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Video engineer vs media technician

The differences between video engineers 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 video engineer and a media technician. Additionally, a video engineer has an average salary of $100,343, which is higher than the $45,576 average annual salary of a media technician.

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

Video engineer vs media technician overview

Video EngineerMedia Technician
Yearly salary$100,343$45,576
Hourly rate$48.24$21.91
Growth rate10%10%
Number of jobs8,90038,422
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 60%Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Average age4242
Years of experience22

What does a video engineer do?

A video engineer installs and maintains video equipment in a certain location. Video engineers are responsible for operating electronic equipment for television and radio program transmission. They control the audio equipment for volume level regulation and sound quality during broadcasting. The skills necessary for this job include project management, attention to detail, digital video knowledge, technical support, and video systems. They also need knowledge in video networks, Java, video equipment, and Linux.

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.

Video engineer vs media technician salary

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

Video EngineerMedia Technician
Average salary$100,343$45,576
Salary rangeBetween $65,000 And $154,000Between $29,000 And $70,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CAStamford, CT
Highest paying stateCaliforniaDelaware
Best paying companyByteDanceZoetis
Best paying industryTechnologyProfessional

Differences between video engineer and media technician education

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

Video EngineerMedia Technician
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 60%Bachelor's Degree, 62%
Most common majorElectrical EngineeringCommunication
Most common collegeStanford UniversityJohns Hopkins University

Video engineer vs media technician demographics

Here are the differences between video engineers' and media technicians' demographics:

Video EngineerMedia Technician
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 90.4% Female, 9.6%Male, 69.7% Female, 30.3%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 10.1% Unknown, 6.5% Hispanic or Latino, 16.3% Asian, 5.1% White, 61.7% 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 video engineer and media technician duties and responsibilities

Video engineer example responsibilities.

  • Program content and manage the company's YouTube channel.
  • Utilize a CMS to manage digital assets and develop the proper HTML coding for distribution requests.
  • Manage Jenkins security by providing specific access to authorize developers/testers using project base matrix authorization strategy.
  • Perform quality control of audio, video and close captioning elements for tape, DVD, and CD duplication.
  • Apply proper RF propagation and antenna theory to install and operate multi-band UHF microphone and multi-channel communication systems at live events.
  • Configure channel maps for multiple headend systems.
  • Show more

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

Video engineer vs media technician skills

Common video engineer skills
  • MPEG, 6%
  • VOD, 6%
  • Video Equipment, 6%
  • Linux, 5%
  • Java, 4%
  • Windows, 4%
Common media technician skills
  • Video Production, 14%
  • Troubleshoot, 9%
  • Technical Support, 5%
  • Windows, 5%
  • Audio Equipment, 4%
  • Visual Equipment, 4%

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