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Theater technician vs media technician

The differences between theater technicians and media technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a theater technician and a media technician. Additionally, a media technician has an average salary of $45,576, which is higher than the $39,818 average annual salary of a theater technician.

The top three skills for a theater technician include sound equipment, technical support and video equipment. The most important skills for a media technician are video production, troubleshoot, and technical support.

Theater technician vs media technician overview

Theater TechnicianMedia Technician
Yearly salary$39,818$45,576
Hourly rate$19.14$21.91
Growth rate10%10%
Number of jobs12,70538,422
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 60%Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Average age4242
Years of experience22

What does a theater technician do?

Organizing a stage play is complicated and requires a lot of experience, problem-solving skills, and powerful organizational abilities. A Theater Technician handles all the technical aspects of a stage play production. This person oversees the audio, lighting, and visual equipment in a theater. In most cases, one person handles all of these areas and works hand in hand with the creative and floor director. A Theater Technician rises above and not fold under pressure.

What does a media technician do?

Media technicians are professionals who are responsible for setting up and operating audio-visual and computer media equipment and materials. To enhance meetings, lectures, seminars, these technicians are required to schedule and assist the usage of equipment in academic or business settings. They must identify and perform troubleshooting with technical difficulties with online streaming and must effectively communicate with the staff from the information technology (IT) department. Media technicians must also identify sound or multimedia requirements for a given task and perform appropriate actions to produce this sound or media.

Theater technician vs media technician salary

Theater technicians and media technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.

Theater TechnicianMedia Technician
Average salary$39,818$45,576
Salary rangeBetween $26,000 And $59,000Between $29,000 And $70,000
Highest paying City-Stamford, CT
Highest paying state-Delaware
Best paying company-Zoetis
Best paying industry-Professional

Differences between theater technician and media technician education

There are a few differences between a theater technician and a media technician in terms of educational background:

Theater TechnicianMedia Technician
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 60%Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Most common majorTheatreCommunication
Most common collegeJohns Hopkins UniversityJohns Hopkins University

Theater technician vs media technician demographics

Here are the differences between theater technicians' and media technicians' demographics:

Theater TechnicianMedia Technician
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 70.2% Female, 29.8%Male, 69.7% Female, 30.3%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 8.7% Unknown, 6.3% Hispanic or Latino, 16.4% Asian, 5.1% White, 63.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%Black or African American, 8.9% Unknown, 6.5% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 5.1% White, 62.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%
LGBT Percentage8%8%

Differences between theater technician and media technician duties and responsibilities

Theater technician example responsibilities.

  • Maintain and manage multiple stages: FOH mix, monitor mix, and video presentation editing mix.
  • Set up, operate, strike and troubleshoot audio, video and lighting equipment
  • Design the set and run the lights/sound system for high school plays and annual assemblies.
  • Report equipment problems, or troubleshoot with other crew members, and ensure that require repairs are make.
  • Provide support for the engineering, furnishing, and installation of classify and unclassify video teleconferencing systems and video distribution systems.
  • Duplicate CDs from the chapel services and seminars to fill orders place in the bookstore.

Media technician example responsibilities.

  • Lead false-positive team to identify and resolve network service issues and produce a manual for outsource providers to troubleshoot technical issues.
  • Participate in brainstorming sessions, proofread and edit marketing materials, manage magazine inventory.
  • Provide technical support for VTC conference call monitoring, performance reports, troubleshooting of AV/VTC issues and audio/video conferencing relate issues.
  • Provide private IP address ranges for testing.
  • Work with Resolume and Watchout projection mapping software.
  • Input outgoing social media messages into Hootsuite and Facebook daily.
  • Show more

Theater technician vs media technician skills

Common theater technician skills
  • Sound Equipment, 14%
  • Technical Support, 12%
  • Video Equipment, 11%
  • Audio Equipment, 9%
  • A/V, 7%
  • Safety Regulations, 5%
Common media technician skills
  • Video Production, 14%
  • Troubleshoot, 9%
  • Technical Support, 5%
  • Windows, 5%
  • Audio Equipment, 4%
  • Visual Equipment, 4%

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