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Actor vs audio engineer

The differences between actors and audio engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, an audio engineer has an average salary of $55,853, which is higher than the $53,376 average annual salary of an actor.

The top three skills for an actor include makeup, improv and music videos. The most important skills for an audio engineer are video production, audio systems, and audio visual.

Actor vs audio engineer overview

ActorAudio Engineer
Yearly salary$53,376$55,853
Hourly rate$25.66$26.85
Growth rate8%10%
Number of jobs2181,750
Job satisfaction55
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 61%Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Average age3842
Years of experience-2

What does an actor do?

An actor is a person who specializes in representing the character they are portraying and convince that it is real by engaging and drawing the audience into their story. They deal with several types of spectators, coming from all ages and which could be from home televisions, films, traditional theaters, radios, and other performing arts center organizations. There is no formal education required to become an actor; they could be someone striving with passion or be one of those who are born with talent. However, others would prefer to take official courses from colleges, universities, conservatories, while some prepare through theater arts programs or private classes and also can be recruited and trained directly by entertainment agencies.

What does an audio engineer do?

An audio engineer is a trained professional who specializes in working with the mechanics of recording, mixing, and reproducing sound. Audio engineers work with clients such as record producers, musicians, and artists to record the sound they are making and manipulate the equalizer, the compression, and the gates when mixing. They must possess excellent skills in operating recording equipment as well as maintain them. Audio engineers can also work in different audio fields that can include church audio, live performances, and internet radio.

Actor vs audio engineer salary

Actors and audio engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

ActorAudio Engineer
Average salary$53,376$55,853
Salary rangeBetween $24,000 And $115,000Between $30,000 And $102,000
Highest paying City-Novato, CA
Highest paying state-Oregon
Best paying company-Meta
Best paying industry--

Differences between actor and audio engineer education

There are a few differences between an actor and an audio engineer in terms of educational background:

ActorAudio Engineer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 61%Bachelor's Degree, 55%
Most common majorTheatreMusic
Most common college-Johns Hopkins University

Actor vs audio engineer demographics

Here are the differences between actors' and audio engineers' demographics:

ActorAudio Engineer
Average age3842
Gender ratioMale, 67.5% Female, 32.5%Male, 92.3% Female, 7.7%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 13.2% Unknown, 6.6% Hispanic or Latino, 16.5% Asian, 6.5% White, 57.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 9.7% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 5.1% White, 62.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage19%8%

Differences between actor and audio engineer duties and responsibilities

Actor example responsibilities.

  • Act in productions and lead performing arts and drama workshops for local schools and organizations.
  • Have worked on numerous productions for Disney, CBS, ABC, NBC, TNT, HULU.
  • Appear in comedy shows and talk shows in Korean TV channel.
  • Work in sections, using teamwork, to frighten customers as well.
  • Act and modele on photo and film sets in NYC and Orlando.
  • Appear in several TV shows as well as commercials as SAG-AFTRA performer.
  • Show more

Audio engineer example responsibilities.

  • Manage PowerPoint and mixing music at the same time.
  • Manage troubleshooting of videoconferencing and networking equipment.
  • Freelance engineer for sound reinforcement, broadcast audio, teleconferencing, and truck A1.
  • Serve as audio engineer, sound board operator, and backstage audio technician (A2).
  • Stabilize IFB communication systems for talent/clientele and production teams.
  • Prepare audio, amps, and cords.
  • Show more

Actor vs audio engineer skills

Common actor skills
  • Makeup, 26%
  • Improv, 8%
  • Music Videos, 7%
  • Costumes, 6%
  • Drama, 5%
  • Teamwork, 5%
Common audio engineer skills
  • Video Production, 8%
  • Audio Systems, 7%
  • Audio Visual, 7%
  • Audio Equipment, 7%
  • Troubleshoot, 6%
  • Video Conferencing, 4%

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