How To Become A Music Engineer: What It Is and Career Path

What is a music engineer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

2 min read

Quoted expert

Dr. Brandon Vaccaro

There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a music engineer. For example, did you know that they make an average of $38.66 an hour? That's $80,422 a year! Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 10% and produce 12,100 job opportunities across the U.S.

What general advice would you give to a music engineer?

Dr. Brandon Vaccaro

Associate Teaching Professor of Music Coordinator, Sound Recording Technology University of Massachusetts Lowell, University of Massachusetts - Lowell

Specifically in music technology and sound recording, there is a lot of buzz about AI, particularly AI tools that can facilitate workflows. Rather than replace creatives in the field, we will likely see these tools used by creatives as part of a streamlined workflow.
Also, immersive mixing is very much in vogue, with a strong push from Apple and others to increase the amount of available content. It remains to be seen whether this will be a lasting trend or another flash in the pan.

ScoreMusic EngineerUS Average

Salary

6.3

Avg. Salary $80,422

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

7.9

Growth rate 10%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.4

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.37%

Asian 4.98%

Black or African American 10.33%

Hispanic or Latino 15.66%

Unknown 6.25%

White 62.40%

Gender

female 5.88%

male 94.12%

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

7.9

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.5

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

0.5

Work life balance is very poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a music engineer

Explore music engineer education requirements

Most common music engineer degrees

Bachelor's

40.9 %

High School Diploma

25.0 %

Associate

23.9 %

Start to develop specific music engineer skills

Skills	Percentages
Audio Equipment	18.03%
Music Production	17.01%
R	14.28%
Pro Tools	14.00%
Music Theory	13.65%

Complete relevant music engineer training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New music engineers 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 a music engineer based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real music engineer resumes.

Research music engineer duties and responsibilities

Manage PowerPoint and mixing music at the same time.
Operate various digital and analog audio consoles during musical performances to create optimal experience for listener and musicians.
Retain several local and national commercial clients while primarily engineering and producing music CDs.

Prepare your music engineer resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your music engineer 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 a music engineer resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable music engineer resume templates

Build a professional music engineer 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 music engineer resume.

Apply for music engineer jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a music engineer job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do music engineers rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

3 stars

2 stars

1 star

Music engineer reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Aug 2021

Cons

When notes I wrote is wrong.

A zippia user wrote a review on Feb 2019

Pros

Great music exists when the audience experiences the passion of the Composer. My favorite aspect of my job is handing a beautifully crafted, clean score to a director before they were expecting it.