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Sound Engineering Technicians

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they 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.

Related: Audio & Video Technicians Broadcast Technicians Calibration Technologists & Technicians Lighting Technicians Media Technical Directors/Managers

Industries: Media & Communication Arts & Entertainment Hotel & Food

Summary
Details

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.
Synchronize and equalize prerecorded dialogue, music, and sound effects with visual action of motion pictures or television productions, using control consoles.
Mix and edit voices, music, and taped sound effects for live performances and for prerecorded events, using sound mixing boards.
Prepare for recording sessions by performing such activities as selecting and setting up microphones.
Convert video and audio recordings into digital formats for editing or archiving.
Create musical instrument digital interface programs for music projects, commercials, or film postproduction.
Keep logs of recordings.
Reproduce and duplicate sound recordings from original recording media, using sound editing and duplication equipment.
Prepare for recording sessions by performing such activities as selecting and setting up microphones.
Set up, test, and adjust recording equipment for recording sessions and live performances.
Report equipment problems and ensure that required repairs are made.
Record speech, music, and other sounds on recording media, using recording equipment.

Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.

Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Education

Postsecondary certificate

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

Less than 1 month on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

110950/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

53.34/hr

Currently Employed

510

Yearly Projected Openings

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:

Dependability
Attention to Detail
Adaptability/Flexibility
Cooperation
Stress Tolerance
Achievement/Effort

Attenuators
Audio mixing consoles
Cassette players or recorders
Desktop computers
Digital voice recorders
Equalizers
Intercom systems
Loudspeakers
Microphones
Multimeters
Musical instrument digital interface MIDI interfaces
Notebook computers
Ohmmeters
Oscilloscopes
Personal computers
Radio frequency transmitters or receivers
Soldering iron
Voltage or current meters

Clustering software
Computer aided design CAD software
Desktop publishing software
Document management software
File versioning software
Graphics or photo imaging software
Internet protocol IP multimedia subsystem software
Metadata management software
Music or sound editing software
Object or component oriented development software
Office suite software
Operating system software
Presentation software
Process mapping and design software
Spreadsheet software
Video creation and editing software
Web page creation and editing software
Word processing software

ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

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Sound Engineering Technicians

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