What is a Technical Director?
A technical director works in a television studio or theater where he/she oversees every aspect of technical direction regarding lighting, sound, and equipment. He/She works directly with the director to draft concepts and necessary technical equipment. He/She informs the production manager about the budget status and expected expenditures. Furthermore, he/she provides technical support for programs and events. Also, he/she monitors, mixes, and records audio throughout production. Additionally, he/she produces technical drawings and communicates with scene supervisors. Besides that, he/she maintains and updates all production technologies.
Most technical directors have a bachelor's degree in a related discipline. They are proficient in graphics software like Adobe Photoshop, audio software like Adobe Audition, presentation software, and spreadsheet programs like Microsoft Excel. Also, they have leadership, project management, and communication skills. Technical directors earn $116,452 per annum. Their salary falls between $57,000 and $240,000.
What Does a Technical Director Do
Producers and directors create motion pictures, television shows, live theater, commercials, and other performing arts productions. They interpret a writer’s script to entertain or inform an audience.
How To Become a Technical Director
Most producers and directors have a bachelor’s degree and several years of work experience in an occupation related to motion picture, TV, or theater production, such as an actor, film and video editor, or cinematographer.
Technical Director 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 technical director can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as information technology director, progress to a title such as senior director of information & technology and then eventually end up with the title senior director of information & technology.
Average Salary for a Technical Director
What Am I Worth?
States With The Most Technical Director Jobs
Mouse over a state to see the number of active technical director jobs in each state. The darker areas on the map show where technical directors earn the highest salaries across all 50 states.
Number Of Technical Director Jobs By State
| Rank | State | Number of Jobs | Average Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Texas | 3,039 | $122,969 |
| 2 | California | 2,264 | $146,767 |
| 3 | New York | 2,147 | $149,264 |
| 4 | Florida | 1,795 | $113,760 |
| 5 | Illinois | 1,725 | $112,120 |
| 6 | Pennsylvania | 1,506 | $108,397 |
| 7 | North Carolina | 1,361 | $118,152 |
| 8 | Georgia | 1,341 | $130,225 |
| 9 | Ohio | 1,121 | $95,694 |
| 10 | Minnesota | 980 | $107,532 |
| 11 | Colorado | 881 | $117,883 |
| 12 | Michigan | 875 | $114,812 |
| 13 | Alabama | 815 | $100,810 |
| 14 | Iowa | 807 | $72,220 |
| 15 | Arkansas | 777 | $99,914 |
| 16 | Louisiana | 721 | $71,909 |
| 17 | Indiana | 717 | $103,576 |
| 18 | Wisconsin | 672 | $107,160 |
| 19 | Oklahoma | 669 | $88,704 |
| 20 | Missouri | 645 | $89,235 |
| 21 | Massachusetts | 564 | $131,944 |
| 22 | Virginia | 558 | $121,474 |
| 23 | Tennessee | 552 | $113,635 |
| 24 | New Jersey | 551 | $129,278 |
| 25 | Mississippi | 458 | $92,062 |
| 26 | South Carolina | 453 | $93,678 |
| 27 | Connecticut | 443 | $131,617 |
| 28 | Washington | 424 | $135,970 |
| 29 | Kansas | 348 | $92,649 |
| 30 | Kentucky | 347 | $96,544 |
| 31 | Nevada | 296 | $128,059 |
| 32 | Nebraska | 291 | $80,766 |
| 33 | Oregon | 290 | $107,317 |
| 34 | New Mexico | 247 | $123,793 |
| 35 | Utah | 243 | $91,136 |
| 36 | Arizona | 242 | $113,948 |
| 37 | Maryland | 222 | $130,234 |
| 38 | Delaware | 159 | $121,747 |
| 39 | Maine | 131 | $139,829 |
| 40 | North Dakota | 128 | $119,906 |
| 41 | West Virginia | 123 | $126,813 |
| 42 | South Dakota | 116 | $93,970 |
| 43 | Alaska | 103 | $106,256 |
| 44 | Rhode Island | 85 | $123,733 |
| 45 | New Hampshire | 80 | $124,197 |
| 46 | Vermont | 61 | $117,470 |
| 47 | Montana | 61 | $79,830 |
| 48 | Idaho | 59 | $90,513 |
| 49 | Hawaii | 22 | $106,177 |
| 50 | Wyoming | 19 | $116,098 |
Top Colleges for Technical Directors
1. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
2. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
3. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
4. Maine Maritime Academy
Castine, ME • Private
5. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
6. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Private
7. SUNY at Binghamton
Vestal, NY • Private
8. Villanova University
Villanova, PA • Private
9. San Diego State University
San Diego, CA • Private
10. Bentley University
Waltham, MA • Private
Top Skills For a Technical Director
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, 9.6% of technical directors listed business development on their resume, but soft skills such as creativity and communication skills are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Technical Director Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Technical Director templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Technical Director resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Technical Director Demographics
Technical Director Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among technical directors, 17.6% of them are women, while 82.4% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among technical directors is White, which makes up 70.5% of all technical directors.
- The most common foreign language among technical directors is Spanish at 41.6%.
Work Experience Programs For Technical Directors
Virtual work experience programs replicate work at top companies and help you gain the skills to be successful when applying and working there. In only a few hours, learn the relevant tools necessary to complete a typical work day at that company. Virtual work experience programs are 100% free, open-access, and self-paced. No experience or application is required!
Company: Accenture UK
Cost: Free
Duration: 5.75-8 hours
Company: Standard Bank
Cost: Free
Duration: 4-4.5 hours
Company: Blackbird Australia
Cost: Free
Duration: 5-10 hours
Company: Walmart India
Cost: Free
Duration: 3.5-4 hours
Company: Standard Bank
Cost: Free
Duration: 4.5-5.5 hours
Company: Spectris
Cost: Free
Duration: 3-5 hours
Online Courses For Technical Director That You May Like
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Learn a proven strategy for writing software docu in GitHub wiki based on the 12 main principles of technical writing!...
A quick introduction to software development & IT for business analyst and non technical managers overseeing IT teams...
Best States For a Technical Director
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a technical director. The best states for people in this position are New York, California, Maine, and Washington. Technical directors make the most in New York with an average salary of $149,264. Whereas in California and Maine, they would average $146,767 and $139,829, respectively. While technical directors would only make an average of $135,970 in Washington, 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. New York
$149,264
Avg. Salary
2. Nevada
$128,059
Avg. Salary
3. Georgia
$130,225
Avg. Salary
How Do Technical Director Rate Their Jobs?
Top Technical Director Employers
We've made finding a great employer to work for easy by doing the hard work for you. We looked into employers that employ technical directors and discovered their number of technical director opportunities and average salary. Through our research, we concluded that Oracle was the best, especially with an average salary of $138,840. Pixar follows up with an average salary of $96,765, and then comes Accenture with an average of $162,067. In addition, we know most people would rather work from home. So instead of having to change careers, we identified the best employers for remote work as a technical director. The employers include Astellas Pharma, CBRE Group, and Parsons
Most Common Employers For Technical Director
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Expedia Group | $164,598 | $79.13 | 42 |
| 2 | Accenture | $162,067 | $77.92 | 60 |
| 3 | Publicis Sapient | $159,913 | $76.88 | 24 |
| 4 | Northrop Grumman | $143,084 | $68.79 | 19 |
| 5 | General Electric | $142,960 | $68.73 | 44 |
| 6 | Synechron | $140,016 | $67.32 | 20 |
| 7 | Oracle | $138,840 | $66.75 | 107 |
| 8 | ManTech | $137,691 | $66.20 | 21 |
| 9 | NBC Holdings | $136,575 | $65.66 | 20 |
| 10 | AT&T | $131,195 | $63.07 | 48 |
Technical Director Videos
