I experiment with various materials and technologies to develop sound effects for movies. I spend a lot of time recording, editing, and manipulating different sounds to create something new.
CAREER
Sound Engineering Technicians
Overview
Salary Median (2020)
$53,520
Projected Job Growth (2019-2029)
+6% (as fast as the average)
Career
Roadtrip Nation Leaders in This Career
What Sound Engineering Technicians Do
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.
Other Job Titles Sound Engineering Technicians May Have
Audio Engineer, Audio Operator, Mastering Engineer, Mixer, Mixing Engineer, Recording Engineer, Sound Editor, Sound Engineer, Sound Technician, Studio Engineer
How Leaders Describe a Typical Day at Work
A typical day in this part of the entertainment industry starts with going to the designated location to start setting up for the show. By working with my team, I help set up the stage, speakers, lights, and any other equipment that might be used during the show. Once everything is up and running, it's my job to make sure the show runs smoothly and to give the audience a good experience. After everything has ended, we take everything down and pack it up for the next event.
Tasks & Responsibilities May Include
- Record speech, music, and other sounds on recording media, using recording equipment.
- Confer with producers, performers, and others to determine and achieve the desired sound for a production, such as a musical recording or a film.
- Separate instruments, vocals, and other sounds, and combine sounds during the mixing or postproduction stage.
- Regulate volume level and sound quality during recording sessions, using control consoles.
- Set up, test, and adjust recording equipment for recording sessions and live performances.
Education
Level of Education Attained by Sound Engineering Technicians
Most common level of education among people in
this career: Bachelor's degree (40%)
High school diploma or equivalent
Some college, no degree
Bachelor's degree
Other*
*All other responses combined for clarity.
Majors Related to Career
Educational Paths Suggested by Leaders
Suggested Path
High School
Bachelor
Organizational Communication, General
Suggested Path
High School
Bachelor
Music Performance, General
Additional Skills & Experiences That Can Help You Excel
Having a background in science has helped me understand the way we react to sounds and how they can be manipulated to generate specific emotions.
I recommend going through safety training so that everyone can be safe while moving and setting up equipment. You also need to be able to work well with a team and be able to coordinate with each other to fix any situations that might arise during the show. But most of all, you need to have determination, a good attitude, and be able to have fun because this is a very high-energy industry.
Getting Started
Recommended First Step for:
High School Students
The first step though would be to intern. Do it as soon as possible and start meeting people who can point you in the right direction. You will figure out that even in big cities, everyone knows each other and some of those people might want to help you out.
One important first step is deciding if music is your passion. If all you can think about when you wake up in the morning is music, then this is the career path for you. Everything else is technique mixed with a healthy dose of creativity.
I would do a lot of reading into how games are made, and there are loads of really good YouTube channels and documentaries about game development. GameMakersToolkit and PeopleMakeGames are really good ones. Developer.com and gamesindustry.biz are good websites to go on as well. And also try and meet people online. Game development is quite big on Twitter and Instagram. Then you can see what takes your interests. There are many departments for game development to decide from.
Start recording sounds, strip sound from YouTube videos and remake the sound from scratch, and put yourself out there.
College Students
Everyone
This page includes information from theO*NET 26.1 Databaseby the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under theCC BY 4.0license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.
