Career
Audio and video technicians
Run the sound and video at live events and broadcasts.
$58,100
Median pay
+3.9%
Job growth, 2025–35
6,600
Openings a year
Postsecondary nondegree award
Typical education
Under 2 years
Typical time after high school
Here's what you actually need to know.
The work
What people in this job do
- Notify supervisors when major equipment repairs are needed.
- Diagnose and resolve media system problems.
- Direct and coordinate activities of assistants and other personnel during production.
- Compress, digitize, duplicate, and store audio and video data.
- Install, adjust, and operate electronic equipment to record, edit, and transmit radio and television programs, motion pictures, video conferencing, or multimedia presentations.
The outlook
How the forecast changed this year
The deeper question
What kind of person does this path ask you to become?
What this work centers on
O*NET interest profile, scored 1–7.
The work
Do you want most of your days spent on objects & tools, then information & systems?
Responsibility
Are you willing to be the one responsible for this?
“Notify supervisors when major equipment repairs are needed.”
Development
What would you need to build over the next 5–10 years?
Monitoring, Critical Thinking, Reading Comprehension, Operations Monitoring.
Trade-offs
What does it ask of you in exchange?
Under 2 years of education after high school (postsecondary nondegree award), for a median of $58,100 a year and 6,600 openings nationally each year.
Paths in
Degrees that lead here
- Agricultural Communication/JournalismCIP 01.0802
- Photographic and Film/Video Technology/TechnicianCIP 10.0201
- Recording Arts Technology/TechnicianCIP 10.0203
Paths across
Careers that use similar skills
- Broadcast Technicians$59,570 · -3.1%
- Sound Engineering Technicians$73,130 · -3.1%
- Camera Operators, Television, Video, and Film$74,990 · +1.3%
- Lighting Technicians$68,060 · -4.8%
- Electrical and Electronic Engineering Technologists and Technicians$78,190 · +2.4%
Ask anything about this career.
“Would this make sense if I don't want to sit at a desk all day?” Answers will come from the sources on this page, with citations. Coming soon.
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Sources
- BLS Employment Projections, 2025–35, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- BLS Employment Projections, 2024–34 (archived), U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- O*NET 31.0 Database (August 2026), National Center for O*NET Development / U.S. Department of Labor. Retrieved 2026-10-01.
- CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 Crosswalk, NCES and BLS. Retrieved 2026-10-01.