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Date: 04/05/2025

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.

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  • Work Activities
  • Skills
  • WorkKeys®
  • Abilities
  • Knowledge
  • Career Video
  • Pay
  • Ohio Employment Trends
  • Typical Education
  • Personality
  • Tools
  • Technology
  • Tags
  • Regulate volume level and sound quality during recording sessions, using control consoles.
  • Separate instruments, vocals, and other sounds, and combine sounds during the mixing or postproduction stage.
  • Confer with producers, performers, and others to determine and achieve the desired sound for a production, such as a musical recording or a film.
  • Convert video and audio recordings into digital formats for editing or archiving.
  • Mix and edit voices, music, and taped sound effects for live performances and for prerecorded events, using sound mixing boards.
  • Prepare for recording sessions by performing such activities as selecting and setting up microphones.
  • Synchronize and equalize prerecorded dialogue, music, and sound effects with visual action of motion pictures or television productions, using control consoles.
  • Prepare for recording sessions by performing such activities as selecting and setting up microphones.
  • Set up, test, and adjust recording equipment for recording sessions and live performances.
  • Keep logs of recordings.
  • Reproduce and duplicate sound recordings from original recording media, using sound editing and duplication equipment.
  • Create musical instrument digital interface programs for music projects, commercials, or film postproduction.
  • Report equipment problems and ensure that required repairs are made.
  • Record speech, music, and other sounds on recording media, using recording equipment.

Work Activities

Work Activities

  • Regulate volume level and sound quality during recording sessions, using control consoles.
  • Separate instruments, vocals, and other sounds, and combine sounds during the mixing or postproduction stage.
  • Confer with producers, performers, and others to determine and achieve the desired sound for a production, such as a musical recording or a film.
  • Convert video and audio recordings into digital formats for editing or archiving.
  • Mix and edit voices, music, and taped sound effects for live performances and for prerecorded events, using sound mixing boards.
  • Prepare for recording sessions by performing such activities as selecting and setting up microphones.
  • Synchronize and equalize prerecorded dialogue, music, and sound effects with visual action of motion pictures or television productions, using control consoles.
  • Prepare for recording sessions by performing such activities as selecting and setting up microphones.
  • Set up, test, and adjust recording equipment for recording sessions and live performances.
  • Keep logs of recordings.
  • Reproduce and duplicate sound recordings from original recording media, using sound editing and duplication equipment.
  • Create musical instrument digital interface programs for music projects, commercials, or film postproduction.
  • Report equipment problems and ensure that required repairs are made.
  • Record speech, music, and other sounds on recording media, using recording equipment.

Skills

  • Technology Design

    Making equipment and technology useful for customers.

  • Programming

    Writing computer programs.

  • Negotiation

    Bringing people together to solve differences.

  • Management of Material Resources

    Managing equipment and materials.

  • Equipment Maintenance

    Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.

  • Troubleshooting

    Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.

  • Judgment and Decision Making

    Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.

  • Speaking

    Talking to others.

  • Operation and Control

    Using equipment or systems.

  • Systems Evaluation

    Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

  • Operations Analysis

    Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.

  • Learning Strategies

    Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.

  • Monitoring

    Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.

  • Management of Financial Resources

    Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.

  • Complex Problem Solving

    Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.

  • Science

    Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.

  • Persuasion

    Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.

  • Time Management

    Managing your time and the time of other people.

  • Mathematics

    Using math to solve problems.

  • Equipment Selection

    Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.

  • Critical Thinking

    Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.

  • Active Learning

    Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

  • Management of Personnel Resources

    Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.

  • Writing

    Writing things for co-workers or customers.

  • Active Listening

    Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.

  • Systems Analysis

    Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.

  • Reading Comprehension

    Reading work-related information.

  • Repairing

    Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.

  • Coordination

    Changing what is done based on other people's actions.

  • Quality Control Analysis

    Testing how well a product or service works.

  • Instructing

    Teaching people how to do something.

  • Operations Monitoring

    Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.

  • Social Perceptiveness

    Understanding people's reactions.

  • Installation

    Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.

  • Service Orientation

    Looking for ways to help people.

WorkKeys®

Applied Math
4
Workplace Documents
4
Graphic Literacy
4

Abilities

  • Visualization

    Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.

  • Sound Localization

    Noticing the direction that a sound came from.

  • Manual Dexterity

    Holding or moving items with your hands.

  • Information Ordering

    Ordering or arranging things.

  • Deductive Reasoning

    Using rules to solve problems.

  • Originality

    Creating new and original ideas.

  • Speech Clarity

    Speaking clearly.

  • Written Comprehension

    Reading and understanding what is written.

  • Night Vision

    Seeing at night or under low light.

  • Gross Body Equilibrium

    Keeping your balance or staying upright.

  • Wrist-Finger Speed

    Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.

  • Static Strength

    Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.

  • Oral Expression

    Communicating by speaking.

  • Problem Sensitivity

    Noticing when problems happen.

  • Arm-Hand Steadiness

    Keeping your arm or hand steady.

  • Extent Flexibility

    Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.

  • Rate Control

    Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.

  • Oral Comprehension

    Listening and understanding what people say.

  • Trunk Strength

    Using your lower back and stomach.

  • Reaction Time

    Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.

  • Speed of Limb Movement

    Quickly moving your arms and legs.

  • Number Facility

    Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.

  • Memorization

    Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.

  • Visual Color Discrimination

    Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.

  • Control Precision

    Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.

  • Fluency of Ideas

    Coming up with lots of ideas.

  • Dynamic Flexibility

    Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

  • Finger Dexterity

    Putting together small parts with your fingers.

  • Written Expression

    Communicating by writing.

  • Explosive Strength

    Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.

  • Peripheral Vision

    Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.

  • Speed of Closure

    Quickly knowing what you are looking at.

  • Perceptual Speed

    Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.

  • Multilimb Coordination

    Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.

  • Mathematical Reasoning

    Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.

  • Dynamic Strength

    Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.

  • Time Sharing

    Doing two or more things at the same time.

  • Category Flexibility

    Grouping things in different ways.

  • Spatial Orientation

    Knowing where things are around you.

  • Hearing Sensitivity

    Telling the difference between sounds.

  • Speech Recognition

    Recognizing spoken words.

  • Stamina

    Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.

  • Auditory Attention

    Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.

  • Depth Perception

    Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.

  • Glare Sensitivity

    Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.

  • Selective Attention

    Paying attention to something without being distracted.

  • Far Vision

    Seeing details that are far away.

  • Near Vision

    Seeing details up close.

  • Flexibility of Closure

    Seeing hidden patterns.

  • Inductive Reasoning

    Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.

  • Response Orientation

    Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.

  • Gross Body Coordination

    Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.

Knowledge

  • Economics and Accounting

    Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.

  • Administrative

    Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.

  • Public Safety and Security

    Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.

  • History and Archeology

    Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.

  • Education and Training

    Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.

  • Design

    Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.

  • Psychology

    Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.

  • Engineering and Technology

    Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.

  • English Language

    Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.

  • Fine Arts

    Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.

  • Physics

    Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.

  • Food Production

    Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.

  • Mechanical

    Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

  • Communications and Media

    Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.

  • Building and Construction

    Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.

  • Administration and Management

    Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.

  • Mathematics

    Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.

  • Philosophy and Theology

    Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.

  • Transportation

    Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.

  • Telecommunications

    Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.

  • Chemistry

    Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.

  • Law and Government

    Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.

  • Sales and Marketing

    Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.

  • Geography

    Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.

  • Personnel and Human Resources

    Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

  • Medicine and Dentistry

    Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.

  • Therapy and Counseling

    Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

  • Customer and Personal Service

    Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.

  • Sociology and Anthropology

    Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.

  • Biology

    Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.

  • Production and Processing

    Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.

  • Foreign Language

    Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.

  • Computers and Electronics

    Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.

Career Video

Additional videos and more information available on CareerOneStop

Pay

  • Typical Salary
  • $79,810
    $55,060
    $29,380
    Ohio
    US
    $132,940
    $59,430
    $36,160
  • Typical Hourly Wage
  • $38
    $26
    $14
    Ohio
    US
    $64
    $29
    $17

Ohio Employment Trends

  • Currently Employed 170
  • Yearly Projected Openings 10

Typical Education

Personality

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions.They do well at jobs that need:
  • Dependability
  • Attention to Detail
  • Adaptability/Flexibility
  • Cooperation
  • Stress Tolerance
  • Achievement/Effort

Tools

  • Attenuators
  • Audio mixing consoles
  • Cassette players or recorders
  • Desktop computers
  • Digital voice recorders
  • Equalizers
  • Intercom systems
  • Loudspeakers
  • Microphones
  • Multimeters
  • Musical instrument digital interface MIDI interfaces
  • Notebook computers
  • Ohmmeters
  • Oscilloscopes
  • Personal computers
  • Radio frequency transmitters or receivers
  • Soldering iron
  • Voltage or current meters

Technology

  • Clustering software
  • Computer aided design CAD software
  • Desktop publishing software
  • Document management software
  • File versioning software
  • Graphics or photo imaging software
  • Internet protocol IP multimedia subsystem software
  • Metadata management software
  • Music or sound editing software
  • Object or component oriented development software
  • Office suite software
  • Operating system software
  • Presentation software
  • Process mapping and design software
  • Spreadsheet software
  • Video creation and editing software
  • Web page creation and editing software
  • Word processing software

Tags

  • Apprenticeships are available for this occupation. These programs can help you get hands-on experience and build your skills.
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