Broadcast and Sound Engineering Technicians

If you’re an electronics geek who gets pumped up setting up a home entertainment system or tweaking the knobs on a stereo, listen up: there are careers for people like you.

Broadcast technicians are the wizards behind the brilliant colors on our TV screens and the rich, clear sound of radio and TV broadcasts. Audio and video equipment technicians play a similar role at concerts, sports events, meetings, and news conferences. Sound engineering technicians record and mix the music you hear on CDs and in sporting arenas, theaters, videos, and movies.

Broadcast technicians, audio and video equipment technicians, and sound engineering technicians produce the sounds and sights of TV, radio, concerts, CDs, and more.

Are You Ready To...?

• Set up, operate, and repair equipment
• Connect wires and cables
• Monitor the mixing board
• Mix music, voices, and sound effects
• Regulate signal strength
• Log outgoing signals
• Work out the “bugs”
• Be a stickler for perfection

It Helps To Be...

A mechanical person with a knack for electronics and computers. A sharp eye and a keen ear are other essentials. High energy helps, too, since long hours are common.

Make High School Count

• Sign-up for electronics classes and tinker with gadgets.
• Build computer skills. Most recording, editing, and broadcasting is now done on computers.
• Pay attention in physics. You’ll learn about electricity, sound waves, and other scientific concepts basic to this field.
• Volunteer to help your school’s theater arts or music department with sound, lighting, or video work. Your work may help you decide whether this career is the one.