Best programs to become a lighting technician
You do not need a college degree to become a lighting technician. BLS lists a postsecondary nondegree award (a certificate) as the typical entry-level education. The fields of study that lead most directly to this job are Radio and Television Broadcasting Technology/Technician, as well as Photographic and Film/Video Technology/Technician (IPEDS completions).
2 college programs at 177 schools train lighting technicians, graduating 2,816 people a year (IPEDS completions). The job pays a median of $68,060 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About lighting technicians
Set up, maintain, and dismantle light fixtures, lighting control devices, and the associated lighting electrical and rigging equipment used for photography, television, film, video, and live productions. May focus or operate light fixtures, or attach color filters or other lighting accessories.
An electrical lighting technician, or simply lighting technician, is involved with rigging stage and location sets and controlling artificial, electric lights for art and entertainment venues or in video, television, or film production.
Read more on Wikipedia →Best programs to study to become a lighting technician
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 | CIP 10.0202 | 1,488 | 52.8% | 84 | $21,634 | $20,000 |
| 2 | CIP 10.0201 | 1,328 | 47.2% | 103 | $21,634 | $20,000 |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
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.
What lighting 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 | $94,070 | 2,950 | 2.83× | 47 | 772 |
| Florida | $62,190 | 600 | 1.05× | 12 | 293 |
| Texas | $53,150 | 210 | 0.26× | 7 | 267 |
| New York | $78,000 | 780 | 1.41× | 12 | 204 |
| Georgia | $70,150 | 260 | 0.94× | 6 | 153 |
| North Carolina | $49,410 | — | — | 12 | 128 |
| New Jersey | $87,550 | 340 | 1.39× | 5 | 121 |
| South Carolinamoderate | $46,720 | 60 | 0.48× | 3 | 112 |
| Michigan | $60,210 | 230 | 0.91× | 7 | 78 |
| Marylandlimited | $49,080 | 130 | 0.85× | 2 | 73 |
| Pennsylvaniamoderate | $57,660 | 100 | 0.29× | 3 | 53 |
| Tennesseemoderate | $60,870 | 280 | 1.50× | 3 | 45 |
| Washington | $126,100 | 80 | 0.40× | 5 | 44 |
| Oklahoma | $67,110 | 60 | 0.58× | 7 | 42 |
| Coloradomoderate | — | 150 | 0.91× | 3 | 33 |
| Massachusettsmoderate | $60,110 | — | — | 4 | 33 |
| Ohio | $54,940 | 260 | 0.81× | 6 | 17 |
| Kansaslimited | $48,790 | — | — | 1 | 14 |
| Oregonlimited | $57,900 | 180 | 1.63× | 1 | 14 |
| Utahlimited | $49,080 | 120 | 1.19× | 1 | 13 |
| Illinoismoderate | — | 160 | 0.47× | 3 | 12 |
| Louisianalimited | $66,840 | 40 | 0.40× | 1 | 10 |
| Missourilimited | $41,900 | 90 | 0.54× | 2 | 10 |
| Indianalimited | $50,080 | 190 | 1.06× | 1 | 6 |
| Nebraskalimited | $49,860 | — | — | 1 | 3 |
Skills and knowledge
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
- Assess safety of wiring or equipment set-up to determine the risk of fire or electrical shock.
- Consult with lighting director or production staff to determine lighting requirements.
- Disassemble and store equipment after performances.
- Install color effects or image patterns, such as color filters, onto lighting fixtures.
- Install electrical cables or wire fixtures.
- Load, unload, or position lighting equipment.
- Match light fixture settings, such as brightness and color, to lighting design plans.
- Notify supervisors when major lighting equipment repairs are needed.
How to get in
How to become a lighting technician
- 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 2 majors mapped to Lighting Technicians2 of them graduated someone in the latest IPEDS year. NCES CIP 2020 → SOC 2018 crosswalk.+
- 10.0201Photographic and Film/Video Technology/Technician
- 10.0202Radio and Television Broadcasting 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 a lighting technician?+
You do not need a college degree to become a lighting technician. BLS lists a postsecondary nondegree award (a certificate) as the typical entry-level education. The fields of study that lead most directly to this job are Radio and Television Broadcasting Technology/Technician, as well as Photographic and Film/Video Technology/Technician (IPEDS completions).
Which college majors lead to becoming a lighting technician?+
The fields of study that lead most directly to this job are Radio and Television Broadcasting Technology/Technician, as well as Photographic and Film/Video Technology/Technician (IPEDS completions). In all, the NCES CIP-to-SOC crosswalk maps 2 programs to this job, which together graduate about 2,816 people a year.
How much do lighting technicians earn?+
The median is $68,060 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $42,310 at the 10th percentile to $130,760 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 lighting technicians growing?+
BLS projects a -4.6% change in employment between 2024 and 2034, decline, with roughly 800 openings a year nationally once retirements and job changes are counted.
How many schools offer programs for this career?+
177 institutions 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.
Do you need training or experience beyond a degree?+
BLS lists 'None' for related work experience and 'Short-term on-the-job training' for on-the-job training typically needed to reach competency.
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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