How To Become An Audio Visual Specialist: What It Is and Career Path

What is an audio visual specialist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Michael Neal Ph.D.

Crisp, professional-quality videos do not just appear out of thin air. A TV news station or high-quality YouTube channel usually has an audiovisual specialist working behind the scenes to make sure the audio and video are of the highest caliber.

During a shoot, the audiovisual specialist is usually the one setting up cameras and other equipment. They monitor the recording as it happens in order to catch any problems and troubleshoot them. But that does not mean that the job of the audiovisual specialist is over once the on-camera talent goes home. They also need to store the equipment, maintain it, and update it with the latest technology if necessary.

Audiovisual specialists are in high demand right now. They can work for a studio, in-house for a business that records a lot of video for promotional purposes, or for a YouTube channel. Some audiovisual specialists have associate's or bachelor's degrees, but practical experience is way more important. Even a stint at the AV club in high school can be enough to get someone's foot in the door.

What general advice would you give to an audio visual specialist?

Michael Neal Ph.D.

Associate Professor, Director, Rhetoric & Composition, Florida State University

The advice can be tricky, especially since our graduates go into a number of fields. My hope for them is that they continue to build upon what they learned in our program and apply it to new situations and contexts outside of school. I often tell students that editing, writing, and media aren't skills you master and then apply universally across contexts. Instead, we encourage students to keep growing and stretching themselves, since they will most likely face new genres, audiences, and contexts that they didn't see in college. Therefore, we teach them to be flexible, to be close readers, and analyze each rhetorical situation to determine how to best communicate within that context. Good writing isn't one-size-fits-all. Instead, it's a complex, negotiated relationship between writers, texts, contexts, audiences, media, modalities, etc.

ScoreAudio Visual SpecialistUS Average

Salary

3.9

Avg. Salary $50,127

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.7

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.37%

Asian 5.06%

Black or African American 10.08%

Hispanic or Latino 16.24%

Unknown 6.25%

White 62.00%

Gender

female 45.09%

male 54.91%

Age - 41

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 41

Stress level

5.7

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

6.3

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.6

Work life balance is good

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an audio visual specialist

Explore audio visual specialist education requirements

Most common audio visual specialist degrees

Bachelor's

57.2 %

Associate

23.8 %

High School Diploma

10.0 %

Start to develop specific audio visual specialist skills

Skills	Percentages
Visualization	17.28%
Video Production	7.06%
Unity	7.04%
Audio Visual Support	7.00%
Sales Floor	5.99%

Complete relevant audio visual specialist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New audio visual specialists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an audio visual specialist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real audio visual specialist resumes.

Research audio visual specialist duties and responsibilities

Manage software to insure protection from miscellaneous online activities, troubleshoot and repair hardware and software to maintain PC stability.
Demonstrate experience with AMX, Crestron, Polycom control technologies.
Resolve technical issues and troubleshoot as necessary during live presentations.
Operate Crestron, AMX switchers.

Prepare your audio visual specialist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your audio visual specialist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an audio visual specialist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable audio visual specialist resume templates

Build a professional audio visual specialist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your audio visual specialist resume.