Best degree programs for Audio and Video Technicians, ranked by enrollment
3 college programs and 255 schools train Audio and Video Technicians. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $58,100 median wage, 70,230 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
3 college programs at 255 schools train audio and video technicians, graduating 5,550 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Recording Arts Technology/Technician. The job pays a median of $58,100 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About audio and video technicians
Set up, maintain, and dismantle audio and video equipment, such as microphones, sound speakers, connecting wires and cables, sound and mixing boards, video cameras, video monitors and servers, and related electronic equipment for live or recorded events, such as concerts, meetings, conventions, presentations, podcasts, news conferences, and sporting events.
Fields of study that lead to this job
Grouped at the 4-digit CIP level, the tier our program pages are built on. Numbers are graduates per year.
3 degree programs that lead to this job
Ranked by graduates per year (IPEDS completions). Graduate earnings and debt are College Scorecard figures for people who finished the program, reported at the 4-digit CIP level, so specializations within one field share a figure. That is a different measurement from the occupation-wide wages further down this page.
| # | Program | Graduates / yr | Share of pipeline | Schools | Grad earnings (1 yr) | Median debt |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Recording Arts Technology/Technicianmain feeder CIP 10.0203 | 3,670 | 66.1% | 173 | $21,634 | $20,000 |
| 2 | CIP 10.0201 | 1,328 | 23.9% | 103 | $21,634 | $20,000 |
| 3 | Agricultural Communication/Journalismmain feeder CIP 01.0802 | 552 | 9.9% | 23 | $43,778 | $19,500 |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
What audio and video technicians earn
What people already working in this job earn (BLS OEWS May 2025). Not graduate earnings.
Top-paying states
Top-paying metro areas
Job outlook
Bureau of Labor Statistics Employment Projections, 2024 to 2034.
Where the jobs are, state by state
Pick a state for in-state pay, the schools there, and the programs they run.
| State | Median pay | Jobs | Concentration | Schools | Graduates / yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | $64,620 | 9,280 | 1.13× | 75 | 1,414 |
| Tennessee | $49,970 | 1,640 | 1.11× | 11 | 851 |
| Texas | $49,440 | 4,280 | 0.67× | 17 | 525 |
| Arizona | $47,140 | 1,340 | 0.92× | 8 | 509 |
| Florida | $54,230 | 6,000 | 1.34× | 11 | 475 |
| Oklahoma | $49,010 | 540 | 0.70× | 10 | 172 |
| Wisconsinlimited | $51,390 | 760 | 0.57× | 2 | 151 |
| Georgia | $51,350 | 1,630 | 0.74× | 10 | 150 |
| New York | $67,600 | 7,990 | 1.83× | 12 | 116 |
| North Carolina | $46,700 | 1,870 | 0.84× | 8 | 113 |
| Michigan | $58,300 | 1,700 | 0.85× | 9 | 112 |
| Washington | $69,270 | 1,360 | 0.84× | 7 | 104 |
| Coloradomoderate | $56,790 | 830 | 0.64× | 4 | 88 |
| Pennsylvania | $56,890 | 3,080 | 1.12× | 6 | 76 |
| Ohio | $49,890 | 1,430 | 0.57× | 6 | 67 |
| Indianamoderate | $49,870 | 1,390 | 0.96× | 4 | 60 |
| Marylandlimited | $70,040 | 1,770 | 1.42× | 2 | 52 |
| Minnesota | $53,800 | 960 | 0.72× | 5 | 48 |
| Kansasmoderate | $50,030 | 220 | 0.34× | 3 | 42 |
| Illinois | $60,740 | 3,020 | 1.10× | 10 | 41 |
| Utahlimited | $48,730 | 1,880 | 2.39× | 2 | 36 |
| Mississippilimited | $43,500 | 200 | 0.38× | 2 | 34 |
| Iowamoderate | $51,030 | 290 | 0.41× | 3 | 31 |
| New Jersey | $71,040 | 2,280 | 1.18× | 5 | 31 |
| Mainelimited | $46,080 | 150 | 0.52× | 1 | 26 |
| Missourimoderate | $50,680 | 1,370 | 1.03× | 4 | 22 |
| District of Columbialimited | $78,770 | 830 | 2.63× | 1 | 21 |
| Nebraskalimited | $50,660 | 290 | 0.64× | 2 | 13 |
| Wyominglimited | $49,680 | 50 | 0.40× | 2 | 13 |
| Oregonlimited | $52,000 | 630 | 0.71× | 2 | 12 |
| Alabamalimited | $50,160 | 320 | 0.34× | 1 | 8 |
| Idaholimited | $49,950 | 210 | 0.54× | 1 | 8 |
| Louisianalimited | $44,480 | 860 | 0.99× | 1 | 8 |
| New Mexicolimited | $47,070 | 420 | 1.07× | 2 | 7 |
| West Virginialimited | $46,590 | 200 | 0.62× | 1 | 6 |
| Connecticutlimited | $62,120 | 820 | 1.06× | 1 | 5 |
Skills and tools
From O*NET, the U.S. Department of Labor's occupational database. Importance is a 1 to 5 scale.
What they do day to day
- Notify supervisors when major equipment repairs are needed.
- Diagnose and resolve media system problems.
- Direct and coordinate activities of assistants and other personnel during production.
- Compress, digitize, duplicate, and store audio and video data.
- Install, adjust, and operate electronic equipment to record, edit, and transmit radio and television programs, motion pictures, video conferencing, or multimedia presentations.
- Control the lights and sound of events, such as live concerts, before and after performances, and during intermissions.
- Switch sources of video input from one camera or studio to another, from film to live programming, or from network to local programming.
- Record and edit audio material, such as movie soundtracks, using audio recording and editing equipment.
Skills
- Monitoring3.8
- Reading Comprehension3.5
- Critical Thinking3.5
- Writing3.1
- Active Listening3.1
- Speaking3.1
- Active Learning3.0
- Learning Strategies2.8
Knowledge areas
- Computers and Electronics4.1
- Communications and Media4.1
- English Language4.0
- Telecommunications3.7
- Fine Arts3.6
- Engineering and Technology3.6
Abilities
- Near Vision4.0
- Oral Expression3.9
- Information Ordering3.8
- Oral Comprehension3.8
- Problem Sensitivity3.8
- Written Comprehension3.5
Core activities
- Working with Computers4.5
- Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge4.2
- Getting Information4.2
- Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events4.2
- Thinking Creatively4.2
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems4.1
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
How to become a Audio
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.
Every major mapped to this job
The official federal mapping behind the rankings above.
All 3 majors mapped to Audio and Video Technicians3 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 01.0802Agricultural Communication/Journalism
- 10.0201Photographic and Film/Video Technology/Technician
- 10.0203Recording Arts Technology/Technician
Related careers
Jobs O*NET identifies as close to this one, with their own pay and outlook.
Common questions
What degree do you need to become an Audio?+
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 3,670 degrees in 2024-25, 66.1% of everyone graduating from a program that feeds this career.
Which college majors lead to becoming an Audio?+
The NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 3 programs to this occupation. The largest are Audiovisual Communications Technologies/Technicians, Agricultural Public Services. Together they graduate about 5,550 people a year.
How much do audio and video technicians earn?+
The median is $58,100 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $37,990 at the 10th percentile to $100,650 at the 90th. 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 audio and video technicians growing?+
BLS projects a +3.3% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, about as fast as average, with roughly 7,300 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
255 institutions reported graduates from at least one of the 3 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 audio and video technicians work under?+
Employers advertise this work under many names. O*NET records Media Technician, Operations Technician, AV Tech (Audio Visual Technician), Audio Visual Specialist (AV Specialist) among the most commonly reported, all mapping to SOC 27-4011.
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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