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Sound assistant vs music engineer

The differences between sound assistants and music engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a sound assistant and a music engineer. Additionally, a music engineer has an average salary of $80,422, which is higher than the $67,356 average annual salary of a sound assistant.

The top three skills for a sound assistant include sound effects, pro tools and audio equipment. The most important skills for a music engineer are audio equipment, music production, and R.

Sound assistant vs music engineer overview

Sound AssistantMusic Engineer
Yearly salary$67,356$80,422
Hourly rate$32.38$38.66
Growth rate10%10%
Number of jobs2393,210
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 64%Bachelor's Degree, 41%
Average age4242
Years of experience22

Sound assistant vs music engineer salary

Sound assistants and music engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Sound AssistantMusic Engineer
Average salary$67,356$80,422
Salary rangeBetween $39,000 And $114,000Between $53,000 And $121,000
Highest paying City--
Highest paying state--
Best paying company--
Best paying industry--

Differences between sound assistant and music engineer education

There are a few differences between a sound assistant and a music engineer in terms of educational background:

Sound AssistantMusic Engineer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 64%Bachelor's Degree, 41%
Most common majorPhotographyMusic
Most common collegeStanford UniversityNew York University

Sound assistant vs music engineer demographics

Here are the differences between sound assistants' and music engineers' demographics:

Sound AssistantMusic Engineer
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 70.2% Female, 29.8%Male, 94.1% Female, 5.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 8.2% Unknown, 6.3% Hispanic or Latino, 17.2% Asian, 5.2% White, 62.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%Black or African American, 10.3% Unknown, 6.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.7% Asian, 5.0% White, 62.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage8%8%

Differences between sound assistant and music engineer duties and responsibilities

Sound assistant example responsibilities.

  • Administrate sound management system utilizing analog & digital consoles in a smaller environment.
  • Initiate multimedia using LCD projectors & PowerPoint

Music engineer example 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.

Sound assistant vs music engineer skills

Common sound assistant skills
  • Sound Effects, 24%
  • Pro Tools, 21%
  • Audio Equipment, 11%
  • Sound Systems, 11%
  • FOH, 10%
  • Live Sound, 7%
Common music engineer skills
  • Audio Equipment, 18%
  • Music Production, 17%
  • R, 14%
  • Pro Tools, 14%
  • Music Theory, 14%
  • Sound Effects, 9%

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