Sound Engineering Technicians
US occupation · SOC 27-4014
Job titles people report: Audio Engineer, Audio Operator, Mastering Engineer, Mixing Engineer, Mixing Technician (Mixing Tech), Music Producer, Recording Engineer, Sound Editor, Sound Engineer, Sound Technician (Sound Tech)
Pay and outlook
- Median annual wage, May 2025
- $73,130
- Half earn more, half earn less
- Middle half earn
- $49,910 – $100,280
- 25th to 75th percentile
- People employed, May 2025
- 13,080
- Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)
- Projected change, 2025–35
- -3.1%
- Shrinking (below 0%)
- Openings a year (projected)
- 1,000
- New jobs plus replacing people who leave
- Typical education to enter
- Postsecondary nondegree award
- BLS
- All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
- Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
- Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.
What the work involves
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.
Main tasks
- 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.
- Record speech, music, and other sounds on recording media, using recording equipment.
- Separate instruments, vocals, and other sounds, and combine sounds during the mixing or postproduction stage.
- Set up, test, and adjust recording equipment for recording sessions and live performances.
- Report equipment problems and ensure that required repairs are made.
- Prepare for recording sessions by performing such activities as selecting and setting up microphones.
- Mix and edit voices, music, and taped sound effects for live performances and for prerecorded events, using sound mixing boards.
Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.
Getting in
- Typical education to enter (BLS)
- Postsecondary nondegree award
- Training once hired: short-term on-the-job training
- O*NET Job Zone 3
- Medium preparation
- Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Interests it suits
The strongest of the six O*NET interest types for this occupation, highest first. The short glosses are ours.
- Realistic: hands-on work with tools, machines, plants or animals
- Artistic: creating, designing and self-expression
- Conventional: organising information, records and procedures
Fields of study that lead here
From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 4 programmes to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.
Visual & Performing Arts
- Music Technology
Find colleges that fit you with our matcher: choose Visual & Performing Arts at the Major step.
Where many students take visual & performing arts
- Savannah College of Art and DesignSavannah, GA · 42% of degrees · 15,243 undergraduates
- Southern New Hampshire UniversityManchester, NH · 4% of degrees · 163,164 undergraduates
- University of Central FloridaOrlando, FL · 8% of degrees · 59,146 undergraduates
- New York UniversityNew York, NY · 16% of degrees · 28,663 undergraduates
- The New SchoolNew York, NY · 68% of degrees · 6,563 undergraduates
- Berklee College of MusicBoston, MA · 57% of degrees · 7,468 undergraduates
Ordered by the field's share of degrees awarded times undergraduate enrolment (College Scorecard), among colleges with at least 1,000 undergraduates. Online universities are included. It's a rough measure of how big the programme is. It says nothing about quality. The share counts every programme in the field, not only the ones linked to this career.
Other fields
Our college matcher doesn't offer these fields as a major, so we can't suggest colleges for them here.
Communications Technologies/Technicians and Support Services
- Communications Technology/Technician
- Recording Arts Technology/Technician
Engineering/Engineering-Related Technologies/Technicians
- Audio Engineering Technology/Technician
Related careers
Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.
- Audio and Video Technicians
$58,100 median · +3.9% projected
- Broadcast Technicians
$59,570 median · -3.1% projected
- Lighting Technicians
$68,060 median · -4.8% projected
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technologists and Technicians
$78,190 median · +2.4% projected
- Audiovisual Equipment Installers and Repairers
$52,600 median · +4.8% projected
- Calibration Technologists and Technicians
$67,820 median · +4.8% projected
Sources
This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. CollegeMatcher has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET 31.0 Database · CC BY 4.0
Changes: we show the core tasks in the O*NET database with the highest importance ratings (up to eight, in that order), the top three O*NET interest types by score, and shortened Job Zone names. Titles, descriptions and task text are unchanged.
Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Projections, typical entry education and training: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35. Fields of study: NCES and BLS CIP 2020–SOC 2018 Crosswalk. All public domain. OEWS · Employment Projections · CIP–SOC crosswalk