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Sound technician vs studio engineer

The differences between sound technicians and studio 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 technician and a studio engineer. Additionally, a studio engineer has an average salary of $93,539, which is higher than the $43,270 average annual salary of a sound technician.

The top three skills for a sound technician include sound equipment, wireless microphones and audio equipment. The most important skills for a studio engineer are CAD, audio equipment, and troubleshoot.

Sound technician vs studio engineer overview

Sound TechnicianStudio Engineer
Yearly salary$43,270$93,539
Hourly rate$20.80$44.97
Growth rate10%10%
Number of jobs6,6217,875
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 55%Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Average age4242
Years of experience22

Sound technician vs studio engineer salary

Sound technicians and studio engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Sound TechnicianStudio Engineer
Average salary$43,270$93,539
Salary rangeBetween $25,000 And $73,000Between $65,000 And $132,000
Highest paying City-San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state-Oregon
Best paying company-Netflix
Best paying industry-Automotive

Differences between sound technician and studio engineer education

There are a few differences between a sound technician and a studio engineer in terms of educational background:

Sound TechnicianStudio Engineer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 55%Bachelor's Degree, 52%
Most common majorMusicMusic
Most common collegeNew York UniversityMassachusetts Institute of Technology

Sound technician vs studio engineer demographics

Here are the differences between sound technicians' and studio engineers' demographics:

Sound TechnicianStudio Engineer
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 82.9% Female, 17.1%Male, 92.5% Female, 7.5%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 6.3% Hispanic or Latino, 16.0% Asian, 5.0% White, 63.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 6.5% Hispanic or Latino, 15.5% Asian, 5.7% White, 61.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage8%8%

Differences between sound technician and studio engineer duties and responsibilities

Sound technician example responsibilities.

  • Create new costumes, props and scenery.
  • Coordinate costumes for various roles and scenes.
  • Set up all audio and dj equipment for schedule events.
  • Create weekly PowerPoint presentations for Sunday services as well as other events as they occur.
  • Operate FOH for various live events including music concerts, comedians, presentations, and speeches.
  • Work as the projectionist in several shows and run computer programs for show monitors on stage.
  • Show more

Studio engineer example responsibilities.

  • Manage Jenkins security by providing specific access to authorize developers/testers using project base matrix authorization strategy.
  • Perform all routine maintenance of studio equipment and troubleshoot equipment failures.
  • Perform required FCC monitoring and documentation.
  • Maintain facility drawings and create project designs utilizing AutoCAD.
  • Create detailed broadcast drawings using advance AutoCAD LT and add-on extraction applications.
  • Expedite and simplify the quotation process for solar water heating systems by accurately representing solar water heating system performance through MATLAB models
  • Show more

Sound technician vs studio engineer skills

Common sound technician skills
  • Sound Equipment, 16%
  • Wireless Microphones, 13%
  • Audio Equipment, 13%
  • Technical Equipment, 5%
  • Live Sound, 5%
  • Live Productions, 4%
Common studio engineer skills
  • CAD, 21%
  • Audio Equipment, 13%
  • Troubleshoot, 11%
  • Music Videos, 5%
  • Pro Tools, 5%
  • Catia V5, 4%

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