Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between recording technicians and recording engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-12 months to become a recording technician, becoming a recording engineer takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a recording engineer has an average salary of $78,099, which is higher than the $34,620 average annual salary of a recording technician.
The top three skills for a recording technician include customer service, data entry and database systems. The most important skills for a recording engineer are digital audio, R, and music videos.
| Recording Technician | Recording Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $34,620 | $78,099 |
| Hourly rate | $16.64 | $37.55 |
| Growth rate | 11% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 25,621 | 7,117 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Average age | 45 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 12 | 2 |
Recording technicians and recording engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Recording Technician | Recording Engineer | |
| Average salary | $34,620 | $78,099 |
| Salary range | Between $26,000 And $45,000 | Between $44,000 And $135,000 |
| Highest paying City | Santa Cruz, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Oregon |
| Best paying company | National Grid plc | Western Digital |
| Best paying industry | Government | - |
There are a few differences between a recording technician and a recording engineer in terms of educational background:
| Recording Technician | Recording Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 43% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Most common major | Business | Music |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Johns Hopkins University |
Here are the differences between recording technicians' and recording engineers' demographics:
| Recording Technician | Recording Engineer | |
| Average age | 45 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 30.4% Female, 69.6% | Male, 91.4% Female, 8.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.2% Asian, 8.5% White, 59.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3% | Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 6.3% Hispanic or Latino, 16.5% Asian, 5.1% White, 62.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 8% |