Best degree programs for Sound Engineering Technicians, ranked by enrollment
4 college programs and 316 schools train Sound Engineering Technicians. Compare graduates per year, cost and pay, $73,130 median wage, 13,080 U.S. jobs. Federal data.
4 college programs at 316 schools train sound engineering technicians, graduating 6,944 people a year (IPEDS completions). The largest is Recording Arts Technology/Technician. The job pays a median of $73,130 (BLS OEWS May 2025).
About sound engineering technicians
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.
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.
4 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 | CIP 10.0203 | 3,670 | 52.9% | 173 | $21,634 | $20,000 |
| 2 | CIP 50.0913 | 2,092 | 30.1% | 122 | $25,929 | $25,980 |
| 3 | CIP 10.0105 | 1,039 | 15.0% | 41 | $24,790 | $13,494 |
| 4 | CIP 15.0307 | 143 | 2.1% | 12 | $59,859 | $15,372 |
Top 50 schools by graduates into this job
Counting every feeder program a school offers, not just its largest one.
What sound engineering 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Florida | $70,360 | 590 | 0.71× | 27 | 1,632 |
| California | $78,150 | 4,060 | 2.65× | 65 | 1,067 |
| Tennessee | $60,500 | 510 | 1.83× | 10 | 1,059 |
| Arizona | $66,350 | 130 | 0.47× | 7 | 508 |
| Texas | $54,370 | 830 | 0.70× | 15 | 353 |
| Pennsylvania | $49,490 | 160 | 0.31× | 16 | 213 |
| Washington | — | 160 | 0.54× | 8 | 187 |
| New York | $87,510 | 2,050 | 2.52× | 18 | 173 |
| Utah | $36,400 | 210 | 1.46× | 7 | 164 |
| Ohio | $64,030 | — | — | 14 | 149 |
| Georgia | $77,010 | 200 | 0.49× | 5 | 111 |
| Maryland | $79,990 | 160 | 0.71× | 6 | 107 |
| Colorado | $60,630 | 170 | 0.69× | 7 | 92 |
| Indiana | $73,130 | 50 | 0.20× | 7 | 89 |
| Oregon | — | 150 | 0.93× | 6 | 87 |
| North Carolina | $49,150 | 170 | 0.40× | 5 | 86 |
| New Jersey | $115,190 | 290 | 0.80× | 7 | 85 |
| Michigan | $51,840 | 200 | 0.53× | 14 | 77 |
| Illinois | $73,130 | 570 | 1.11× | 13 | 71 |
| Wisconsinmoderate | $46,780 | 90 | 0.36× | 4 | 71 |
| Missourimoderate | $61,750 | 190 | 0.79× | 4 | 60 |
| Connecticutmoderate | $72,800 | 60 | 0.45× | 4 | 47 |
| Minnesota | — | 400 | 1.60× | 6 | 35 |
| Mainelimited | $48,380 | 40 | 0.71× | 1 | 25 |
| District of Columbialimited | $106,630 | 90 | 1.60× | 1 | 21 |
| Kansaslimited | $62,710 | 30 | 0.25× | 2 | 17 |
| Iowamoderate | $57,400 | 60 | 0.49× | 4 | 15 |
| Louisianalimited | $55,530 | — | — | 2 | 13 |
| Virginialimited | $49,920 | 120 | 0.35× | 2 | 13 |
| Massachusettsmoderate | $63,250 | 200 | 0.66× | 3 | 11 |
| South Carolinalimited | $45,240 | — | — | 2 | 6 |
| Kentuckylimited | $74,100 | 60 | 0.35× | 1 | 5 |
| Nebraskalimited | $63,810 | 50 | 0.59× | 1 | 5 |
| Nevadalimited | $84,570 | 170 | 1.34× | 1 | 3 |
| Idaholimited | $54,970 | 40 | 0.50× | 1 | 2 |
| Montanalimited | $57,600 | 50 | 1.15× | 2 | 2 |
| New Hampshirelimited | $65,630 | 30 | 0.56× | 1 | 2 |
| New Mexicolimited | $45,690 | 50 | 0.74× | 1 | 1 |
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
- Confer with producers, performers, and others to determine and achieve the desired sound for a production, such as a musical recording or a film.
- Regulate volume level and sound quality during recording sessions, using control consoles.
- Record speech, music, and other sounds on recording media, using recording equipment.
- Separate instruments, vocals, and other sounds, and combine sounds during the mixing or postproduction stage.
- Set up, test, and adjust recording equipment for recording sessions and live performances.
- Report equipment problems and ensure that required repairs are made.
- Prepare for recording sessions by performing such activities as selecting and setting up microphones.
- Mix and edit voices, music, and taped sound effects for live performances and for prerecorded events, using sound mixing boards.
Skills
- Active Listening3.8
- Speaking3.6
- Critical Thinking3.5
- Reading Comprehension3.3
- Writing3.1
- Monitoring3.1
- Active Learning3.1
- Learning Strategies2.5
Knowledge areas
- Computers and Electronics4.6
- Customer and Personal Service3.9
- Fine Arts3.8
- English Language3.7
- Engineering and Technology3.7
- Communications and Media3.5
Abilities
- Hearing Sensitivity4.1
- Near Vision4.0
- Auditory Attention4.0
- Oral Comprehension4.0
- Oral Expression4.0
- Fluency of Ideas3.5
Core activities
- Working with Computers4.9
- Thinking Creatively4.8
- Making Decisions and Solving Problems4.5
- Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships4.4
- Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge4.3
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates4.2
Tools and technology
hotmarks an O*NET hot technologyHow to get in
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.
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
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 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 3,670 degrees in 2024-25, 52.9% 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 6,944 people a year.
How much do sound engineering technicians earn?+
The median is $73,130 a year (BLS OEWS May 2025). The middle range runs from $37,570 at the 10th percentile to $137,370 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 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?+
316 institutions 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
Explore every U.S. college in one conversation
Clema turns plain-language questions into sourced answers across every U.S. institution — earnings, aid, acceptance, graduation, safety, and athletics from IPEDS, College Scorecard, and 10+ federal datasets, built in.
Free for teams up to 3 · No credit card