Best Sound Engineering Technician programs in California, ranked by enrollment
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.
65 schools in California run programs that feed this job, graduating 1,067 people a year. The job pays a median of $78,150 in California across about 4,060 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in California that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
2 programs in California that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in California (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are national College Scorecard figures reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. Each program also links to its own California page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 10.0203In California → | 648 | 60.7% | 58 | $21,634 | $20,000 |
| 2 | CIP 50.0913In California → | 419 | 39.3% | 7 | $25,929 | $25,980 |
Top 25 schools in California
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 3 of the 65 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Los Angeles Film School Hollywood, CA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 311 | Music Technology | $21,399 | 41% | $32,792 | — |
| 2 | California College of Music Pasadena, CA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 60 | Music Technology | — | 70% | $18,922 | 100% |
| 3 | California State University - Dominguez Hills Carson, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 53 | Recording Arts Technology/Technician | — | 43% | — | 93% |
| 4 | Saddleback College Mission Viejo, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 50 | Recording Arts Technology/Technician | — | 48% | — | — |
| 5 | Citrus College Glendora, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 41 | Recording Arts Technology/Technician | — | 41% | — | — |
| 6 | American River College Sacramento, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 36 | Recording Arts Technology/Technician | — | 37% | — | — |
| 7 | Musicians Institute Hollywood, CA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 35 | Recording Arts Technology/Technician | — | 53% | $37,963 | 78% |
| 8 | Fresno City College Fresno, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 23 | Recording Arts Technology/Technician | — | 24% | — | — |
| 9 | University of Silicon Valley San Jose, CA Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 22 | Music Technology | — | 29% | $30,599 | 51% |
| 10 | Foothill College Los Altos Hills, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 20 | Recording Arts Technology/Technician | — | 56% | — | — |
| 11 | Bakersfield College Bakersfield, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 17 | Recording Arts Technology/Technician | — | 21% | — | — |
| 12 | Cabrillo College Aptos, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 17 | Recording Arts Technology/Technician | — | 38% | — | — |
| 13 | Los Angeles Valley College Valley Glen, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 17 | Recording Arts Technology/Technician | — | 32% | — | — |
| 14 | Loyola Marymount University Los Angeles, CA Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 17 | Recording Arts Technology/Technician | — | 79% | $36,488 | 45% |
| 15 | Sacramento City College Sacramento, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 17 | Recording Arts Technology/Technician | — | 33% | — | — |
| 16 | Diablo Valley College Pleasant Hill, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 16 | Recording Arts Technology/Technician | — | 49% | — | — |
| 17 | MiraCosta College Oceanside, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 16 | Recording Arts Technology/Technician | — | 41% | — | — |
| 18 | Rio Hondo College Whittier, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 16 | Recording Arts Technology/Technician | — | 25% | — | — |
| 19 | Chaffey College Rancho Cucamonga, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Recording Arts Technology/Technician | — | 36% | — | — |
| 20 | Chabot College Hayward, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 14 | Recording Arts Technology/Technician | — | 47% | — | — |
| 21 | San Diego Miramar College San Diego, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 13 | Recording Arts Technology/Technician | — | 48% | — | — |
| 22 | Antelope Valley Community College District Lancaster, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Recording Arts Technology/Technician | — | 34% | — | — |
| 23 | East Los Angeles College Monterey Park, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Recording Arts Technology/Technician | — | 37% | — | — |
| 24 | San Diego City College San Diego, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Recording Arts Technology/Technician | — | 30% | — | — |
| 25 | Cerritos College Norwalk, CA Public · 1 feeder programs | 11 | Recording Arts Technology/Technician | — | 31% | — | — |
All 65 schools in California
Every school in California with a program that feeds this job, ordered by graduates per year. Earnings are shown for the ranked schools above; open a school profile for the rest.
| School | City | Control | Graduates / yr | Feeder programs |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles Film School | Hollywood | Private for-profit | 311 | 1 |
| California College of Music | Pasadena | Private for-profit | 60 | 1 |
| California State University - Dominguez Hills | Carson | Public | 53 | 1 |
| Saddleback College | Mission Viejo | Public | 50 | 1 |
| Citrus College | Glendora | Public | 41 | 1 |
| American River College | Sacramento | Public | 36 | 1 |
| Musicians Institute | Hollywood | Private for-profit | 35 | 1 |
| Fresno City College | Fresno | Public | 23 | 1 |
| University of Silicon Valley | San Jose | Private for-profit | 22 | 1 |
| Foothill College | Los Altos Hills | Public | 20 | 1 |
| Bakersfield College | Bakersfield | Public | 17 | 1 |
| Cabrillo College | Aptos | Public | 17 | 1 |
| Los Angeles Valley College | Valley Glen | Public | 17 | 1 |
| Loyola Marymount University | Los Angeles | Private not-for-profit | 17 | 1 |
| Sacramento City College | Sacramento | Public | 17 | 1 |
What sound engineering technicians earn in California
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $73,130. California pays above the national figure.
Concentrated here: California employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.
Metro areas in California
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Growth and openings are national. The Bureau of Labor Statistics does not publish employment projections at state level, so these figures describe the occupation across the whole U.S., not this state alone.
How to get in
The full skills, tools, and day-to-day breakdown lives on the national Sound Engineering Technicians page.
How to become a Sound Engineering Technician
Job zone 3 of 5 · SVP 6.0 to < 7.0- Typical entry education
- Postsecondary nondegree award
- On-the-job training
- Short-term on-the-job training
Most occupations in this zone require training in vocational schools, related on-the-job experience, or an associate's degree.
Previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is required for these occupations. For example, an electrician must have completed three or four years of apprenticeship or several years of vocational training, and often must have passed a licensing exam, in order to perform the job.
Employees in these occupations usually need one or two years of training involving both on-the-job experience and informal training with experienced workers. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.
Top skills
The same job in other states
Where else this occupation employs the most people, and what it pays there.
Related careers in California
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 4 majors mapped to Sound Engineering Technicians4 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 10.0105Communications Technology/Technician
- 10.0203Recording Arts Technology/Technician
- 15.0307Audio Engineering Technology/Technician
- 50.0913Music Technology
Common questions
Answers for people weighing sound engineering technicians programs in California.
What degree do you need to become a Sound Engineering Technician?+
Postsecondary nondegree award is the typical entry-level education BLS reports for this occupation. The most common program people actually graduate from is Recording Arts Technology/Technician, which awarded 648 degrees in California in 2024-25, 60.7% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming a Sound Engineering Technician?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 2 programs to this occupation. The largest are Audiovisual Communications Technologies/Technicians, Music. Together they graduate about 1,067 people a year in California.
How much do sound engineering technicians earn in California?+
The median is $78,150 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 6.9% above the U.S. median of $73,130. This is pay for people already working in the occupation, not the same thing as graduate earnings one year after finishing a degree.
Is demand for sound engineering technicians growing?+
BLS projects a -1.7% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, decline, with roughly 1,200 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career in California?+
65 institutions in California reported graduates from at least one of the 2 programs that feed this occupation in IPEDS 2024-25. Rankings on this page use graduates per year, because the federal data publishes no enrollment count by program.
What other job titles do sound engineering technicians work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Audio Engineer, Sound Engineer, Mixing Engineer, Recording Engineer among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 27-4014.
About the data on this page
Rankings use IPEDS completions 2024–25, degrees awarded per year. That is the closest federal measure of how many people a program puts into a career, because no federal dataset publishes enrollment by program. Wages and employment come from BLS OEWS May 2025, growth and openings from BLS Employment Projections 2024-34, and which majors lead to which jobs from the NCES CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk. Occupation descriptions, tasks, skills and tools are O*NET 30.3 (CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor/ETA).
BLS Occupational Employment & Wage Statistics
May 2025Wages, employment counts, location quotients and metro breakdowns.
BLS Employment Projections
2024–34Projected growth, annual openings and typical entry-level education.
IPEDS Completions
2024-25 (provisional)Graduates per year by program and institution — the ranking metric.
College Scorecard, Field of Study
2020-21 cohortsMedian graduate earnings one year after completion, and median debt.
Census Post-Secondary Employment Outcomes
latest availableGraduate earnings 1/5/10 years out, where the state participates.
NCES CIP 2020 and the CIP-to-SOC 2018 crosswalk
CIP 2020 / SOC 2018Which college programs officially lead to this occupation.
O*NET Database 30.3
30.3Tasks, skills, knowledge, tools, job zone and alternate job titles.
Official source →CC BY 4.0, U.S. Department of Labor / ETA
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