Best Sound Engineering Technician programs in New York, 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.
18 schools in New York run programs that feed this job, graduating 173 people a year. The job pays a median of $87,510 in New York across about 2,050 jobs (BLS OEWS May 2025).
Fields of study in New York that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level. Numbers are graduates per year in this state.
4 programs in New York that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year in New York (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 New York page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | CIP 10.0203In New York → | 81 | 46.8% | 9 | $21,634 | $20,000 |
| 2 | CIP 50.0913In New York → | 77 | 44.5% | 8 | $25,929 | $25,980 |
| 3 | CIP 10.0105In New York → | 11 | 6.4% | 1 | $24,790 | $13,494 |
| 4 | CIP 15.0307In New York → | 4 | 2.3% | 1 | $59,859 | $15,372 |
Top 18 schools in New York
Ranked by graduates per year into this job. Graduate earnings are reported for 5 of the 18 schools in this state.
| # | School | Graduates / yr | Top feeder program | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Grad rate | Net price | Acceptance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Schenectady County Community College Schenectady, NY Public · 1 feeder programs | 22 | Music Technology | — | 32% | — | — |
| 2 | Nassau Community College Garden City, NY Public · 1 feeder programs | 21 | Recording Arts Technology/Technician | — | 23% | — | — |
| 3 | CUNY LaGuardia Community College Long Island City, NY Public · 1 feeder programs | 17 | Recording Arts Technology/Technician | $29,299 | 24% | — | — |
| 4 | Finger Lakes Community College Canandaigua, NY Public · 1 feeder programs | 15 | Recording Arts Technology/Technician | — | 30% | — | — |
| 5 | CUNY Queensborough Community College Bayside, NY Public · 1 feeder programs | 14 | Recording Arts Technology/Technician | — | 24% | — | — |
| 6 | CUNY City College New York, NY Public · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Music Technology | $19,145 | 57% | — | 60% |
| 7 | SUNY Broome Community College Binghamton, NY Public · 1 feeder programs | 12 | Music Technology | — | 23% | — | — |
| 8 | CUNY York College Jamaica, NY Public · 1 feeder programs | 11 | Communications Technology/Technician | $27,064 | 32% | — | 64% |
| 9 | Mercy University Dobbs Ferry, NY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 11 | Music Technology | — | 46% | $17,604 | 86% |
| 10 | CUNY Hostos Community College Bronx, NY Public · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Music Technology | — | 16% | — | — |
| 11 | Ithaca College Ithaca, NY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Recording Arts Technology/Technician | — | 76% | $28,970 | 69% |
| 12 | Syracuse University Syracuse, NY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 7 | Music Technology | $18,574 | 84% | $28,851 | 46% |
| 13 | University of Rochester Rochester, NY Private not-for-profit · 2 feeder programs | 6 | Music Technology | $14,310 | 85% | $25,874 | 40% |
| 14 | Five Towns College Dix Hills, NY Private for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Audio Engineering Technology/Technician | — | 55% | $22,977 | 54% |
| 15 | Niagara County Community College Sanborn, NY Public · 1 feeder programs | 4 | Recording Arts Technology/Technician | — | 32% | — | — |
| 16 | Cayuga County Community College Auburn, NY Public · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Recording Arts Technology/Technician | — | 30% | — | — |
| 17 | Manhattanville University Purchase, NY Private not-for-profit · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Music Technology | — | 58% | $23,949 | 87% |
| 18 | SUNY at Fredonia Fredonia, NY Public · 1 feeder programs | 1 | Recording Arts Technology/Technician | — | 50% | — | 78% |
All 18 schools in New York
Every school in New York 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schenectady County Community College | Schenectady | Public | 22 | 1 |
| Nassau Community College | Garden City | Public | 21 | 1 |
| CUNY LaGuardia Community College | Long Island City | Public | 17 | 1 |
| Finger Lakes Community College | Canandaigua | Public | 15 | 1 |
| CUNY Queensborough Community College | Bayside | Public | 14 | 1 |
| CUNY City College | New York | Public | 12 | 1 |
| SUNY Broome Community College | Binghamton | Public | 12 | 1 |
| CUNY York College | Jamaica | Public | 11 | 1 |
| Mercy University | Dobbs Ferry | Private not-for-profit | 11 | 1 |
| CUNY Hostos Community College | Bronx | Public | 7 | 1 |
| Ithaca College | Ithaca | Private not-for-profit | 7 | 1 |
| Syracuse University | Syracuse | Private not-for-profit | 7 | 1 |
| University of Rochester | Rochester | Private not-for-profit | 6 | 2 |
| Five Towns College | Dix Hills | Private for-profit | 4 | 1 |
| Niagara County Community College | Sanborn | Public | 4 | 1 |
What sound engineering technicians earn in New York
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
U.S. median $73,130. New York pays above the national figure.
Concentrated here: New York employs more of this job per worker than the U.S. average.
Metro areas in New York
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 New York
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 New York.
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 81 degrees in New York in 2024-25, 46.8% 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 4 programs to this occupation. The largest are Audiovisual Communications Technologies/Technicians, Music, Communications Technologies/Technicians, Electrical/Electronic Engineering Technologies/Technicians. Together they graduate about 173 people a year in New York.
How much do sound engineering technicians earn in New York?+
The median is $87,510 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). That is 19.7% 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 New York?+
18 institutions in New York reported graduates from at least one of the 4 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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