniciansSee 64 colleges that teach it
- Communications Technologies/TechniciansSee 14 colleges that teach it
- MusicSee 1,080 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
Creative and expressive
Organised and precise
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 $73,130 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.