Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media · Holland code RAC

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.

Also called: Audio Engineer, Mixing Engineer, Recording Engineer, Sound Engineer, Audio Operator, Mastering Engineer, Mixing Technician (Mixing Tech), Music Producer.

O*NET 27-4014.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $73,130; Middle half earn $49,910 to $100,280. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED); 32% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 3 of 5; Medium preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

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.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Active Listening3.8 / 5
Speaking3.6 / 5
Critical Thinking3.5 / 5
Reading Comprehension3.3 / 5
Writing3.1 / 5
Active Learning3.1 / 5

Knowledge areas

Computers and Electronics4.6 / 5
Customer and Personal Service3.9 / 5
Fine Arts3.8 / 5
English Language3.7 / 5
Engineering and Technology3.7 / 5
Communications and Media3.5 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic69
Investigative28
Artistic58
Social12
Enterprising19
Conventional54

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

sound artist · DE Tonkünstler/Tonkünstlerin · FR artiste sonore
theatre technician · DE Theatertechniker/Theatertechnikerin · FR technicien de théâtre/technicienne de théâtre
audio production technician · DE Tontechniker/Tontechnikerin · FR technicien de production son/technicienne de production son
audio-visual technician · DE Fachkraft AV-Medientechnik · FR technicien audiovisuel/technicienne audiovisuel
boom operator · DE Tonassistent/Tonassistentin · FR perchiste
sound operator · DE Soundtechniker/Soundtechnikerin · FR opérateur du son/opératrice du son

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Musicians (3415)54,300 employed
Photographers, audio-visual and broadcasting equipment operators (3417)81,300 employed
Arts officers, producers and directors (3416)113,500 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Technicians and associate professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Technicians and associate professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€50,992
Austria	€46,986
Germany	€44,473
Netherlands	€42,448
Ireland	€41,613
Sweden	€41,155
Italy	€34,882
France	€34,816
Spain	€29,757
Portugal	€18,080
Poland	€12,108

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the middle third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +0.47. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (27-4014).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

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