The next time you ooh and ahh at the lights at a concert, play, or club, don't forget to pay credit to the lighting equipment operator that's behind the visual magic. Commonly found in the entertainment and events industry, lighting equipment operators are the professionals that control lighting equipment and other visual equipment like video, LEDs, and background lighting.
Aside from controlling light and auxiliary equipment, lighting equipment operators may be responsible for creating light shows, designing sets (in terms of lighting), and maintaining equipment to ensure that they work properly. They work closely with other stage professionals like set designers, audio engineers, stage directors, and sometimes even the performers.
There is no defined career path to become a lighting equipment operator. A high school diploma may be enough to qualify for a job, but some employers prefer candidates with at least a bachelor's or associate's degree. Experience is much more important, as it teaches the technical skills and industry knowledge that are essential to becoming an excellent lighting equipment operator.
The average annual salary of a lighting equipment operator is $32,000. Most jobs are located in areas that have booming entertainment and event industries, such as California, Florida, and New York.
How to Become a Lighting Equipment Operator
What is a Lighting Equipment Operator
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a Lighting Equipment Operator. For example, did you know that they make an average of $15.64 an hour? That's $32,539 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 10% and produce 44,000 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Lighting Equipment Operator Do
There are certain skills that many Lighting Equipment Operators have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed Physical strength, Unafraid of heights and Mechanical skills.
How To Become a Lighting Equipment Operator
If you're interested in becoming a Lighting Equipment Operator, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 19.9% of Lighting Equipment Operators have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 1.1% of Lighting Equipment Operators have master's degrees. Even though some Lighting Equipment Operators have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a Lighting Equipment Operator. When we researched the most common majors for a Lighting Equipment Operator, we found that they most commonly earn High School Diploma degrees or Bachelor's Degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on Lighting Equipment Operator resumes include Associate Degree degrees or Diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a Lighting Equipment Operator. In fact, many Lighting Equipment Operator jobs require experience in a role such as Heavy Equipment Operator. Meanwhile, many Lighting Equipment Operators also have previous career experience in roles such as Cashier or Truck Driver.
What is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the right jobs to get there.
Lighting Equipment Operator Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a Lighting Equipment Operator can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as Heavy Equipment Operator, progress to a title such as Foreman and then eventually end up with the title Project Superintendent.
Lighting Equipment Operator Jobs You Might Like
What is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the rights job to get there.
Create The Perfect Resume
Our resume builder tool will walk you through the process of creating a stand-out Lighting Equipment Operator resume.
Average Salary for a Lighting Equipment Operator
Calculate your salary
Use Zippia's Salary Calculator to see how your pay matches up.
Find the best Lighting Equipment Operator job for you
Lighting Equipment Operator Jobs You Might Like
- High Paying Lighting Equipment Operator Jobs - $40K and Up
- Entry Level Lighting Equipment Operator Jobs
- Part Time Lighting Equipment Operator Jobs
- Actively Hiring
- No Degree Lighting Equipment Operator Jobs
Create The Perfect Resume
Our resume builder tool will walk you through the process of creating a stand-out Lighting Equipment Operator resume.
Check Jobs That Match To Your Education
Find the best Lighting Equipment Operator job for you
Lighting Equipment Operator Jobs You Might Like
- High Paying Lighting Equipment Operator Jobs - $40K and Up
- Entry Level Lighting Equipment Operator Jobs
- Part Time Lighting Equipment Operator Jobs
- Actively Hiring
- No Degree Lighting Equipment Operator Jobs
Online Courses For Lighting Equipment Operator That You May Like
Learn how electrical equipments operate and how they fit together into a network...
Maintaining and troubleshooting sophisticated medical instruments is not an easy task. In order to deliver effective care, the technician requires the knowledge of different aspects of biology and engineering. The different devices work in so many different ways and the literature about repair and troubleshooting is often hard to come by. It can be quite frustrating to search for solutions every time the operator encounters a problem. There is added pressure because the availability of medical...
Impress management or get that job with you your ability to display life and dollar saving work place safety practices...
Top Skills For a Lighting Equipment Operator
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 16.3% of Lighting Equipment Operators listed Production Runs on their resume, but soft skills such as Physical strength and Unafraid of heights are important as well.
- Production Runs, 16.3%
- Routine Maintenance, 12.4%
- Heavy Equipment, 10.3%
- Safety Rules, 9.5%
- Hand Tools, 6.4%
- Other Skills, 45.1% See All Lighting Equipment Operator Skills
12 Lighting Equipment Operator RESUME EXAMPLES
Build a professional lighting equipment operator resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 12+ resume templates to create your lighting equipment operator resume.
Best States For a Lighting Equipment Operator
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a Lighting Equipment Operator. The best states for people in this position are Alaska, Connecticut, New Jersey, and New Hampshire. Lighting Equipment Operators make the most in Alaska with an average salary of $59,946. Whereas in Connecticut and New Jersey, they would average $57,345 and $56,948, respectively. While Lighting Equipment Operators would only make an average of $51,637 in New Hampshire, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Alaska
$59,946
Avg. Salary
2. New Jersey
$56,948
Avg. Salary
3. Massachusetts
$43,652
Avg. Salary